Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is a kind of insurance policy that protects travelers from any eventualities during their trip that may create a financial burden. Travel insurance acts as a shield that prevents the insured traveler from incurring huge financial losses as a result of an unforeseen incident during their journey. A travel insurance policy lends a helping hand to the insured traveler and provides necessary financial assistance at the hour of need irrespective of whether he is traveling within India or abroad.

Given the uncertainty of life, nobody can guarantee a stress-free and uneventful trip. Even the most carefully planned journeys can get disrupted if an unfortunate incident occurs. What if you meet with an accident abroad leading to hospitalization? Or the flight you are traveling in gets delayed to an extent that you end up missing your connecting flight? The only way to overcome any potential losses from situations like these is to buy the best travel insurance India has available. Not only will it handle such adversities for you, but it will also indemnify any losses incurred. With travel insurance at your side, you can focus solely on having a fantastic time and making wonderful memories during your trip.

Travel insurance is a must for every traveler. From solo travelers and families to students and frequent business travelers, travel insurance protects everyone. Not only does it covers the unforeseen medical expenses but also provides other types of coverage including flight delays, loss of passport, personal liability, loss of check-in baggage, trip cancellation, etc. Moreover, almost all insurance providers offer travel insurance online these days making it convenient for travelers to buy it.

The basic purpose of travel insurance is to allow the insured to enjoy every moment of their trip by taking care of any unforeseen expenses while traveling. If you are wondering what are the qualities of the best travel insurance India has available, take a look at some of its features:

• Emergency Hospitalization & Medical Treatment - Nobody can rule out the possibility of a medical emergency while traveling. By insuring your trip, you can stay assured as all your hospitalization and treatment expenses will be taken care of by your insurer.
• Compensation for Flight-Related Adversities - Facing any adversities related to your flight is very common and chances of facing it increase if you are traveling abroad. Whether there has been a flight delay leading to a missed connecting flight or your check-in baggage has been lost or delayed by your airline, your travel insurer will compensate for the losses you have incurred.
• Cashless Hospitalization Facility - A travel insurance policy also comes with cashless medical treatment facilities. If you get hospitalized or are availing medical treatment at an impaneled hospital of your insurer, you can receive cashless service in which all your medical bills will be settled directly by your insurer. You would not have to pay up the hospital for any covered treatment.
• Customized Plans for Senior Citizens - The travel needs of senior citizens are way different from the needs of other kinds of travelers. Taking cognizance of this fact, most insurance companies offer customized trip insurance policies for elderly people who are traveling within India or abroad   
• Available for Frequent Flyers - Buying insurance for each trip can turn out to be pretty expensive for people who travel frequently or multiple times in a year. To ensure that such frequent flyers enjoy the perks of trip insurance on each trip without spending a fortune, insurance providers offer multi-trip travel insurance policies with a year-long validity.

Once you have decided to insure your trip, it is important for you to understand the various types of travel insurance India offers to its travelers. Whether the insured traveler is an adult, a child or a senior citizen, different types of trip insurance policies are available to suit the needs of everyone. Take a look at the various types of travel insurance policies available in India:

On the Basis of Geographical Border:

Domestic Travel Insurance

It is an insurance policy meant for people traveling within the geographical borders of India. It protects individuals as well as families traveling within the Indian states from unforeseen financial emergencies. This policy provides coverage including medical cover, loss of baggage and personal accident cover amongst others.

International Travel Insurance

It is a type of insurance policy that covers individuals and families traveling overseas. It provides a wide range of coverage including medical expenses, dental expenses, financial cash assistance, flight delays, loss of passport, personal liability, loss or delay check-in baggage and hijack distress allowance. Several insurance providers also offer home insurance to the traveler’s house back in India as a part of this policy.

On the Basis of Type of Travelers:

Family Travel Insurance

It is an insurance policy designed especially for families traveling overseas together. This policy usually covers the policyholder, his/ her spouse and his dependent children. The sum insured under this policy is mostly available in both individual and family floater basis. All insured members of a family can avail covers including medical expenses, trip delay, loss of passport, personal liability, loss or delay of check-in baggage and many more.

Senior Citizen Travel Insurance

It is a type of insurance that has been tailor-made for elderly people. Most insurance companies cover travelers above the ages of 60 under this policy. It protects such travelers from unpredictable financial emergencies including medical expenses, dental expenses, repatriation of mortal remains, loss or delay of check-in baggage, trip cancellation, etc.

