Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance Plan Inclusions

Just like packing essentials and booking comfortable flights and hotels, understand the risks you must prepare for. You should know what your travel insurance plan will protect you from. These are listed as 'inclusions' in all insurance policy wordings. Here are the common inclusions under travel insurance plans to keep in mind before purchasing:

• Medical Coverage

  The cost of medical care abroad is a lot higher than what we pay in India. Especially when you have a budget to stick to, getting injured or suddenly falling sick is seriously disappointing. On top of falling sick, there are extra (and often high) expenses that you did not consider. This is where your travel insurance coverage will have your back:

  Medical Emergencies

  If you need treatment abroad, you don't have to worry about high costs. Your travel insurance for abroad from India will cover them in case of an accident or sudden illness. Many Indian insurers also offer cashless travel insurance. Your insurer can settle the treatment expenses directly at the network hospital through this.

  Medical Evacuation or Repatriation

  Evacuation is a necessary expense if you need help with treatment abroad but it isn't readily available. In such cases, you will be evacuated to the nearest available facility. In case of unfortunate death abroad, the mortal remains are repatriated to India. Your travel insurance policy will cover both costs as per coverage.

• Journey Coverage

  The best travel insurance plan from India will help you in many other ways, such as:

  Travel Assistance

  In a new city or a new country, your travel insurance plan will help with every urgent assistance. This can range from customer support to getting a list of network hospitals in that country most convenient for you.

  Policy Extension

  Your travel policy has a fixed period and ends when you return from the trip. If your trip is extended for valid reasons, your insurance for foreign travel can be extended. This is only allowed for a fixed period and under valid scenarios.

  Flight Delays

  The travel policy will cover extra costs if your flight is delayed for specified reasons.

• COVID-19 Coverage

  The devastation during COVID-19 is hard to forget. Especially when you have travel plans in place, getting infected with coronavirus can affect all your plans and budget. Travel insurance with covid coverage offers some respite in case your travel plans are hindered by COVID-19. Most insurers will cover the following under travel insurance with COVID coverage:

  Trip Cancellation

  Travel insurance with COVID-19 coverage helps reimburse many trip costs in case of hospitalisation because of corona. You can get reimbursement for unused trip expenses if you or your immediate family member is hospitalised.

  Medical Expenses

  If you buy COVID-19 travel insurance, you can covered for related treatment expenses.

• Baggage Coverage

  With airlines misplacing baggage so often, it's only fitting that there is a safeguard you can turn to. Many travellers insurance policies also offer the benefits of flight travel insurance like the following:

  Covers Lost Baggage

  Flights may misplace or damage luggage. A travel insurance plan will help you with necessary personal expenses like clothing, medicines, and toiletries.

  Covers Delayed Baggage

  Your tourist insurance will cover the purchase of necessary items in case of check-in baggage delay.

• Add-On Covers/Optional Covers

  You can also personalise your travel insurance for improved benefits. These extra benefits, also called ‘add-ons,' come at an extra premium.
  If you need specific protection, then these optionals will go a long way to protect you:

  Adventure Sports Cover

  This add-on will let you freely enjoy winter sports, adventure activities, etc., along with your insurance policy for travelling abroad. With this cover, your policy will reimburse stated hospitalisation expenses because of these activities.

  Home Burglary/Fire Insurance

  This cover protects you from any loss caused by a break-in, theft, or fire while you are on a trip abroad.

  Emergency Hotel Accommodation

  This optional offers hotel stay insurance benefits if your trip extends for any urgent reason. However, this is a limited coverage that is only provided by a handful of travel insurers.

  Please note that the exact benefits vary between insurers. Similarly, travel insurance premiums will also vary from insurer to insurer. Ensure a travel insurance price comparison before you pick a good comprehensive travel insurance in India.

Travel Insurance Plan Exclusions

Ignoring situations not covered under a travel insurance plan is one of the biggest reasons for claim rejection. Understanding exclusions before buying a travel insurance plan will save you from financial regrets later.

