Travel Health Insurance

What is Travel Health Insurance?

International travel and health insurance is a travel insurance policy that is helpful during medical emergencies while you’re on a trip abroad. It is a no-brainer that healthcare costs abroad are much more than that in India. If the insured is hospitalised abroad for something as common as viral fever, it can cause a big dent in the trip budget.

In short, a travel health insurance policy takes care of your medical expenses ensuring stress-free travel. Travel medical insurance from India can be purchased by different travellers and is available in the following types:

• Single trip travel insurance
• Multi-trip travel insurance
• Family travel insurance
• Student travel insurance
• Senior citizen travel insurance

Some insurers also provide specific travel medical insurance for employment abroad. Regardless of age and purpose of travelling, you can buy foreign travel medical insurance in India for the trip.

Why Buy a Travel and Health Insurance Plan?

Travel medical insurance is essential for all kinds of travellers, no matter their trip duration or destination. International health insurance is ideal for people seeking overseas medical coverage only.

An overseas traveller should buy a comprehensive travel and health insurance policy as most travel and health insurance only cover medical and accidental emergencies. It is good to buy comprehensive overseas travel and medical insurance with coverage for travel-related emergencies like trip delays, baggage insurance, missed connection flights, etc.

For people who only wish to be covered for any medical emergency expenses and other trip-related coverage is not their priority, foreign travel health insurance works best. It also makes sense if they are already covered for travel and flight-related adversities by other means, such as credit card travel insurance or another policy like corporate insurance. Such travellers can consider their options and buy a travel health insurance policy online for their overseas trip.

Key Features of Travel Health Insurance in India

Following are some of the travel health coverage benefits of buying an international trip medical insurance policy:

• Provides cashless hospitalization facility
• Available for occasional travellers and frequent flyers
• Offers 24x7 medical assistance
• Mostly offers global coverage
• Covers individual as well as families
• No pre-policy medical check-up for up to 70 years as per the plan

Travel Health Insurance Coverage

International trip health insurance policy or medical travel insurance financially protects overseas travellers against the following adversities:

• Medical Illness Treatment
  Any emergency medical expenses that the insured traveller may incur on the treatment of a sudden illness during the trip will be covered under foreign travel medical insurance policy. Some insurers may also cover pre and post hospitalisation expenses up to a fixed number of days.
• Personal Accident
  If the insured meets with an accident on the trip, this medical travel insurance policy will bear the treatment expenses. It will also provide compensation if the insured suffers from any partial or permanent disability due to the accidental injury.
• Emergency Medical Evacuation
  International trip health insurance policy will rescue the insured traveller in case they need to be evacuated urgently to the nearest medical help. It will cover the transportation costs involved, i.e., ambulance or air ambulance charges, depending on the coverage.
• Emergency Dental Treatment
  If the insured traveller takes any treatment for emergency dental pain relief during the trip abroad, then it will be covered by the medical travel insurance policy.

Additional Coverage of Travel Health Insurance

A handful of travel insurers in India also offer other kinds of coverage under travel medical insurance. While some insurers may offer these covers under basic coverage, other travel insurance companies may provide these covers on the payment of an additional premium amount. Take a look at some of the additional covers available under an international trip health insurance policy:

• Pre-Existing Diseases Cover
  If the insured traveller takes medical treatment for any pre-existing diseases or medical conditions, the travel insurance provider will cover the treatment expenses under this cover.
• Flight Delays
  If the scheduled flight of the insured traveller gets delayed for more than a specified number of hours, then the insurer will compensate them for any losses incurred under the international trip health insurance policy.
• Personal Liability
  In case a legal liability is imposed on the insured traveller during their trip for causing injuries or damages to a third party, overseas travel and medical insurance will help pay compensation on behalf of the insured.

Travel Insurance Companies in India

Various public and private insurance companies are rolling out competitive travel health insurance plans with a range of attractive covers. Take a look at some of the leading insurance companies that offer travel health insurance plans in India:

*Disclaimer: The list of insurers mentioned are arranged according to the alphabetical order of the names of insurers respectively.For more details on the features, benefits offered terms and conditions, please read the sales brochure carefully before concluding a sale.Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by any insurer. The list of plans listed here comprise of insurance products offered by all the insurance partners of Policybazaar. For complete list of insurers in India refer to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India website www.irdai.gov.in

Exclusions of Travel Health Insurance Policy

Most travel medical insurance policies do not cover the following events or situations:

