Travel Insurance

What Makes Comparison of Travel Insurance Important?

With so many travel insurance plans available in India, it is easy to get confused about the one you want to opt for. In such cases, comparison becomes the best way to assess multiple plans and see which travel insurance policy is offering the best benefits.

It is important to remember that travel insurance plans vary with your requirements and what may work for someone may not be enough for you. In some cases, opting for a specific plan may be useless and even exceed your budget.

This is where comparison becomes crucial - your trip insurance plan should cover what you need and not exceed your budget. For example, your plan will depend on many factors:

• If the traveller has any pre-existing medical conditions
• If there are any limits on trip-duration
• Age of the traveller
• Number of travellers
• Location opted
• The sum insured/ kind of coverage opted for
• If opting for any add-ons

Many travel insurance companies in India allow you to filter out the coverage benefits for things you don't need, which will cost you less than regular rates. All these factors make it difficult to understand a plan’s benefits and may rush you into purchasing a plan not suited to your needs.

Benefits of Comparing Travel Insurance Online

Buying travel insurance online after comparing is extremely useful for travellers. Here are some of its key advantages:

• Compare Multiple Plans: You can easily compare a variety of travel plans and decide which one suits you best.
• Offers Discounts: Many travel insurance companies in India offer discounts if you buy their plans online.
• Helps Understand Inclusions Better: By comparing different plans online, you can decide the exact sum insured and other necessary benefits that different plans are offering.
• Helps in Making an Informed Choice: Buying insurance after comparing them online is not only cost-effective but also wise. After checking multiple plans, you can easily tell which plan offers maximum coverage within your budget.
• Time-Saving: Comparing plans online lets you buy plans quickly and securely by giving you a fair comparison of the ongoing prices.

Therefore, you can see how the cost of your premium can be significantly reduced just by comparing different plans first.

What’s Not Covered by Travel Insurance Plans

It is important to keep in mind the exclusions of your travel insurance plan. Most travel insurance companies in India don’t cover claims arising out of the following reasons:

• Medical Exclusions

  • If you are travelling outstation or abroad against the medical advice of the doctor, then any medical treatment expenses incurred while travelling will not be covered by the insurer.
  • Medical expenses for injuries or sickness caused while you were intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol shall not be covered under a travel insurance policy.
  • Treatment costs incurred due to sexually transmitted diseases and mental/nervous disorders are often not covered by many travel insurance companies in India.
  • Claims related to pregnancy or related complications are not covered.
  • Most travel insurance plans in India do not offer reimbursement for expenses due to alternative treatment such as Homoeopathy, Naturopathy, or Ayurveda.
  • Any claims related to cosmetic surgery or plastic surgery are usually not covered by the insurer.
  • Claims due to treatment for self-inflicted injuries, including attempts to suicide or suicide, are not covered by the insurer.
  • Many insurers in India don’t offer coverage for pre-existing issues or diseases under regular plans unless an add-on cover has been purchased.

• Baggage Exclusions

  • Your international travel insurance plan will not cover baggage loss if your luggage has been shipped separately and/or is not accompanied by you.
  • Some policies don't cover cases beyond the specified geographic region.
  • Delay or failure in reporting the lost luggage or other personal belongings to the relevant authorities may result in rejection of your travel insurance claim,

• Journey Exclusions

  • Any claims arising because of dependency on intoxicants, such as alcohol or drugs will not be covered by the insurer.
  • Many insurers do not cover claims arising out of the insured’s participation in adventure sports and other winter sports. For example, mountaineering, bike race, scuba diving, etc.
  • Loss due to involvement in illegal activities, theft, felony, etc. will not be covered.
  • Damage caused during dangerous or hazardous work will not be covered.

• Other Exclusions

  • The travel insurer will not cover any claims arising because of war-like circumstances, as well as a civil war in the country that you are visiting.
  • Claims arising due to terrorist attacks in your destination city or country may not always be covered by all insurers.
  • The insurer will not cover the expenses incurred during obtaining a duplicate or a new passport upon losing the original passport abroad if it was left unattended.