Knowing your policy exclusions also help you decide if the travel insurance quote for your choice is worth your budget. Most travel insurance companies in India don’t cover claims because of the following reasons:

• Medical Exclusions

  • Any expense incurred abroad if travelling against the doctor's advice
  • Expenses for injuries or sickness caused because of intoxication or under alcohol influence
  • Treatment costs incurred because of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) and mental/nervous disorders
  • Unless purchasing an add-on, claims related to pregnancy or related complications
  • Treatment expenses because of alternative treatments such as Homoeopathy, Naturopathy, or Ayurveda
  • Any claims related to cosmetic or plastic surgery
  • Treatment for self-inflicted injuries, including attempts to suicide or suicide
  • Most insurers in India don't offer coverage for pre-existing issues or diseases. Coverage is available with Pre-existing diseases add-on.

• Baggage Exclusions

  • Baggage loss in case luggage is shipped separately or unaccompanied
  • Some policies don't cover cases beyond the specified geographic region
  • Delay or failure in reporting the lost luggage to the relevant authorities

• Journey Exclusions

  • Any claims arising from dependency on intoxicants, such as alcohol or drugs
  • Claims arising from participation in adventure sports and other winter sports. Coverage for mountaineering, bike races, scuba diving, etc. is available only with specific add-ons
  • Loss caused by involvement in illegal activities, theft, felony, etc.
  • Damage because of dangerous or hazardous work

• Other Exclusions

  • Claims arising because of war-like circumstances, as well as a civil war in the country that you are visiting
  • All insurers may not always cover claims from terrorist attacks in your destination city or country.
  • Cost of duplicate/new passport if the original was lost and left unattended.

Travelling after months of planning and savings is one of the best feelings. However, one thing travellers easily dismiss is insuring their trip. Travel insurance is a backup during financial difficulties along with 24X7 global support if you need it.

Sadly, many misconceptions about travel insurance discourage people from buying it. We have covered a few of these travel insurance-related myths, along with the proven facts!

• I don't have any Health Issues, so Travel Insurance is Useless!

  Your travel insurance covers a lot more than your physical well-being. It also covers several trip- and stay-related complications that can cost you a lot of money abroad! These can include passport loss, a missed flight, or accidentally damaging someone’s property.

  Even if you’re fit and fine, nobody can control an accident or a mishap while travelling. In such cases, you’re better off with a travel insurance policy.

• Travel Insurance is Only Useful for Frequent Travellers!

  Your frequency of travel is unrelated to risks you may face abroad. Frequent travellers or not, you should absolutely safeguard your trip every time you travel.

  Those going for single-trip travel insurance can get good benefits without compromising their budget. Benefits like trip cancellation, emergency hospitalisation and many others will surely make your trip stress-free.

• I Can Report Any Accident & File a Claim Once I'm Back in India.

  Even if you are on a short trip abroad, you shouldn't wait to return home to file a claim or report to your insurer. This includes getting into an accident, losing your wallet, missing bags, stolen passports, etc.

  Most insurers need you to inform them about an incident within 24-48 hours. You also need to report these incidents to the police or other local authorities so that you can file a claim back home.

  What's more, many insurers won't entertain any claims after a certain period. Generally, this is not more than 31 days after you have returned to India.

• Old People Can't Buy Travel Insurance Policies!

  Just because there’s a general age bracket for eligibility, nobody can deny senior travellers travel insurance protection! Standard plans are available for people aged anywhere between 6 months to 60 years. But you will find plans specially made for senior travellers above 71 years.

  Many senior citizen travel insurance plans in India are available for older travellers. Some insurers don’t even have an upper age limit, so you can easily find these travel insurance online.

• It's Just a 3-day Trip, I Don't Need to Waste Money on Travel Insurance!

  No matter how short or long your trip is, bad weather, medical emergencies, baggage loss can happen to anyone. Facing such issues on a shorter trip can sour the entire experience. To avoid this, why not let travel insurance take care of it? If you have budget restraints, you can easily find cheap travel insurance online that perfectly fits your budget!

• Travel Insurance Always Reject Claims!

