What is Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance covers medical expenses, lost luggage, flight delay, ticket cancellation, accidents, etc. while travelling Internationally or Domestically. It is available for single and multiple travels. If a person travels infrequently, single coverage is the best option, as it covers a single trip. In case of frequent travellers, multiple coverages are better. Various insurance plans are available, targeting solo, family, student travellers, and for various other types of travellers.
Since travel insurance is designed to cover a traveller from unforeseen emergencies that could occur during a trip, purchasing comprehensive travel insurance is a wise act. It will secure you from any damage/loss incurred that could create a financial burden if you don't have it. This insurance will protect you from the following circumstances:
- Medical Expenses
- Loss of Passport
- Personal Accident
- Loss of Checked-in Baggage
- Theft/Loss of Personal Belongings
- Trip Cancellation & Curtailment
Key Features of Travel Insurance
The vital key features of travel insurance are as following:
Emergency Hospitalization and Medical Treatment: While you're travelling, it's impossible to predict if a medical emergency will occur or not. By insuring your travel, it assures that in case emergencies occur, hospitalization and treatment expenses will be tackled by your insurer.
Compensation for Flight-Related Adversities: It's common to face adversities related to your flight, especially if you're travelling abroad. Thus, you will be compensated by your insurer for the losses incurred due to a flight delay which leads to a missed connecting flight, or your check-in baggage is lost or delayed by the airline.
Cashless Hospitalization Facility: With this facility, you'll obtain cashless service as all medical bills will be settled directly by your insurer if you happen to get hospitalized or undergoing medical treatment at the empanelled hospital of your insurance company.
Customized Policies for Senior Citizens: Senior citizens travel needs are very different when compared to other travellers. Thus, various insurance companies provide customized trip insurance for elderly people who desire to travel within India or globally.
Available for Frequent Flyers: Purchasing insurance for every trip can be an expensive affair for the frequent traveller. To ensure that such flyers enjoy the perks of the travel insurance for every journey without spending much on it, insurance firms do offer multi-trip-policies that has a year-long validity.
Types of Travel Insurance
In India, various types of travel insurance have been crafted to cater to the needs of every traveller. The types of travel insurance are listed below:
- Domestic Travel Insurance: This is for those travelling within the geographical borders of India. It generally covers medical, loss of baggage, and personal accidents.
- International Travel Insurance: Those who're travelling overseas should opt for this insurance because it provides coverage on a vast scale, including medical expenses, dental expenses, flight delays, financial cash assistance, loss of passport, personal liability, loss or delay of check-in baggage, and hijack distress allowance. Some insurance firms might also provide home insurance to the traveller's house back in India.
- Schengen Travel Insurance: This is customized travel insurance to cover those who are travelling to one or more than one Schengen countries. Some of the most common coverage provided by this insurance includes medical cover, loss of passport, personal liability, loss of passport, delay of check-in baggage arrival, loss of check-in baggage, personal accident cover and accidental death & dismemberment.
- Family Travel Insurance: This insurance is crafted especially for families travelling together overseas. It covers medical expenses, loss of passport, personal liability, loss or delay of check-in baggage and many more.
- Senior Citizen Travel Insurance: This plan is tailor-made for the elderly people. It protects them from unpredictable financial emergencies such as medical expenses, dental expenses, repatriation of mortal remains, loss or delay of check-in baggage, etc.
- Student Travel Insurance: This is student-friendly insurance for students travelling abroad to study. It has extended the validity of up to two years and apart from the coverage of overseas insurance, it also covers the students with sponsor protection, study interruption, two-way compassionate visit and bail bond, etc.
- Corporate Travel Insurance: To cater to the needs of corporates travelling for business purposes, this insurance has been designed. It has a validity of up to one year and it covers flight delay, medical expenses, loss of baggage, missed connecting flight, etc.
- Group Travel Insurance: Comprehensive insurance plan for people travelling together in groups. It usually covers personal accident and baggage cover, but the exact extent of the coverage depends on the insurer.
- Medical Travel Insurance: This insurance plan provides extensive medical coverage to the insured travellers who're travelling. It gives financial assistance in case of a medical emergency while travelling international which may lead to hospitalization. Such policies generally cover daycare expenses, hospitalization expenses, dental expenses, medical evacuation expenses and cost of repatriation of mortal remains, etc.
- Multi-Trip Travel Insurance: This insurance is for those who do multiple overseas trips in a year, and provides the same level of benefits for every trip without the requirement of purchasing new policies every time.
- Single Trip Travel Insurance: This insurance plan is used for one single trip and its validity begins when the journey starts and ends with its culmination on returning home. It has a host of coverage which consists of medical cover and non-medical covers like delay or loss of check-in baggage, personal liability, etc.
- Baggage Insurance: Baggage Insurance comes into the picture when you have lost your baggage during a journey due to theft or any mishap. It will compensate for the damage or loss to your luggage while travelling.
- Flight Insurance: A custom-made plan covering the insured traveller from unforeseen flight-related emergencies faced while travelling. It protects the individual from adversity caused during the flight or due to the fault by airline or its staff. It is a comprehensive coverage involving both health and baggage insurance that includes flight delay, medical cover, accidental death & dismemberment cover, delay or loss of check-in baggage, flight cancellation, flight hijack, and missed connection flight.
Why should you purchase travel insurance? May whenever you plan to travel, it's always a wise thing to keep yourself protected from any unfortunate incident which could potentially ruin or cause losses. Hence, it's a wonderful idea to opt for it because it covers emergency medical expenses, it's a mandatory requirement as claimed by some countries to get visas for that country, it will be a helping hand in a remote area, you'll have a stress-free trip, and it covers dental expenses as well. Besides these, this insurance will also protect you from flight-related complications, protects entire family, replacement of lost or stolen baggage, pays for personal liability, and it will provide emergency cash assistance.
