The National Federation of Consumer Associations (FNAC) is warning against the “unethical” practices of insurance companies regarding travel insurance for Europe. It denounces the non-reimbursement of costs in the event of a visa refusal, which, according to FNAC, would have brought Moroccan insurers nearly 8 million dirhams in 2023. They are also accused of other grievances. Details.
Compulsory travel insurance to apply for a Schengen visa is the subject of discussions between the Insurance and Social Security Control Authority (ACAPS) and the National Federation of Consumer Associations (FNAC).
In a press release published on June 24, FNAC considers that the practices carried out by Moroccan insurers are ‘unfair’ and ‘unacceptable’, in particular due to the absence of reimbursement in the event of visa refusal. “This situation is particularly worrying, because travel insurance is a mandatory condition for obtaining a Schengen visa, thus imposing a significant cost on visa applicants without any guarantee of reimbursement in the event of refusal,” FNAC explained at the time.
However, as FNAC points out in its press release, “the European Union delegation to the Kingdom assured us that companies can reimburse the premium upon presentation of the visa refusal notice and that within the European Union, this service is indeed provided by insurance companies”.
8 MDH could have been reimbursed in 2023
The two bodies met on June 27 to discuss the problem. When contacted, Ouadi Madih, the secretary general of FNAC, informed us that “the work is underway and investigations have been initiated to find a solution to this problem.”
For the moment, ACAPS considers that there are still several parameters to monitor closely, in particular the risk of fraudulent use of the benefit, the problem of taxes that insurers will have to bear, etc.
“We have found this possibility of reimbursement, in the event of refusal, with certain foreign online insurance companies. All you have to do is present them with the refusal document to obtain reimbursement of the costs incurred,” explains the secretary general of FNAC.
What FNAC deplores is the fact of penalizing the majority of applicants for a risk of fraud which is concentrated on a minority. Concerning the harm to the consumer, the body in charge of protecting consumer rights estimates that on average, the cost of compulsory Schengen travel insurance amounts to 700 dirhams.
“We have received 11,300 visa refusals. If you do the calculation with an average cost of travel insurance of 700 dirhams per visa file, we are close to the 8 million dirhams collected unfairly from the insurance companies, since the insurance itself, due to the refusal of the visa, did not come into force”, continues Ouadi Mahdi.
If we apply this method with the number of refusals to the Schengen area observed in 2022, i.e. nearly 127,000 refusals, we obtain a total of 88 MDH collected, which could have been reimbursed.
The insurance subscription money collected by the insurer even though the visa was refused is not the only complaint made by the FNAC. The federation also points out the lack of transparency and flexibility of the offers.
Non-detailed and unsuitable offers over time
Beyond non-reimbursement, several other aspects pose problems regarding compulsory travel insurance under the Schengen visa.
One of the complaints is the duration of the coverage offered by national insurers. This is not flexible to adapt to demand.
“We are going to ask the consumer to look elsewhere and take out insurance that can even be effective for a minimum period of three days from 60 euro cents. Moroccan insurance companies offer 6 and 12 month offers. Other insurance companies offer insurance products from three days. Why should people who have a five-day trip take out travel insurance for a period of 6 months?” asks the secretary general of FNAC.
In fine, For the federation, it is a question of aligning with other insurers, otherwise the Moroccan product will not be requested by consumers. In addition to the duration of insurance coverage, FNAC points out the lack of transparency on the terms of the insurance contract. “ACAPS has been understanding. What we asked is that in front of the customer, a supplier respects our rights and reimburses us in the event of a visa refusal. The most important thing is also the transparency of information. According to experience and the information reported, an insurer does not give the details of the offer to which the customer is about to subscribe. We do not know what is in this document, nor what services are excluded or included”, explains Ouadi Madih.
As for the future, the next steps between FNAC and ACAPS are not clearly defined, but the desire to reach a solution is there, Ouadi Madih tells us. “There is a desire to find a solution to this problem in the coming weeks or months, even if no deadline has been set for the moment. We hope that this does not drag on.”
In a second press release published on June 30, FNAC announced that it will maintain regular dialogue with ACAPS to ensure that the commitments made translate into concrete actions, and that it will continue its efforts to raise awareness among the public and consumers regarding this issue and their rights in terms of travel insurance.
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