Eligibility Criteria for Travel Insurance Policy in India

Any Indian citizen can buy trip insurance, irrespective of the type of travel policy being purchased. Additional eligibility requirements for different types of trip insurance plans are given below:

*Please note that the age bracket varies with insurers. You should check the eligibility with the insurance provider before reviewing or purchasing any travel insurance policy.

How to Calculate Travel Insurance Premium Online?

Every traveler should opt for a policy that provides maximum coverage for the least possible premium. To find out the premium payable for a particular travel insurance plan by a provider, you would have to use a travel insurance premium calculator. A premium calculator is an online tool that gives you an estimate of the premium cost for a particular insurance plan. These are a few parameters that affect travel insurance premiums:

• Age - The higher the age of the traveler, the more will be the premium.
• Destination - If you are traveling to a high-risk country, your chances of facing adversities are more.
• Trip Duration -Longer your trip duration, the higher will be your travel insurance premium.
• Number of Travelers - The premium of a policy covering one person will be lower than the premium of a policy covering the entire family.
• Add-On Covers -If you opt for add-on covers under your policy, your premium amount will increase.

Make sure to use this calculator before you buy the best travel insurance online.

Tips to Lower Your Travel Insurance Premium

Travel insurance can come in extremely handy if you encounter an emergency during your trip. You can use the tips given below to lower your travel insurance premium:

• Buy Early - Buying a travel insurance policy well in advance can help lower your premium. If you buy the policy early, you are considered a responsible person and are charged a lower premium.
• Customize Your Policy - Try to customize your travel policy as per your requirements so that you only have to pay for the coverage that you need.
• Multi-Travel insurance for Frequent Flyers - If you need to travel multiple times a year, it is more affordable to buy a multi-travel insurance policy with a year-long validity than to buy an individual policy for each trip.
• Opt for Family/ Group Travel Plans - If you are traveling with your family or in a group, you must opt for family travel insurance or group travel insurance respectively as they are more cost-effective.

Claim Procedure for Travel Insurance Policies

Buying the best travel insurance is not your only responsibility as a traveler. You should also be aware of the procedure to file a timely insurance claim. Follow the steps given below to register a travel insurance claim if required:

• Inform the insurer or the assistance provider of the insurer via phone or email about your claim
• Ask about the various documents that you need to submit in support of your claim.
• Send all the required documents to the insurer via email, fax, or post
• Once you have submitted the documents, your claim will be verified against the coverage provided by your travel insurance policy

How to Renew a Travel Insurance Policy?

Travel insurance plans in India can be renewed either online or offline, depending on your preference. Let’s have a glance at both here!

• Offline

  If you are one of those people who don’t want to go ahead with the online method or are not gadget-friendly, offline renewal can be the best bet for you:

  1. Approach the Insurance Company: Once the renewal date approaches, get in touch with your insurer. They will guide you through the travel insurance renewal process.

  2. Review the Existing Cover: This is the best time to review your coverage. If you want to add something, you can do it now.

  3. Fill the Application: Once you have decided the additions you want to make, if any, fill out an application form and submit it along with the physical copies of the documents required. Documents list may vary from provider to provider.

  4. Review and Pay: After carefully reviewing terms and conditions, pay the premium required. Remember to address the cheque in the name of the insurer, not the broker or agent.

  The insurer will deliver the policy document to your mailing address within a stipulated period.

• Online

  For those who want to renew their policy online, most travel insurance plans in India require the following steps:

  1. Open the Desired Website: You can visit Policybazaar.com or the insurer’s website to do this. Go through the available insurance policies once and add the additional covers if any.

  2. Pay the Premium: After finalizing pay through options such as net banking, credit or debit card, etc.

  3. Get the Policy Soft Copy: On successful payment of your premium, the insurance provider will send the soft copy of the policy to your registered email id. You can download it from there and keep it for future use.

  In case you are planning to switch the insurer or the policy, you are advised to shop around, compare travel insurance policies by different insurers before buying.

Decoding Travel Insurance Terms

Here are some terms simplified for you to better understand travel insurance wordings:

• Sum Insured

  In case of any unfortunate event (for which you are covered), your insurer will give you a certain amount. It is also the maximum amount that you will be paid. You are entitled to this amount which is the maximum coverage under your travel insurance plan.

