How Does Travel Insurance Helps During Trip Delay & Cancellation?

What is Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance safeguards the insured traveller against any unpredictable adverse situations and any losses arising out of them. Buying good travel insurance is essential before any travel, especially foreign travel, to keep yourself protected against any eventualities. There are tonnes of insurance providers in the market who provide different types of travel insurances, including international travel insurance, domestic travel insurance, student travel insurance and multi-trip travel insurance. Travel insurance India plans cover the following risks:

• Check-in baggage loss/ delay
• Hospitalization due to accidents and medical illness
• Trip delays, cancellations, curtailment or rescheduling
• Flight cancellations and delays
• Missed connection flights
• Personal liabilities
• Financial Emergency and many more

Whether you are travelling within India or abroad, you can buy travel insurance online to protect yourselves from any unforeseen medical, travel-related or financial emergencies. Moreover, you can choose a travel insurance policy as per your requirements. For instance, Senior Citizen Travel Insurance plans have been specifically designed for elderly people over the age of 65 as it offers greater coverage from any medical and other kinds of emergencies which they are more likely to face.

Buying travel insurance is not compulsory. However, many countries have made it compulsory to obtain a valid travel insurance policy in order to travel to that country. For example, people wanting to travel to any of the Schengen countries are required to possess travel insurance in order to obtain a Schengen visa.

What Travel-Related Claims Can Be Made Under Travel Insurance?

It is not uncommon for flights to get cancelled or delayed. Weather conditions fluctuate a lot and airlines change flight timings accordingly to avoid any eventualities. Any subsequent losses can be compensated if you have travel insurance.

Besides, travelling to far-off destinations involves taking multiple flights. If the layover time is not sufficiently long, you may end up missing your flight. But if you have travel insurance, you can claim such losses without any hassle.

There can be situations where you might have to reschedule your trip due to an unforeseen personal emergency. Any expenses that you may incur in the modification of travel dates will be covered by travel insurance India plans.

Similarly, if you need to evacuate the country that you are visiting urgently due to any medical, personal or political emergencies, the expenses can be claimed from your travel insurance company.

However, the extent of coverage and policy terms varies for different types of travel insurance policies such as student travel insurance, international travel insurance or domestic travel insurance. Make sure to read all the terms and conditions carefully before you purchase any travel insurance policy.

All insurance providers advise the insured travellers to make efforts to resume the trip as per their original plan in case of trip interruption or delay. Moreover, keep all the receipts with you as it is important to be able to register a claim later.

What Happens When a Trip Gets Delayed, Cancelled or Rescheduled?

Trip Delay:

Whether you buy travel insurance online or offline, the trip delay benefit will cover any expenses incurred. The insurance provider will reimburse all expenses you had to incur due to such delays. Moreover, you cannot rely on the reimbursement by the airlines as the compensation amount is very less.  However, the reason for the delay should be one of the listed reasons for trip delay under your travel insurance plan. Travel insurance India plans cover trip delay reasons such as delay by the airlines, delay due to loss to travel documents, etc.

The reimbursement will include the costs for accommodation, meals, transportation and communication. Most plans have a minimum time period stated in their plans to be eligible to receive a reimbursement for the flight delay. The reimbursements will be provided only for the basic accommodation & meal costs and not for any lavish 5-star hotel accommodations.

Trip Reschedule:

What if you have to cut short your trip due to an emergency or have to extend your stay for a couple of days more. Rescheduling your travel plans involves alterations of flight and hotel bookings leading to additional expenses. But if you have travel insurance, your insurer will cover such expenses if the reason for your trip rescheduling is listed under your travel insurance plan. Some of the most common reasons for rescheduling a trip includes medical illness or injury, the occurrence of a natural disaster making your destination inhabitable, etc.

Make sure to inform your insurance provider about the need for trip rescheduling as soon as possible. The insured must also inform his hotel, airlines, cruise ship operators and tour operators about the rescheduling of the trip.

Trip Cancellation:

Trip cancellation includes situations where you have to cancel your trip right before the commencement of the trip. All expenses arising due to trip cancellation will be covered by your travel insurance. Some of the covered reasons for trip cancellation includes medical emergency in the family, illness or accident of the traveller, occurrence of natural calamities, etc. Moreover, reimbursements are also provided for any prepaid or non-refundable expenses such as air tickets, cruise tickets, hotel reservations, etc.

Similar to trip rescheduling, you need to inform your insurance company about the trip cancellation at the earliest, usually 72 hours. You should also timely inform the airlines, cruise ship operators, hotel and tour operators about the cancellation of your trip.

No matter if you delay your trip, reschedule or cancel it altogether. All expenses that you may incur will be reimbursed if you have a travel insurance policy. So get yourself a travel insurance policy online or by contacting an agent offline.