Do you want to know if Natwest insurance products fit the bill for you? Great, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve gone to great lengths to bring you this detailed guide. You’ll find juicy details about Natwest membership services benefits, account perks such as phone insurance, and login information. Keep reading to find out more...
History of Natwest
National Westminster Bank is commonly known as Natwest. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 1999, it attempted to merge with the insurance company Legal & General. This plan was thwarted when the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) began its move to take over Natwest. In 2000, RBS was successful in this mission and bought Natwest.
Natwest timeline
- 1968 - Natwest Bank is established.
- 1999 - The chairman announces a merger with Legal & General, the first between a bank and an insurance company. The plan is received badly in London financial markets and doesn’t go ahead for a number of reasons.
- 2000 - Natwest becomes part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. This is the largest takeover in British banking history!
Natwest today
Today, Natwest is considered one of the big four clearing banks in the UK and has over 7.5 million personal customers. It is now part of one of the largest financial services groups in the whole world.
The Natwest brand has become synonymous with cricket and it has sponsored many English teams and tournaments in recent years. Natwest Bank has won the “Your Mortgage Magazine's Best Bank for Mortgages” award 13 times over the last 17 years.
Natwest membership services
If you have a Silver, Platinum or Black account with Natwest, you are entitled to insurance and lifestyle benefits. The benefits you receive will depend on which account you have. Below are a selection of the different benefits you could enjoy:
Silver account benefits- Travel insurance for Europe (see our travel insurance section below for more information).
- Travel money benefits (i.e. 0% commission and preferential exchange rates).
- Mobile phone insurance (see our mobile phone insurance section below for more information).
- Cinema ticket discounts (up to 40% off).
- Tastecard (2 for 1 offers or 50% discount at participating restaurants).
- Worldwide travel insurance (see our travel insurance section below for more information).
- Travel money benefits (i.e. 0% commission and preferential exchange rates).
- Mobile phone insurance (see our mobile phone insurance section below for more information).
- UK car breakdown cover (see our car breakdown cover section below for more information).
- Cinema ticket discounts (up to 40% off).
- Tastecard (2 for 1 offers or 50% discount at participating restaurants).
- Worldwide travel insurance (see our travel insurance section below for more information).
- Travel money benefits (i.e. 0% commission and preferential exchange rates).
- Mobile phone insurance (see our mobile phone insurance section below for more information).
- UK and European car breakdown cover (see our mobile phone insurance section below for more information).
- Access to over 1,000 international airport lounges with Dragon Pass Premier.
- 24/7 concierge service - can help you find hard-to-buy tickets or book a table at a top restaurant anywhere in the world.
- Black ticket service - receive 25% cashback on certain tickets throughout the UK and Ireland.
Natwest policies: car breakdown, home, travel and phone insurance
The Natwest insurance policies available include home, travel, car breakdown, life (which is provided by AIG Life Limited) and phone insurance.
In this section, we will explore the following Natwest Insurance policies: phone, home insurance, travel insurance, and car breakdown cover.
As of 12/01/2017, Natwest no longer offers car insurance. Existing customers continue to have their policies managed as usual.
Natwest phone insurance
You will get Natwest phone insurance for your mobile if you hold a Reward Silver, Reward Platinum or Reward Black account. It is included in your monthly account fee.
You will be covered for loss, theft, damage, breakdown and standard accessories (i.e. charger).
Natwest home insurance
Natwest home insurance policies offer building insurance and contents insurance. You also have the option of combining the two.
- Building insurance - Covers events that damage the structure of your home. This includes cover for alternative accommodation if your home becomes unfit to live in, as a result of the event in your successful claim.
- Contents insurance - This will cover you for loss or damage to your personal belongings. Old contents will be replaced with new items, regardless of wear and tear. Natwest also offers a lighter version for tenants, with a reduced level of cover.
Read our Natwest home insurance guide to find out more (coming soon)!
Natwest travel insurance
Natwest travel insurance policies are included as a benefit with the Silver, Platinum and Black accounts. The cost is included in your monthly fee and if you don’t want the cover you will need to downgrade your account.
Here is an overview of some of the benefits you’ll receive with the different accounts:
The cover is for annual multi-trip, meaning you can take as many trips as you like for that period (maximum number of days for each trip specified below). Emergency medical care, cancellation, baggage, personal accident, personal liability, winter sports, legal expenses and missed or delayed departure cover are included.
You also have the option to add on pre-existing medical conditions, hazardous activities, wedding, golf and business cover. Standard cover is for people up to the age of 70. You will need to purchase an extension for anyone above this age.
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Silver accounts
- Trips in the UK and Europe covered.
- Maximum number of days per trip is 22 days.
- Only account holders are covered.
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Platinum accounts
- Worldwide cover included.
- Maximum number of days per trip is 31 days.
- Cover is for you, your partner and dependent children who are under 18 (or under 23 if they’re in full-time education).
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Black accounts
- Worldwide cover included.
- Maximum number of days per trip is 90 days.
- Cover is for you, your partner and dependent children who are under 18 (or under 23 if they’re in full-time education).
Worldwide medical assistance (Platinum and Black accounts) - If your trip includes Australia and you are injured or need to use the medical system while there, you must enrol at a local Medicare office. You can do this after you have treatment the first time.
Read our Natwest travel insurance guide to find out more (coming soon)!