• Reimbursement

  If you’re in an emergency and have no time to wait for your insurer, then you can pay the expenses out of your pocket first and later get reimbursed by your insurer. You will be compensated for all your costs as per the limits of your travel insurance policy.

• Single-Trip Plans

  If you’re not a frequent traveller, you’re more likely to have a single-trip travel plan. This type of plan provides coverage for only one trip up to the decided date.

• Multi-Trip Plans

  These are made for people who travel frequently. Multi-trip travel insurance plans cover all the trips under the predetermined period (usually 1 year) and don’t need to be purchased every time.

• Family Floater Plans

  As the name says, family floaters travel insurance are plans designed for families. They offer many benefits that extend to every member of the family as per the policy terms. This can be usually bought for the insured’s spouse, dependent children, and often older parents.

• Sub-limits

  These are additional limitations under any coverage offered by your travel insurance policy. Sub-limits apply to some insurable losses and exceeding them will require you to pay the difference. For example, hospital room rent, ambulance charges, etc. have a fixed limit, exceeding which you will need to pay the additional amount.

• Deductible

  In some cases, you are required to pay some of the initial expenses in case of an insured event. This is to be paid out of your pocket and will not be reimbursed. This amount is known as the deductible for that cover. The remaining expenses will be borne or reimbursed by your travel insurer.

• Cashless Settlement

  In many scenarios, while travelling, your insurer will directly pay for you in case you incur a loss or damage. This is referred to as cashless settlement through which many travel insurance companies in India settle claims abroad. This is most common during medical emergencies.

• Common Carrier

  Can be any organisation such as a commercial airline, dealing in the travel of individuals and cargo between different cities or countries.

• Condition Precedent

  A pre-determined condition based on which the insurer agrees to offer coverage to the insured.

• Equipment Failure

  An unexpected breakdown or malfunction of the common carrier’s equipment resulting in interruption or delay of the scheduled trip of the insured.

• Grace Period

  An extended time period, right after the due date of the insurance premium. The insured person can still pay this due premium in this window to continue enjoying the protection of the travel insurance plan without any interruption.

• Hospitalisation

  When the insured person needs to be admitted into a hospital or a medical facility or for the mentioned minimum duration to receive their medical care. The duration must exceed 24 hours.

• Immediate Family Member

  Refers to the legal relatives of the policyholder. Includes the insured’s legal relations, including their parents, spouse’s parents, spouse, legal children, siblings, siblings-in-law, legal guardian, etc. who are residing in India.

• Insured Journey

  Refers to the duration of the valid policy term, for which it has been purchased. Most insurers calculate it as the time between the insured boards the common carrier for their scheduled journey and the moment they return their home, or on the day their plan expires, depending on whichever is sooner.

• Insured Person

  The policyholder, the individual who has purchased the travel insurance plan. Must be a permanent resident or citizen of India.

• Land/Sea Arrangements

  Includes different travel arrangements that have been paid for in advance, made for the insured’s scheduled trip. These are planned by a travel agent or other tour operating organisation for which the insurance plan has been bought.

• Medical Expenses

  Includes the expenses incurred by the insured person due to a sudden illness or injury. These must be required medical treatment based on the advice of a qualified doctor or medical practitioner.

• Medically Necessary

  Includes all tests, treatments, or hospitalisation necessary for the insured’s medical condition. The process involves medical care and management of the insured’s injury/illness based on the advice of a medical practitioner.

• Notification of Claim

  A necessary step on the part of the insured in case they need to raise a claim. The individual can inform their insurer about the claim to be raised.

• Pre-Existing Condition

  Refers to any injury, disease, or other related condition the insured has been diagnosed with or have had experienced symptoms of. If the insured has received medical treatment for the said condition, they should inform the insurance company.

• Room Rent

  In case of hospitalisation, the daily cost an individual must pay to occupy their hospital bed. This room rent is fixed by the hospital or medical facility charges.

• Serious Injury/Sickness

  A situation when an injury or sickness becomes a threat to the insured. It must be declared by a qualified physician stating that it is harmful for the insured’s life.

• Subrogation

  When the insurer takes legal measures against a third person or party on behalf of the insured. Usually in cases where the third party has caused loss or injury to the insured person.

• Travelling Companion

  Usually two other people who have booked travel tickets along with the policyholder for the journey.