Do You Need Travel Insurance in India?

Is It Mandatory to Buy Travel Insurance in India?

Travel Insurance policy is a mandatory document in 34 countries including Cuba, the USA, UAE, and the group of 26 Schengen countries, Ecuador and Galapagos Islands, Antarctica, Qatar, Russia and Turkey. These countries have made it compulsory for international travellers to carry valid insurance documents when visiting their country in order to prevent foreign nationals from ending up in a financial crisis due to unforeseen accidents, medical emergencies, or even loss/theft of luggage.

For the rest of the world, buying travel insurance before you go for Visa approval is not compulsory, but it is not recommended to travel without one reason being:

• Acts as the single reliable source to help you in foreign lands
• Saves you from unforeseen expenses and unplanned liabilities during the trip

Advantages of Carrying Travel Insurance 

Apart from the countries where travel insurance is mandatory, there are many other countries with a very high cost of living including medical treatment bills that can cost as much as your entire travel budget.

Under such circumstances, you would not want to end up in an uncertain situation that leaves you stranded on international boundaries. In such cases, travel insurance helps cover you with:

• It Becomes Your Best Friend in an unknown Territory: 

  Everyone wishes for a perfect trip that can offer great experiences. No matter how meticulously we plan our trip; there are still a lot of unforeseen mishaps that can come across during your trip. This makes one feel extremely vulnerable on foreign boundaries.

  This is where travel insurance comes into need offering 24x7 customer support for hassle-free claims, ensuring that one can enjoy a stress-free vacation and leave the ‘what ifs’ of uncertain situations to their best friend.

• Loss/theft of Luggage: In the unfortunate incident of you losing your luggage, you will receive pre-defined compensation as per the sum insured from your insurance company if you are carrying your travel insurance policy.
• Medical Coverage: 

  The Insurer will compensate you for medical bills arising due to emergency medical treatment or evacuation to your home country. This is one of the most important benefits as the cost of medical treatments on international soil is 3-5 times more than what is offered in India, hence even a less than 24-hour stay might turn out to be expensive on your pocket. Comprehensive travel insurance not only covers life-threatening medical situations but also minor expenses that you would incur as a patient.

  All of this is done on a cashless basis, saving you from leaking expensive foreign currency for your medical emergency. In addition to all this, medical coverage, at times, also includes continued treatment in your home country once you return.

• Flight Delay: The probability of delay of flights is low but no zero. In case of a flight delay, your travel insurance policy will keep you covered. Moreover, flight cancellation due to any reason makes one incur huge losses on pre-booked flights. In such dreaded dilemmas, you can rely on travel insurance as it covers you under such situations.
• Loss of Passport: Your travel insurance company will replace your passport and will provide you with emergency monetary assistance in case of the loss of passport along with your wallet.
• Compensation for Personal Liability: In case there is damage to property, injuries caused, or even death to a third party involuntarily by the policyholder, the insurance company will compensate their liability in case they hold valid travel insurance.
• Protect your Whole Family with a Single Plan: A premium travel plan does not only offer comprehensive coverage and a host of benefits but also covers all your family members under 1 policy in case they are travelling with you, mitigating travel risks for the whole family.
• Miscellaneous Benefits: Apart from the above, you also get a host of other benefits with travel insurance including repatriation, emergency medical treatment, distress allowance in the case of a hijack, etc. 

Travel insurance is certainly not mandatory everywhere, so make sure that you check with the embassy for the requirement before you go in for Visa approval.

In case the country you are going to visit does not mandatorily require you to furnish a travel insurance document, we will still strongly suggest you invest in one before leaving for your favorite vacation because of the many benefits it comes with, ensuring that you experience a safe, secure and stress-free vacation.

To Conclude

Investing in travel insurance certainly comes with a host of benefits, however, whether you are buying domestic travel insurance or international travel insurance, make sure that you thoroughly check and compare all the benefits offered by multiple insurance companies and then buy travel insurance for your next trip.

Bon Voyage!