Student Travel Insurance

It is a student-friendly insurance policy that has been customized for Indians traveling abroad to study. The policy has an extended validity of up to 2 years. Apart from the basic coverage of international travel insurance, this policy also provides the students with covers including sponsor protection, study interruption, two-way compassionate visit and bail bond amongst others.  

Corporate Travel Insurance

It is a policy that has been designed to cater to the needs of corporates traveling for business purposes. This policy usually has a validity of up to 1 year that allows the insured traveler to undertake several trips. It includes covers such as trip delay, medical expenses, loss of baggage, missed connecting flight, etc.

Group Travel Insurance

It is a comprehensive insurance policy meant for people traveling together in groups. This policy is usually opted by people organizing tour groups, industrial training, official trips or pilgrimage trips. Many insurance providers offer this policy for people traveling within India as well as abroad. It usually provides personal accident and baggage cover. However, the exact extent of coverage depends on the insurer.

Medical Travel Insurance

It refers to the insurance that provides extensive medical coverage to insured travelers during their trip. It offers financial assistance in case a medical emergency occurs while traveling international and may lead to hospitalization. Most medical travel insurers cover hospitalization expenses, daycare expenses, dental expenses, medical evacuation expenses and cost of repatriation of mortal remains amongst others.

On the Basis of Insurance Validity

Multi-Trip Travel Insurance

It is an insurance policy meant for people who undertake multiple overseas trips in a year. This type of insurance offers the same level of benefits on every trip without the need of buying a new policy before each travel. Thus, a traveler ends up saving large sums of money by buying this insurance policy. This insurance is mostly purchased by people who travel abroad frequently for business purposes.

Single Trip Travel Insurance

It is a type of insurance that provides protection to the insured traveler only for one single journey. Its validity begins with the start of the trip and ends with the culmination of the trip. This policy provides a host of coverage that consists of medical cover as well as non-medical covers such as delay or loss of check-in baggage, personal liability, etc

As there are different insurance plans to cater to different kinds of travelers, you can choose a travel plan that suits your needs the most. However, you should be eligible for the desired plan in order to be able to apply for it. Take a look at the basic eligibility criteria for different types of travel insurance policies:

*The eligibility criteria may vary from one insurance provider to another.

In recent times, there has been a paradigm shift in the perception of traveling. People no longer wait for their summer or winter vacation to plan an outstation trip. They instead plan to undertake multiple trips in a year with an aim to explore new places. For the salaried class, traveling is an escape from their everyday stressful and monotonous life. This makes insuring your travel even more prudent to protect yourself from any unfortunate incident that has the potential to spoil your trip or cause losses. If you still weighing your options, take a look at why buying travel insurance online before your trip is a wonderful idea.

• Emergency Medical Expenses - The cost of medical treatment abroad is not the same as in India. In fact, countries like the USA is famous for sky-rocketing medical services. But if you have insured your trip, all your medical expenses will be covered be taken care of in case of hospitalization due to an illness or accident abroad. They will also arrange an emergency evacuation to a hospital if required. Moreover, getting admitted to a network hospital can help you avail of cashless medical services.
• Mandatory Requirement - Several countries around the world have made it mandatory to possess valid travel insurance in order to apply for a visa for that country. For instance, you need to insure your trip if you want to apply for the Schengen visa. So if you want to visit any such country, you will have to buy one of the best travel insurance policies available in India.
• Helping Hand in Remote Areas - Insuring your trip can turn out to be useful even if you are traveling to remote parts of India or abroad. In case you need emergency medical services in areas with poor medical facilities, your travel insurer can evacuate you to the nearest city or country and help you get medical treatment on time.
• Stress-Free Travel - An outstation trip can come with its share of uncertainties and cause a lot of stress to the travelers if an unforeseen incident occurs. But if you have your trip insured, all your emergencies can be taken care of by your insurer and you wouldn’t have to worry about a thing.
• Dental Expenses - If you have insured your trip, your insurance policy will cover the expenses incurred on dental treatment during your trip apart from the cost of hospitalization and medical treatment.
• Flight-related Complicacies - A lot of times you get stuck by flight or airline-related issues that shake your travel itinerary. Whether there has been a flight delay, check-in baggage loss/ delay, missed connecting flight or flight hijack, you will be adequately compensated if you have insured your trip.
• Protects the Entire Family - An insurance for your trip not only offers protection to you but to each member of your family while traveling. Most insurance providers allow you to choose the sum insured on individual and family floater basis.
• Replacement of Lost or Stolen Baggage - In case your baggage or your belongings get stolen or lost during your overseas trip, your travel insurer will compensate you for your loss.  
• Pays for Personal Liability - In case an unfortunate incident abroad results in a legal liability being imposed on you, a travel insurance policy can come to your rescue. Not only will it pay off your liabilities but it will also cover any legal court expenses that you may incur.
• Emergency Cash Assistance - In case you get robbed of your money during your stay abroad, your travel insurer will come to your rescue and arrange emergency cash for you.