  Insurers reject claims because of incorrect/misleading information or if a claim is beyond the plan coverage. Most travel insurers in India provide all the scenarios where you don't get insurance coverage. Insurers also reject your claims if they are related to an undeclared pre-existing condition before policy purchase. Unless you’ve bought a policy that covers PED, the insurer will reject any claim related to them.

• Common Travel Insurance Terms

  Here are some simplified terms to understand travel insurance wordings better:

  • Sum Insured - In case of any insured emergency, your insurer will give you a certain amount of money. This is also the maximum amount that your insurer will pay you. You are entitled to this amount, which is the maximum coverage under your travel insurance plan.
  • Reimbursement - This is a common way of claim settlement. After paying emergency expenses out of your pocket you can get that money reimbursed once you return. All reimbursement is as per the limits of your travel insurance policy.
  • Single-Trip Insurance Plans - If you’re not a frequent traveller, you’re likelier to have a single-trip insurance plan. This plan provides coverage for only one trip up to the determined date.
  • Multi-Trip Insurance Plans - People who travel frequently can opt for this plan. Multi-trip insurance covers all the trips for a fixed period. This is usually for a duration of 1 year but can vary with plans.
  • Family Travel Insurance Plans - As the name says, family travel insurance is a plan designed for families. Anyone can buy this for spouses, dependent children, and older parents.
  • Sub-limits - These are additional limitations under any coverage offered by your travel insurance plan. Sub-limits apply to some insurable losses; exceeding them will require you to pay the difference. For example, hospital room rent, ambulance charges, etc., have a fixed limit. If you exceed this limit, you must pay an additional amount.
  • Deductible - In some cases, you may have to pay the initial expenses during an emergency. These out of your pocket expenses are non-reimbursable. This non-reimbursable amount is known as deductible. Your insurer will reimburse the remaining expenses.
  • Cashless Settlement - The insurer directly settles your medical/hospitalisation expenses when you visit their network hospital.
  • Common Carrier - Any organisation like commercial airline or cruise. It must deal with people and cargo travel between different cities or countries.
  • Condition Precedent - A predetermined condition based on which the insurer agrees to offer coverage to the insured.
  • Equipment Failure - An unexpected breakdown or malfunction of the common carrier’s equipment. This can cause an interruption or delay of the scheduled trip of the insured.
  • Grace Period - This feature is only available in multi-trip or group plans. An extended period, right after the due date of the insurance premium. The insured can pay this due premium in this window. This provides them continued protection of the travel insurance plan.
  • Hospitalisation - When the insured is admitted into a hospital or a medical facility. Must be for the mentioned minimum duration to receive medical care. The time must exceed 24 hours.
  • Immediate Family Member - Refers to the legal relatives of the insured person. This includes legal relations, like parents, spouse’s parents, spouse, legal children, siblings, legal guardian, etc., residing in India.
  • Insured Journey - This means the duration of the valid policy term purchased. For insurers this is the time between the insured departure and return. It can also be on the day their plan expires, whichever is sooner.
  • Insured Person - The individual who has purchased the travel insurance plan. Must be a permanent resident or citizen of India.
  • Land/Sea Arrangements - Includes travel arrangements paid for in advance and made for the insured’s scheduled trip. Planned by a travel agent or other tour operating organisation buying travel insurance plan.
  • Medical Expenses - This means the expenses incurred by the insured person because of a sudden illness or injury. A qualified doctor or medical practitioner must advise the required medical treatment.
  • Medically Necessary - All tests, treatments, or hospitalisation necessary for the insured’s medical condition. Refers to the medical care and management of an injury/illness based on the advice of a medical practitioner.
  • Notification of Claim - A necessary step for the insured in case they need to raise a claim. The insured must inform their insurer about the claim.
  • Pre-Existing Condition - Refers to any injury, disease, or other related condition before policy issuance. If the insured has received medical treatment for the condition, they should inform the insurance company.
  • Room Rent - In the case of hospitalisation, the daily cost an individual must pay to occupy their hospital bed. The hospital or medical facility charges fix this room rent.
  • Serious Injury/Sickness - A situation when an injury or sickness threatens the insured. A qualified physician must declare this, stating that it is harmful to the insured’s life.
  • Subrogation - When the insurer takes legal measures against a third party on insured's behalf. This happens if the third party has caused loss or injury to the insured person.
  • Travelling Companion - Usually, two other people and the policyholder for the journey have booked travel tickets.

