What are packaged bank accounts?

A packaged bank account is a checking account that comes with a variety of insurance policies and other features in exchange for a monthly fee. The extras they offer range from travel insurance and preferential savings rates to will-drafting and stock trading services. Examples include

• Lloyds TSB Premier Account
• Halifax Ultimate Reward Checking Account
• Barclays Premier Current Account
• HSBC Advance Bank Account
• NatWest Advantage Gold Account

Around one in five adults in the UK have a packaged bank account. Including? Depending on the type of account and the provider, the extras they offer a consumer can range from travel insurance and preferred savings rates to will-writing and stock trading services. Some of the more common attached benefits include

• Mobile Phone Insurance
• identity theft packages
• Foreign currency without commissions
• Travel insurance
• breakdown coverage

They’re worth it?

Research has shown that annual worldwide travel insurance and breakdown coverage are the two most useful and valuable benefits offered to consumers when purchasing a combined bank account. Subsequently, it has been noted that you can get a best buy travel insurance policy and best buy itemization coverage for less than the annual cost of some of these bundled checking accounts.

For these accounts to be worth the money spent on them, you need to know that you will be using at least two of the benefits on offer. Before you choose to pay a fee for your bank account, ask yourself how many of the benefits you will use or need.

How have they sold poorly?

The clearest reason a packaged bank account was missold is that consumers didn’t even realize they had a packaged bank account, or that an old checking account was changed to a packaged account without their consent.

However, there are plenty of other reasons why these might have sold poorly. Most bundled accounts include mobile phone insurance, but it’s definitely worth checking your home contents insurance as it may already be covered. You do not need to pay for coverage twice.

If your contents policy doesn’t already cover it, ask how much it would cost to add it to your policy and keep this in mind when deciding if a packaged account is worth paying for. It’s also worth noting that mobile phone policies are notoriously full of exclusions, which can make claiming difficult.

A small number of bundled accounts have identity theft insurance, which typically consists of a telephone helpline, or identity theft insurance, which may include access to your credit reports, emergency cash, and coverage for unrecoverable losses or expenses. of resolution of the problem. However, if money is fraudulently withdrawn from your account, your bank must refund it, provided you have used reasonable care. So why pay for a service that the bank is supposed to provide anyway?

Many top-tier current account providers also include annual travel insurance which often has numerous exclusions detailing when it is not possible to claim. For example, maybe you thought it was a good idea to have travel insurance for your winter ski getaway in the Alps? Maybe not. Often the annual travel insurance that comes with package bank accounts does not cover skiing if it is considered an extreme sport.

So what do you need to do to see if your packaged bank account has been sold to you? Checking if it really covers you is everything.