What Is Credit Card Hotel Burglary Insurance?

Unfortunately, theft happens. Even when you’re miles away from home and staying in a hotel. But, just because theft happens, doesn’t mean you have to be defenseless against it.

For your convenience, plenty of Canadian credit cards come equipped with hotel burglary insurance. Hotel burglary insurance protects any eligible personal belongings that might have been stolen during your stay.

To learn more about this type of insurance, its coverage and exclusions, plus how to make a claim, follow along with this blog post.

How Does Hotel Burglary Insurance Work?

Now that you’ve got a good idea about what hotel burglary insurance is, let’s highlight how this coverage works.

When Coverage Takes Place

From check-in to check-out, hotel burglary insurance covers any personal belongings that may have been stolen from your room. 

Coverage is also only applicable when reported within the appropriate time frame (typically 24-48 hours), which will be outlined by your card’s insurance certificate. 

Coverage Eligibility

To be completely eligible for hotel burglary insurance, you’ll want to make sure you paid for your hotel stay using a card that comes with hotel burglary insurance.

You’ll also want to ensure that your unique situation is covered by your card. Specific coverage inclusions and exclusions are also available through your credit card’s insurance certificate – so make sure you take the time to study these terms and conditions!

Compensation

After you file a successful claim, you’re entitled to some compensation. Every credit card will have its own maximum reimbursement policy, and your coverage will be determined based on the situation at hand. 

Insurers will usually reimburse you for the replacement value of the stolen property at the time of the theft or the amount needed to replace the property with the same item or a similar model.

Compensation may change depending on factors like whether or not you have your own insurance coverage outside of your credit card (or through work) or if the hotel provides any type of reimbursement. All in all, credit card hotel burglary insurance provides you with secondary coverage in case your primary insurance polices don't cover the full cost of the theft.

What’s Covered by Hotel Burglary Insurance?

The first rule of hotel burglary insurance eligibility is that there will need to be evidence of forced entry into your hotel room. On top of this, you’ll want to make sure you file a police report immediately and verify your loss through the hotel.

In some cases, both the primary cardholder and authorized users or family members will be covered by the eligible credit card in question – be sure to check your card's insurance certificate to see whether this is the case for you.

What Isn’t Covered by Hotel Burglary Insurance?

As with any type of coverage, hotel burglary insurance is bound to have some exclusions.

You can expect the following scenarios to be excluded from hotel burglary insurance eligibility:

• When the theft is the result of a unexplainable disappearance (in which items may be misplaced rather than stolen)
• When the belongings were confiscated by authorities
• When the theft took place due to negligence (for example, leaving the door unlocked and leaving expensive items in plain sight rather than in a safe)
• If the incident was not properly and promptly reported

To break things down even further, the following items are also typically excluded from coverage:

• Pets
• Cash
• Credit cards, debit cards
• Tickets
• Keys
• Perishables (including food, cosmetics, and batteries)
• Securities 
• Certain luxury goods (like jewelry, electronics, and artwork)

For the most accurate inclusions and exclusions pertaining to your credit card, always review your card’s insurance certificate so you’re always prepared for the unexpected.

How to Make a Hotel Burglary Insurance Claim

Let’s say a hotel burglary happened to you. Now what?

Here’s a general step-by-step guide on how to file a hotel burglary insurance claim:

1. Firstly, you’ll want to notify your insurance provider as soon as possible – this timeline is usually outlined by your card’s insurance certificate. 
2. Next, you’ll usually be asked to complete a claim form.
3. Along with your claim form, you’ll also want to provide documentation like a receipt proving that your hotel stay was paid for by your covered credit card, a statement from your insurance provider (if they covered anything from the loss) showing the amount of coverage contributed to the case, a copy of the police report, or a copy of any reimbursement provided by the hotel.
4. The last step is to simply wait patiently for approval and compensation.

Best Credit Cards for Hotel Burglary Insurance

Your top concern when choosing a credit card likely won’t be whether or not it has hotel burglary insurance coverage. Hotel burglary insurance is an added perk that complements tons of credit cards, especially those that are travel-oriented.

For example, if you’re looking for the best well-rounded credit card on the Canadian market, complete with competitive points per dollar spent on popular categories like dining, groceries, streaming, gas, and transit – plus solid benefits and coverage (including hotel burglary insurance), then the American Express Cobalt Card might be your top contender.

Alternatively, if you’re a frequent traveller looking for tons of points on popular categories, travel-friendly benefits, and trip-oriented coverage (including hotel burglary insurance), then the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card could be essential.

If you’d rather a cashback Mastercard, options like the Neo World Elite Mastercard could also benefit your financial habits. With this card, you can take advantage of tons of high cashback rates, rates that become even better if you save specified amounts in a Neo Everyday Account or purchase from Neo Partners. Besides these tempting rewards, the Neo World Elite Mastercard also boasts comprehensive coverage, including hotel burglary insurance.

Also, if you’re constantly travelling with Air Canada and you’d like a card from the Visa network, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card could be the card for you. With Aeroplan points earned on gas and groceries, plus Air Canada purchases. Both the benefits and coverage on this card are extensive, and the coverage includes none other than hotel burglary insurance.

That said, the above cards are only some of the top credit cards that feature hotel burglary insurance. If you’d like to browse more credit cards with this type of coverage, check out our best credit card finder tool and filter hotel burglary insurance inside the insurance drop-down menu. Every card with hotel burglary insurance will show up in the feed, allowing you to sift through all your options.

After you’ve found a card you like, make sure you take a look at the insurance certificate for hotel burglary insurance specifics before applying. 

Conclusion

Hotel burglary insurance is a great perk to have included on your credit card. With this coverage, you can claim money for any eligible personal belongings that were stolen from your hotel room. Just make sure that your hotel stay was paid for by your covered card, that there’s proof of forced entry into your room, and that you report the theft immediately.

Each successful claim will allow cardholders to collect card and situation-specific reimbursements.

Nobody wants to use hotel burglary insurance, but it sure comes in handy in the worst case scenarios.