Travel Insurance - FAQs

• Q. Why Do I Need Travel Insurance?

  Ans: Travel insurance plans protect you from many financial burdens caused by various travel-related emergency issues.

• Q. What is a pre-existing condition for travel?

  Ans: Pre-existing conditions are the ones that you have been diagnosed with or are getting treated for. This includes diabetes, high BP, thyroid etc. Most Indian travel insurance companies don’t cover pre-existing diseases. However, you can buy an add-on PED cover before travelling abroad.

• Q. Can I purchase travel insurance online for someone unrelated to me?

  Ans: No. You can only purchase it for yourself and your parents, spouse, and children.

• Q. Can the insurer withdraw travel insurance at any point?

  Ans: Yes. Travel insurance companies can withdraw insurance plans if approved by the IRDAI. The traveller will receive a notice about the withdrawal at least 3 months before the expiry of the policy. In case of withdrawal, the insured can continue with their ongoing policy until its expiry date.

• Q. Why should you buy travel insurance online?

  Ans: Buying travel insurance online saves time and gets you the best travel insurance plan. You can take your time understanding and comparing the available travel insurance plans without paying extra commissions.

• Q. Will my policy offer trip cancellation insurance in case of hospitalisation?

  Ans: Yes. However, most policies only approve a claim if you or an immediate family member were hospitalised.

• Q. I have both travel insurance and medicare, so which one will be applicable during my trip?

  Ans: Your medicare is only applicable while you are if you're travelling in India and face emergency treatment expenses. However, only your travel insurance policy will be valid if you are abroad.

• Q. How much will travel insurance online cost me?

  Ans: The cost will vary with country, insurer, and your needs. Other factors like age, trip duration and underlying conditions will also determine the final premium. For a better idea, use a travel insurance premium calculator.

• Q. What's the best travel insurance?

  Ans: The best travel insurance policy depends on your budget and requirements. Depending on budget, duration and needs.

• Q. Can I buy travel insurance after departure?

  Ans: No, you can't buy travel insurance plan without exact trip duration, PEDs and the country you plan to visit. For this, you must buy travel insurance online as soon as you have booked your tickets or hotels.

• Q. Will my Travel Insurance Policy Cover any Pre-Existing Diseases?

  Ans: Yes, many travel insurance cover PED or pre-existing diseases.

• Q. Can I take travel insurance after booking my flight or hotel?

  Ans: Definitely, in fact, it is suggested to buy travel insurance in India once your bookings are complete. This will help you get coverage for flight cancellations or bounced bookings later.

• Q. Will I get a refund if I cancel my travel insurance policy?

  Ans: Yes, you can apply for a cancellation and get a refund. However, this is possible only for certain scenarios like visa denial, during free look period, or trip cancellation. Most travel insurance companies refund on a pro-rata basis.

• Q. Is a checkup needed before I buy travel insurance policy?

  Ans: No. You don't need to get a pre-policy check-up for travel insurance from India. However, people with PEDs or old travellers may need a checkup.

• Q. Is there a timeframe to file a claim under my travel insurance?

  Ans: Yes. Some insurers only process claims filed within 28-31 days of returning to India. The time frame will vary from policy to policy.

• Q. Is prior approval from the insurer required before proceeding with treatment abroad?

  Ans: Unless you opt for cashless hospitalisation, you don't need prior approval. You can confirm and proceed accordingly if you need more coverage.

• Q. Is travel insurance mandatory for everyone?

  Ans: No, insurance for trips is not mandatory for everyone unless a country states so. For example, a travel insurance is mandatory to get visas for 30+ countries.

• Q. Where can I get the list of network hospitals for my travel insurance?

  Ans: You can head to your insurer's website to get a list of network hospitals. All insurers provide contact details across various countries. You can also call Policybazaar if you need help locating nearby network hospitals.

• Q. How do I compare travel insurance plans online?