Travel insurance is your go-to friend if you face any adversity while traveling abroad. This makes picking out the best travel insurance online an extremely important decision to make. You need to choose an insurance policy that provides you with maximum coverage against the risks that you may face during your trip overseas. If you are buying travel insurance online, you can compare them against the coverage provided by different insurance companies. Take a look at some of the coverage provided by different travel insurers in India:

Here are some of the most common coverage that you may find in the best travel insurance India has available:

• Medical Expenses - All trip insurance policies cover any medical expenses that you may incur while traveling. It includes hospitalization expenses as well as daycare expenses that may arise due to the treatment of an illness or accidental injury abroad.
• Emergency Medical Evacuation - In case there is a need to evacuate you to the nearest hospital or medical provider to receive timely treatment, your travel insurer will arrange it for you.
• Repatriation of Mortal Remains - If an unforeseen incident abroad leads to the death of the insured, your travel insurer will cover the cost of arranging the funeral as well as transporting the mortal remains of the insured back to India.
• Emergency Dental Treatment - All expenses arising out of the dental treatment of the insured to relieve acute pain is covered under a travel insurance policy.
• Daily Hospital Cash - In case you get hospitalized for the treatment of an illness or accidental injury, your travel insurer will give you a lump sum amount to cover day-to-day hospitalization expenses.
• Accidental Death & Disability - In case an accident leads to the death or permanent total disability of the insured, compensation will be paid to the policyholder or his family for the loss.
• Loss of Check-in Baggage - If the airline with which you were traveling abroad loses your check-in baggage, then you will be entitled to compensation by your insurer to cover the losses that you have incurred.
• Delay in Check-in Baggage Arrival - If your check-in baggage gets misplaced or delayed by the airline with which you were traveling abroad, your travel insurer will reimburse any emergency expenses incurred on personal items such as clothes, toiletries, etc.
• Missed Connection Flight - Flight delays due to weather conditions or other technical reasons are a regular affair. If a delay in the arrival of an inbound flight results in you missing your connecting flight to your ultimate travel destination, trip insurance comes to your rescue. All your losses and expenses will be covered by your insurer if you have insured your trip.
• Trip Cancellation & Curtailment- A lot of times people end up canceling or postponing their trip days before the departure due to an unforeseen emergency. In such situations, you may suffer quite a loss as the bookings for flights and hotels would have already been made by then. All such losses get covered if you have bought the best travel insurance India has available.
• Loss of Passport - In case you lose your passport during your trip abroad, your travel insurer will cover the cost of getting a duplicate or new passport issued.
• Personal Liability - An unfortunate incident can result in you causing damage or bodily injury to a third party person or property. But if you have insured your trip, all your legal liabilities during your trip abroad will be paid off by your insurer.
• Hijack Distress Allowance - In case the flight in which you are traveling gets hijacked, you will be entitled to a distress allowance if you had insured your trip.
• Emergency Cash Advance - If you get robbed of your money during your trip abroad, your travel insurer will provide you with emergency cash to take care of your emergency expenses unless you receive monetary help from your friends or family in India.
• Baggage Loss - In case your baggage gets lost during your trip abroad, your travel insurer will cover all the losses and expenses related to purchasing emergency items including clothes and personal items.
• Compassionate Visit - In case the insured student gets hospitalized due to an illness or accidental injury abroad, your travel insurer will cover the transportation and accommodation for an immediate family member. The cost of the flight tickets for the insured student will be covered under the policy if he needs to travel back to India due to the hospitalization of an immediate family member.
• Study Interruption - If a sudden hospitalization due to an illness or accidental injury results in you missing your classes for more than a month, then your travel insurer will reimburse the tuition fee prepaid to the University/ School for that period.
• Sponsor Protection - In case the sponsor of your education abroad dies or suffers from permanent total disability, your travel insurance policy will reimburse the tuition fees for the remaining months.
• Bail Bond - In case the insured student gets arrested by the local authorities or police, your travel insurer will arrange for your bail amount.