• Travelling Against Medical Advice - If the insured is travelling against the doctor’s advice, then the travel insurance with health coverage will not pay for any medical expenses incurred during the trip.
• Pre-existing Diseases - Most travel insurance companies do not provide coverage for any pre-existing medical condition or illness under travel health insurance plans unless purchased as an add-on cover for PED coverage.
• Consumption of Intoxicants - Any medical expenses incurred on the treatment of an illness or injury arising due to the consumption of intoxicants, such as alcohol and drugs, will not be covered.
• War or Civil Unrest - Any injury or illness of the insured traveller resulting due to events, such as war, an act of war, protest, strike, terrorism, etc., will not be covered under travel medical insurance policy.
• Cosmetic Treatment - No medical expenses incurred on cosmetic treatment and the insurance provider will cover surgery.
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV AIDS - If the insured traveller receives treatment for any sexually transmitted diseases or HIV AIDS while travelling, the expenses incurred will be excluded under this policy.
• Self-inflicted Injury - In case the insured traveller takes medical treatment for any self-inflicted injuries, such as suicide or attempt to suicide, it will not be covered by the travel health insurance policy.
• Alternative Treatment - If the insured traveller receives treatment through Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Siddha and Unani during the trip, then the insurance provider will not cover the expenses incurred.
• Adventure Sports - Most insurance companies do not cover any expenses incurred on the treatment of any injury or illness arising due to participation in adventure sports activities, such as rafting and skiing, during the trip.
• Mental Disorders - If the insured travellers take treatment for any medical disorders during the trip, then the medical expenses incurred will not be covered under the travel medical insurance policy.

Benefits of Travel Health Insurance Policy

Travelling is full of uncertainties; with the change in climate and exertion involved, the chances of a traveller getting ill increase leaps and bounds. Travel health coverage benefits travellers who unexpectedly fall sick or meet with an accident during their trip. Here are some of the ways through which a travel medical insurance policy can benefit a traveller:

• Emergency Medical Expenses
  If the insured traveller gets ill or meets with an accident and require hospitalisation, international trip health insurance policy will cover all the expenses incurred on the treatment. Most international health insurance plans cover pre and post-hospitalisation expenses as well as ambulance charges. Moreover, travel medical insurance provides compensation if the insured suffers from temporary or permanent disability.
• Medical Assistance at Remote Areas
  This type of travel medical insurance can be quite useful if the insured travels to a remote area with poor healthcare services. The insurance provider will evacuate the traveller to the nearest hospital in case they require emergency medical assistance.
• Coverage for Each Traveller
  No matter where a traveller is going and for what purpose, a travel health insurance policy will provide coverage to all kinds of travellers. From individuals to families and senior citizens to students, every traveller can opt for protection under this medical travel insurance policy. Even people who travel frequently to different places abroad are protected under travel medical insurance policy.
• Travel Stress-Free
  A trip can become quite stressful if someone gets ill or injured in an accident. However, people with travel medical insurance can travel without a worry as they are covered for any unforeseen medical emergency under the policy.

How to Buy Travel Health Insurance?

A travel health insurance policy can be purchased both online and offline. People who want to buy travel insurance offline can visit the nearest branch of the insurance company. People who want to buy travel health insurance online can follow the steps given below:

• Visit the official website of Policybazaar Insurance Broker Private Limited
• Go to the option of buying travel insurance
• Fill in the online application form with the required details such as travel dates, destination, email id, etc.
• Select the international health insurance plan to buy
• Pay the premium amount online
• The traveller will receive a soft copy of the policy document in the email.

You can also buy travel and medical insurance by calling the toll-free number of policybazaar.com on 1800-208-8787 to buy the policy. In case of any confusion, they can also write to care@policybazaar.com.

Claim Procedure for Travel Health Insurance

The claim procedure under travel health insurance policy is similar to that of a regular travel insurance policy. Follow the steps given below to register a claim under a travel medical health insurance policy:

• Inform the insurance company or the third-party assistance (TPA) provider about the hospitalisation abroad through phone or email
• Arrange documents that need to be submitted in support of the claim, including the claim form
• Submit all the documents to the TPA or the insurance provider via post, email or fax
• The claims team will verify the claim and make the payment

Note: Cashless claims can only be made if the insured is hospitalised at one of the network hospitals of the insurance company. In the case of cashless claims, the insurer will settle the bill directly with the network hospital after the treatment is over.

Compare Travel Health Insurance Plans

It can be difficult to select travel health insurance plan as many options are available in the market. Therefore, the right way to find the most suitable travel medical insurance is by comparing various plans offered by different insurance companies.

This will help the insured find an ideal plan for his/her trip, providing the coverage at an economical rate. Anyone can compare different travel health insurance policies online at policybazaar.com.