Natwest car breakdown cover
Car breakdown cover is only included with the Platinum and Black accounts. Natwest’s partner is Green Flag and will help you and your vehicle home or to your preferred location (in the UK).
Here’s a summary of what’s included:
- You can have up to five callouts in one year.
- Cover is for all vehicles that you own and which are registered at your address.
- You are covered anywhere in the UK. With a Black account, you also get vehicle roadside assistance in Europe.
- If repairs can’t be done by the end of the working day, you will receive transportation, a hire car or local overnight accommodation.
In order for the car breakdown cover to be valid, your vehicle must meet all legal requirements and driving laws.
Natwest insurance login
There are a number of Natwest insurance login pages available.
If you hold a Silver, Platinum or Black account, you can log in to the Natwest membership services page, where you can:
- View information about the benefits that are included.
- Use your benefits online.
- See the history of the benefits you have used.
If you have made a home insurance quote, you can log in to retrieve and view it. You just need to enter the following details:
- The email address you used to request the quote.
- Enter four characters from the password you created.
Make a claim for a Natwest insurance product
If you need to make an insurance claim with Natwest, you can do so by using the online form or phoning (see our Natwest contacts page, coming soon).
Natwest insurance phone claim
If you need to make a Natwest insurance phone claim, there are some important steps you should know about.
- You should contact Natwest as soon as you can after you discover your phone is lost, stolen, damaged or broken.
- Furthermore, you should contact your network provider if your phone is lost or stolen as soon as is practical.
- In the event that your phone is stolen, you must report it to the police and take down the crime reference number.
How do I get a quote for a Natwest insurance product?
If you want a quote for Natwest home insurance, you can get a quote online. Simply head to the Natwest home insurance page and click ‘Get a quote’.
You will be prompted to complete a series of questions to help tailor a quote to your needs.
If you want insurance included as part of the Silver, Platinum or Black accounts, there is a set monthly fee.
This will give you access to the range of benefits available to that specific account.
Make a complaint
If you hold a Natwest insurance product and are not happy with the service, you can make a complaint. The easiest way to register a complaint is online.
You can do this by:
- Completing the online form available via the Natwest website. This will email your complaint directly to a complaint handler.
- Contacting the complaints team via WebChat. This service is available from Monday to Saturday, between 8 am and 5:30 pm. In order to use this option, you must be an online banking customer. If you are not, use the online form, as mentioned above.
Natwest insurance reviews: a quick look
We have looked across various sites to see what other customers are saying about Natwest insurance products. The reviews are often tied to other Natwest Bank products, so the overall ratings are not insurance-specific. With that in mind, we have focused on comments that customers made about the insurance division, to help identify what customers like and don’t like.
On Reviews.io, Natwest Bank gets a 1.75/5 star rating. As we mentioned, this is for the whole bank though and not just insurance products. The same is true for the Trustpilot site. On Trustpilot, Natwest receives 1.5/5 stars.
A positive aspect of buying Natwest insurance through a current account is that you can make use of the branches. One very happy customer said that they went into a branch for help with their account and the staff were very helpful providing information about insurance too.
A common complaint on these review sites is around claims. There are reports that it is difficult to get through on the phone and when agents say a customer will receive a response, it is often not done in the timeframe specified. Customers also noted the time it takes to action a claim can be lengthy, although this is subjective as they haven’t identified how long the process took.
Complaints handling
How a company handles complaints can be a valuable indicator of how it views its relationships with customers. The following data is for complaints handled by Natwest Bank from 1 January to 30 June 2019.
| Product/ service grouping | Number of complaints opened | Number of complaints closed | Percentage closed within 3 days | Percentage closed after 3 days but within 8 weeks | Total percentage closed within 8 weeks | Percentage upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance & pure protection | 84,562 | 76,983 | 4% | 88% | 92% | 64% |
As you can see from the above figures, Natwest Bank (insurance and pure protection products) closed 4% of all complaints within three days. Many other insurance companies have a much higher figure here. However, if you look at how many complaints were closed in total within eight weeks (92%), it scores much better and is about average in the market.
The main reason customers complained to Natwest (insurance & pure protection) was regarding unclear guidance/arrangement.
Selectra’s verdict
Natwest Bank is one of the biggest, most successful financial institutions in the UK. This gives it added credibility when it comes to Natwest insurance products. Big companies have many benefits such as economy of scale and this can lead to better value for the consumer.
Natwest offers rewards for customers who do business with them and buy its insurance products. While this is all great news, some customers have still complained that the claims process is not as fast as they would like.
| The Natwest membership services benefits are a big drawcard. You can take advantage of these rewards just for holding a Silver, Platinum or Black account. | The process around claims could be enhanced. It seems waiting times for speaking to an agent can be lengthy, as well as waiting for a claim to be actioned. |
| Customers have had positive experiences in branches with friendly staff who help with queries and organising insurance. If you value a personal, face-to-face touch, this could be for you. | You cannot buy many insurance products separately with Natwest. If you don’t need all the benefits of an account with insurance products then you could end up paying extra. |
Data and information correct as of November 2019.
All material on this page and the selectra.co.uk website is for information purposes only and does not constitute any form of financial advice. Selectra.co.uk is not responsible for any consequences that might arise from your use of the information provided.
Other providers are available and the best deal for you will depend on your individual circumstances. Please do your own research and seek professional advice if necessary (moneyadviceservice.org.uk offers free, independent advice on all financial issues).