Omitted/ Optional Covers in Most Schengen Travel Insurance Policies

Claims arising out of the following things are either optional or omitted in most Schengen Travel Insurance policies available in India:

• Pre-existing ailments including asthma, cardiac problems, diabetes and hypertension
• Tailor-made riders can be opted by paying an extra premium amount
• Adventurous sports which pose a risk to life including water sports like scuba diving, mountaineering, fast biking, etc
• Traveling to countries that have been listed as high-risk nations due to natural calamities, war, and terrorist activities, etc
• Stern onset of pre-existing diseases even though the doctor assures it can stay under control

Most trip insurance policies do not cover any claims arising out of the following reasons:

• Liquor, Drugs - Any claims arising due to dependency on intoxicants including alcohol or drugs will not be covered by your travel insurer. Even treatment expenses for injuries or illnesses caused while the insured was under the influence of alcohol will not be covered.
• War, Civil War or Terrorism - A travel insurer will not cover any claims arising due to war-like situations including a civil war in the country where the insured is visiting. It also does not cover any claims arising due to terrorist attacks in the destination country or city.
• HIV AIDS - Treatment expenses for HIV AIDS is usually not covered by most travel insurer in India.
• Alternative treatment - Most travel insurance online does not cover alternative treatment expenses including Ayurveda and homeopathy.
• Cosmetic Treatment -Any claims arising out of the cosmetic surgery of the insured will not be covered by your travel insurer.
• Adventure Sports - Many travel insurers do not cover any claims arising out of the insured’s participation in adventure sports activities including scuba diving, mountaineering, bike race, etc.
• Suicide or Self-Inflicted Injury - Any claims arising out of an injury or treatment related to a self-inflicted injury, including suicide or attempt to suicide, will not be covered by your travel insurer.
• Pre-existing Diseases - Even the best travel insurance India has available does not cover pre-existing diseases of the insured traveler.
• Loss of Passport When left Unattended - An insurance provider will not cover the expenses incurred in obtaining a new or duplicate passport if the insured loses his original passport abroad because of leaving it unattended.
• Traveling Against Medical Advice - If the insured is traveling outstation or abroad against the medical advice of the doctor, then any medical treatment expenses incurred while traveling will not be covered by the travel insurer.

Additional Coveage of Travel Insurance Plan

Many trip insurance policies offer add-on benefits if you opt for additional coverage. These benefits can be chosen for an extra precautionary layer of protection. These additional covers can be obtained by purchasing the best travel insurance online on payment of an extra premium amount to the insurance company.

Here are a few optional/ add-on coverage can be purchased at the time of insuring your trip:

• High-risk/adventure sports activities
• Coverage for travel to war-prone destinations
• Pre-existing illnesses/ conditions
• Enhanced Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) cover
• Third-party supplier insolvency

Travel insurance is an extremely important travel document if you wish to stay protected from any eventualities during your domestic or international trip. Every traveler should opt for a policy that provides maximum coverage for the least possible premium.  But how will a traveler find out which insurance provider and plan is offering the minimum premium?

In order to find out the premium payable for a particular trip insurance plan by an insurance provider, you would have to use a travel insurance premium calculator. A premium calculator is an internet-based tool that gives you an estimate of the premium cost for a particular insurance plan. Make sure to use this calculator before you buy travel insurance online.

An insurance premium calculator will give you a premium estimate if you enter the required details including the sum insured amount, age, destination city/ country, trip frequency, travel dates, etc. While entering the destination details, select specific countries or areas like Schengen, Asia, USA and Canada, etc as per your travel destination. You might have to enter your travel dates and whether you need a single trip of multi-trip policy. You will also be required to enter the number of travelers as well as the age of all the travelers.

After you have entered all the details, the insurance premium calculator will give you an estimate premium amount for your trip. Moreover, this premium calculator also comes in handy to compare different trip insurance plans offered by various insurance providers.