  Ans: You should compare travel insurance plans in India to find the best option. Consider the coverage, cost and exclusions to know what you're getting.

• Q. Do I need to be in India to get a travel policy issued?

  Ans: Yes. You can't buy a policy if you have already left India.

• Q. What if I lose all original documents while travelling abroad?

  Ans: You should report to the local police immediately and inform the insurer as soon as possible. Insurance for travel abroad can also pay for reimbursement for some documents in case of theft or loss. These include international driving licence, passport etc.

• Q. When is the best time to purchase a travel insurance policy?

  Ans: As soon as you're done with flight ticket and hotel bookings, you should buy insurance for travel abroad

• Q. What is a covered reason for trip cancellation?

  Ans: You can get trip cancellation coverage in case of hospitalisation or death of an immediate family member is one of these.

• Q. What credit cards offer free travel insurance?

  Ans: Many credit cards in India come with travel insurance coverage. These credit card travel insurance cover issues like emergency hospitalisation, air accidents, etc. A few also cover the loss of travel documents.

• Q. If I take a travel policy for 2 months, can I extend it later, as per my requirement?

  Ans: Yes, as long as you clearly inform your travel insurance company within the necessary timeline.

• Q. Do I need to buy travel insurance for short trips as well?

  Ans: Definitely! Long trip or short, a mishap only needs minutes at times.

• Q. Can travellers with Hypertension/Diabetes purchase travel insurance plans?

  Ans: Yes, you can buy travel insurance with pre-existing disease coverage. The premium may be higher, but it is available in India.

• Q. Is travel insurance from India useful for frequent travellers?

  Ans: Absolutely. Frequent Indian travellers are prone to risks like infections, baggage delays missed connecting flights and many issues. They can add to their already high travel costs. They can get an annual plan and save time, money and inconvenience at a one-time expense.

• Q. What are some tips for purchasing the cheapest travel insurance online?

  Ans: Travel insurance comparison is the most important tip. You can also look for affordable plans by opting for base plans instead of expensive variants.

• Q. Is EUR 30,000 coverage mandatory for travelling to Schengen countries?

  Ans: Yes, this is the minimum coverage amount required for travel insurance plans for Indians travelling to this area.

• Q. How much is the 30,000 Euro travel insurance cost in India?

  Ans: The premium will depend on your age, trip duration and coverage.

• Q. Can I buy insurance if I am going on a work permit abroad?

  Ans: Yes. Chances of falling sick due to climate change, seasonal sickness & accidents are higher if you stay abroad for a long time. Plenty of plans are available for Indians going abroad for work and business.

• Q. Will the travel insurance cover the expenses towards the new passport loss incurred in India?

  Ans: : No. Travel insurance will only cover issues faced while on your trip abroad. Travel insurance plan does not cover passport loss in India.

• Q. What is the best place to buy travel insurance?

  Ans: : You can buy travel insurance either from Policybazaar.com or directly from the insurer of your choice.

• Q. How much does travel insurance cost for 2 weeks?

  Ans: : The premium depends on your travel destination and duration. You can find plans starting as low as INR 30/day on Policybazaar.com

• Q. Would I be reimbursed for the expenses abroad if I go specifically to get treatment abroad?

  Ans: No, you can't get coverage for treatment abroad unless it is an emergency or you are in a critical stage. If you have an undeclared PED, your insurer will not reimburse you.

• Q. Is it safe to buy travel insurance online?

  Ans: : Absolutely! Make sure to buy from reputable insurers after thorough research.

• Q. When is FIR required for a travel insurance claim?

  Ans: Baggage theft, mugging, and accidents require an FIR for insurance claim procedure.

• Q. What do I do if I fall sick when I am travelling abroad?

  Ans: You should immediately get assistance from local authorities and inform your insurer. You can contact the TPA services directly or call the insurer's toll-free helpline. They will help you process your request and even provide a list of network hospitals in that country.

• Q. What insurance do I need when travelling?

  Ans: This depends on your trip purpose and needs; if you are going to study abroad, then you must buy student travel insurance. For leisure trips, you can buy travel health insurance covering major emergencies.