Travel Insurance
Why Should I buy Travel Insurance ?
Following are some reasons for buying Travel Insurance
- You have to cut your trip short because of illness
- You have to cancel your nonrefundable trip because a family member had an accident
- Your flight is delayed overnight because of bad weather, and you need a hotel room
- Your baggage is lost or substantially delayed
- You miss your cruise departure because of weather-related flight delays
- You need medical assistance while abroad
- You have an auto accident in a foreign country and need legal assistance
- You have to cancel a trip because your home is flooded or uninhabitable
- You can’t get home because of a hurricane, floods or other natural disaster at your destination
What type of Travel insurance need?
You have to ask following questions to yourself :
- Will you need insurance for possible trip cancellation, interruption for trip
- Do you need insurance for trip cancellation, interruption and delay?
- Do you need medical insurance and medical evacuation coverage while traveling?
- Will you need a 24-hour assistance line to help find doctors, contact your family or other assistance in case of emergency?
- Do you travel often? If so you may want to consider an annual policy.
What should I look up in Policy before buying Travel insurance ?
- Are pre-existing medical conditions covered?
- If on a sports trip, are sports-related injuries covered?
- Are strikes, civil disturbances and terrorist acts covered?
- Are you covered if your travel supplier goes out of business?
- Especially if on a cruise or tour check whether the policy covers the entire trip, including airfare, hotel, shore excursions, sightseeing and pre-and post-touring.
- Medical Expenses with or without cashless facility (most travel insurance products offer cashless facility)
- Personal Accident
- Loss of Baggage
- Delay in Baggage arrival
- Loss of Passport
- Travel Delay
- Repatriation
- Transportation of dead body etc.
From where should I buy Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance can be purchased from
- Travel agents,
- Travel suppliers (airlines, hotels, cruise lines, tour operators)
- A private insurance firm,
- Insurance brokers,
- online
What the exclusions when I buy buy Travel Insurance ?
You must go through the exclusion clauses very thoroughly. Ask your insurer and/or agent or broker for clarifications wherever you have a doubt. In general, the following are not covered:
- Pre-existing diseases
- War Risks
- Suicide and Insanity
- Hazardous Sports
There could be some exclusions relating to personal effects.
What should be done in case claim for Travel Insurance arises abroad ?
It is very important for you to understand what to do in case a claim situation arises abroad. Generally policies provide hotline numbers where intimation of claim/s should be given. You must also notify the concerned authorities involved eg, local police, embassy, transportation company etc, as applicable. The insurer also should be notified. Normally, every travel insurance policy docket will also contain a claim form as you will be away in a distant place and may not be in a position to obtain a claim form immediately.
What additional care I should take while buying Travel Insurance ?
Dos
- Plan for your Travel Insurance ahead of time just as you plan for your visa and so on.
- Take care to fill in the proposal form completely and truthfully after getting the necessary medical tests done and obtaining the medical report as required
- Plan for the travel period ahead of time and ensure that your insurance covers the entire period
- If you have to extend the period of cover, plan for it before the cover expires and provide the required documents to the insurer.
- Make sure you have gone through the policy document completely and make a note of the contact details of the agency servicing the claims so that it is handy in the event of an emergency.
- If you are cutting short your travel period, check your policy to see if you are entitled for a refund.
Don’ts
- Don’t postpone taking your travel insurance till the last minute.
- Don’t get pushed into taking a cover only as recommended by your travel agent. Get as much information as possible and exercise your choice.
- Don’t get tempted to opt for the cheapest cover as it might not meet your needs.
What should I check in case i am buying travel Insurance policy in India ?
- Check if the company selling the policy is registered with IRDA
- Make sure you buy the policy through a genuine licensed agent or broker. Ask for an identity card or licence
- You can also buy policies from the company directly
- Read the policy brochure/ prospectus carefully and get to know what the policy covers and does not cover