Buying the best travel insurance online is not the only responsibility of the traveler. He/ she should also be aware of the claim procedure for filing a timely insurance claim. Moreover, you should be aware of the various coverage provided by your travel insurer.

It is important for all travelers to carry the original travel insurance policy document along with multiple photocopies while traveling. The photocopies come in handy in case the original policy document gets lost or destroyed. In fact, the insured must also carry the policy document in a soft copy and store in his email, phone, laptop or carry it in a pen drive.

Follow the steps given below to register a trip insurance claim in case a travel emergency occurs:

• Inform the insurer or the travel assistance provider of the insured via phone or email about your claim. The contact details of the insurer are always mentioned in the policy document
• Ask about the various documents that you need to submit in support of your claim. The list of documents to be submitted varies as per the type of claim
• Send all the required documents to the insurer via email, fax or by post
• Once you have submitted the documents, your claim will be verified against the coverage provided by your trip insurance policy

Things to Remember Before Choosing a Travel Insurance Plan

An unfortunate incident may occur at any point in your travel and a wise traveler keeps his trip insured by buying the best travel insurance online. In order to make an informed choice, you need to keep the following things in mind while buying an insurance policy for your trip:

• Purpose of the Trip - Keep the purpose of your travel in mind while choosingan insurance policy for your trip to receive maximum coverage. For instance, if you traveling for studies, you should opt for student travel insurance and if you plan to engage in adventure sports, you should select a plan that covers adventure sports activities.
• Traveler’s Age - Almost all travel insurers provide insurance plans that suit the needs of travelers of different ages. For instance, senior citizen travel insurance has been custom-made to protect the elderly while traveling. You should select a plan according to the age of all travelers.
• Sum Insured Amount - The sum insured amount is directly proportional to the premium cost. The trip insurance plans with higher sum insured draw higher premiums. However, you must choose a sum insured amount that adequately covers your needs in case of an unforeseen incident.
• Coverage Offered - Compare and analyze the different coverage provided by various travel insurers while selecting a plan. Choose a plan that protects you from most of the risks that you may face during your trip abroad.
• Destination - The destination of your trip should definitely be taken into consideration while narrowing down an insurance plan for your trip. many insurance providers offer destination-specific plans such as Schengen travel insurance. Choose a plan that suits your destination.
• Trip Duration - The duration of your trip plays a major role in estimating your premium amount. The longer the travel, the higher the insurance premium will get. Choose a plan that charges a lesser premium for the total duration of your trip.
• Claim Settlement Ratio of the Insured - Before buying an insurance policy for your trip, you should check the claim settlement ratio of the different insurance companies. A company with a higher claim settlement ratio has settled more claims and thus should be preferred while buying travel insurance online.
• Credibility of the Insurance Provider - It is important to research about the credibility and goodwill of the insurance company at the time of selecting an insurance policy for your trip. A company that enjoys goodwill in the market can be considered reliable and will settle the claims on time.
• Affordability - The best policy is the one that provides the maximum coverage at minimum cost. Make sure to choose a policy that is economical but provides all crucial covers.
• Hassle-free Claim Procedure - While choosing an insurance policy for your trip, find out about the claim procedures of different plans. A policy with a complicated claim procedure will be more of a hassle at the time of settling a claim. You should choose the insurer with the quickest and the most convenient claim process.
• Solvency Ratio - You should also check the solvency ratio of an insurance provider before buying an insurance policy. A company with a goodsolvency ratio reflects its sound financial standing and has lesser chances of going bankrupt.

While buying travel insurance online, it is important to compare the different insurance policies offered by the different insurance providers. Policybazaar.com is one place where you can compare different travel insurance policies offered by various insurers. It allows you to check the coverage offered by different insurance companies and the premium charged by them. You can also check which cover is omitted by one insurer and is provided by another insurance provider. Since PolicyBazaar is available online, you can make a comparison anywhere and at any time of the day.

Take a look at some of the benefits of comparing travel insurance online at policybazaar.com:

• Compare the various trip insurance policies offered by different insurers
• Analyze and find a plan that provides you maximum coverage
• Side-by-side comparison of inclusions and exclusions provided by different travel insurers
• Helps to save time by comparing travel insurance policies for several insurers at one place
• Get quotes on premium from different insurers before finalizing a policy
• Helps to save money by choosing the most cost-effective policy
• Allows you to buy an insurance policy for your trip online in an effortless and secure manner