What is Travel Insurance
As the name suggests, Travel Insurance caters to losses arising during a travel period and destination(s) for which the insurance is purchased.
It can be classified as :
- International Travel
- Covers multiple aspects of international travel
- Domestic Travel
- Typically only covers losses arising out of accident or delay in the mode of transport like flight or train etc.
International Travel Insurance
Buying an international travel insurance policy offers much peace of mind 0on your trip abroad. A comprehensive travel insurance coverage includes, but may not be limited to:
- Medical expenses
- Includes medical emergencies and hospitalization
- Medication
- Cashless facility in network hospitals
- Special provisions for senior citizens
- Dental expenses due to emergencies
- Personal Accident
- Loss of Passport
- Loss of checked-in baggage
- Loss/theft of personal belongings
- Trip cancellation or curtailment
- Flight delays and missed connections
- Home insurance back home (optional and limited)
Please check the details of a particular policy before buying. The above information is only for illustrative purposes.
A special type of international travel insurance is Schengen insurance. Unlike typical policies that cover one nation at a time, this covers travel in the entire Schengen region.
No one wants trouble in a foreign land. To ensure you can focus on making happy memories, please ensure you have a valid comprehensive travel insurance plan before you take off.
Domestic Travel Insurance
It protects travellers against unforeseen circumstances like accidents during the journey, medical emergencies, loss of baggage, personal accident etc.
A popular way of selling domestic travel insurance these days is via the ticket sellers/aggregators these days. For a very small amount, you can purchase a basic policy along with your ticket, that covers you during that particular journey.
For details, please connect with your insurer.
Travel insurance is also sold and classified as per the type of traveller/group. Some of these are:
- Family group insurance
- It’s available for the main insured, spouse and dependent children, either as individual coverage amounts or under a floater policy coverage.
- Senior Citizen travel insurance
- It’s especially designed to support travellers above the age of 60
- Student travel insurance
- It’s a student friendly plan that is relatively long term (up to 2 years at a time) compared to regular short duration travel policies
- Apart from basic coverage listed above, it also protects the students from loss of sponsor for any reason, study interruption, bail bond, two way visit on grounds of compassion and more. Please contact your insurer for details
- Corporate travel insurance
- This is available to corporate buyers and typically covers multiple journeys up to 1 year at a time
- Group Travel Insurance
- A comprehensive plan offered to people travelling in a group. It could be for organized tours, pilgrimage, training tours etc.
- Medical travel insurance
- It offers much more extensive medical coverage compared to a regular comprehensive travel plan
- Apart from hospitalization and other related expenses, it also covers medical evacuation expenses, cost of repatriation of mortal remains and others
Not all travel insurance plans are designed equal. They may also vary in their coverage by validity, such as:
- Single trip travel insurance
- Multi-trip travel insurance: It’s quite useful for frequent travellers/flyers
Exclusions
However, please note that there are certain exclusions of trave insurance plans and you must be careful about these. Any claims arising out of the following will generally not be honoured:
- Liquor, drugs
- War, Civil War, Terrorism
- HIV AIDS
- Alternative (non- Allopathic) treatment
- Cosmetic treatment
- Adventure sports
- Suicide or self-inflicted injury
- Pre-existing diseases
- Loss of passport due to leaving it unattended
- Travelling against medical advice
However some of these exclusions may get included upon purchase of special plans that include these, such as claims arising as a result of adventure sports, visiting war-torn countries, pre-existing diseases etc.
You are advised to very carefully scrutinize options if any of these fit your bill.
A good travel insurance plan can mitigate much risk when you are travelling for work, holiday or other purposes. Please think of all possible scenarios and consult your trave insurance provider for details.
Travel insurance can be bought easily online.
For a list of companies offering travel insurance along with details, click here
