Always Buy Travel Insurance for your International Trip

Benefits of Traveling

1. A great deal of fun and excitement

2. A chance to meet new people and exposure to a new culture

3. Global exposure

4. Means of relaxation

5. Relief from routine chores of life

Risks of International Trips

An international trip involves more risk factors than a domestic trip. The health insurance plan will not cover your risks in a foreign land. Hence, you should buy a plan to fulfill the medical needs, baggage, accommodation, mode of travel and other factors. International travel insurance plans will cover all these risk factors in a very efficient manner. Further, by buying a travel insurance policy in India, you will pay the Indian currency and you will avail benefits in foreign currency.

Even though you are travelling alone, the travel insurance company will come to your rescue and your needs will be fulfilled in the best possible way.

Benefits of an International Travel Insurance Policy

1. Liability Coverage - If there is damage to the third party, the legal liability of the policyholder will be borne by the insurance company. The insurance company will pay the legal expenses so that there will be a great relief for the policyholder.

2. Trip Cancellation - You may want to cancel the trip due to various reasons. If you fall sick suddenly or meet with an accident, you cannot travel. If the family member or member in the travel group gets sick, the trip may be cancelled. The insurance company will pay the expenses that are incurred in planning the trip. The nonrefundable bills which were paid to various third parties will be paid by the insurance company.

3. Trip Interruption - In some cases, you will want to terminate the trip. The partial trip loss will be borne by the insurance company.

4. Loss of Baggage - If the baggage is lost, the insurance company will pay the full amount. There will be compensation for the delay of baggage. You will get an allowance to buy essential items as per the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.

5. Loss of Travel Documents - It is essential to be in possession of travel documents such as passport on a foreign land. The loss of essential documents will lead to serious trouble. When you buy the cover for the loss of travel documents, the insurance company will help you get a new set of travel documents.

6. Hospital Cash - If you are hospitalized due to sickness or accident, the insurance company will pay daily allowance.

7. Personal Accident - Injury or death of the insured will be compensated by the insurance company. The policyholder’s nominee will get the financial benefit.

8. Emergency Financial Assistance - The insurance company extends emergency financial assistance if the insured is exhausted of funds due to theft or pilferage

9. Hijack Distress Allowance - If an insured person is travelling in a hijacked plane, the insurance company will pay compensation as per the terms and conditions of the policy.

10. Repatriation of Remains - The expenses involved in moving the mortal remains of the policyholder to the home country will be borne by the insurance company.

11. Dental Emergencies - The insurance policy will cover dental emergencies. If you lose teeth due to a fall, you can seek immediate medical attention.

12. 24/7 Assistance - You will get assistance from the insurance company. The insurance company can be reached on a toll-free number and staff members who are aware of local conditions and multiple languages will help you without any issues.

An international travel insurance policy will give protection from a number of contingencies. You can buy travel insurance online as it will save time and money. Online travel insurance policy is offered by almost all the insurance carriers.

Inclusions in a travel insurance policy

International Travel Insurance Plans are available with certain inclusions and exclusions. You should be aware of both inclusions and exclusions so that there will not be any issues in claiming the policy.

• Sickness cover
• Medical emergency
• Financial emergency
• Loss of baggage
• Delay of checked-in baggage
• Trip cancellation
• Flight delay/cancellation
• Third party cover
• Loss of travel documents
• Death cover
• Dental cover
• Repatriation cover
• Hijack risk cover
• Legal cover

Exclusions

• If the loss of passport is not reported to concerned authorities, the damage will not be covered by the insurance policy.
• Pre-Existing Diseases not Disclosed - No medical cover will be offered by the insurance company if the policyholder fails to disclose information about pre-existing diseases
• Mental Health Issues - The expenses involved due to mental or psychiatric issues are not covered by the insurance policy
• Travelling for medical treatment
• Damages during war or nuclear threat
• Travelling against the advice of the doctor
• You are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases

Types of Overseas Travel Insurance Plans

The following different types of overseas travel insurance plans are available:

1. Student Travel Insurance - A student who is travelling to other countries to pursue education can subscribe student travel insurance plan

2. Business Travel Insurance - Travelling on business purpose will be covered by the business travel insurance plan

3. Holiday Travel Insurance - Travelling to another country on a holiday purpose will be covered by the holiday travel insurance plan

Eligibility for an Overseas Travel Insurance Policy

Overseas travel insurance policy will be issued by the insurance company based on the eligibility, duration of stay and other factors.

1. Age - 3 months to 60 years (for individual as well as family floater policy)

2. Senior Citizen Policy - Senior citizens up to the age of 85 years can buy a comprehensive insurance policy to fulfill their needs.

3. Student Travel Insurance Policy - The age should be between 16 and 40 years to buy a student travel insurance policy. The premium for a student travel insurance policy will be low and the benefits are high.

4. Schengen Travel Policy - The insurance policy is issued for business and vacation purposes. The insured should be in between 3 months and 60 years

Overseas Travel Insurance Policies

You should be aware of the overseas travel insurance plans offered by reputed companies so that you will settle for the best travel insurance policy as per your needs.

Reliance International Travel Insurance Plan

• Entry Age - 6 months to 70 years
• Pre-Medical Tests - not mandatory
• Inclusions - Flight delay, flight cancellation, loss of passport, loss of baggage, personal liability up to 50% of the sum assured, accidental cover
• Exclusions - Damage or loss due to criminal activities, damage due to civil war, no coverage for paramilitary forces, claims for loss of baggage/passport due to participation in adventurous sports

Apollo Munich Overseas Plan

• Entry Age - 6 months to 70 years
• Pre-Medical Tests - if you are 70-year old and above
• Inclusions - medical expenses, medical treatment, hospitalization, personal accident cover, hijack distress, trip cancellation, trip delay, loss of passport, loss of baggage
• Exclusions - drug or alcohol abuse, suicide, pregnancy complications, non-allopathic treatment

Chola Overseas Travel Protection Plan

• Entry Age - 6 months to 70 years (up to 80 years for senior citizens)
• Pre-Medical Tests - Not applicable
• Inclusions - loss of baggage, trip cancellation, flight delay, loss of passport, personal accident cover, permanent dismemberment, sudden demise
• Exclusions - psychiatric disorders, pre-existing health issues, medical emergency, alcohol/drug abuse

TATA AIG Travel Guard Plan

• Entry Age - age up to 70 years
• Pre-Medical Tests - Not required
• Inclusions - Trip delay, loss of baggage, loss of passport, delay of checked-in baggage, hijack cover, medical or dental expenses, dismemberment or sudden death
• Exclusions - pre-existing health issues, travelling against the doctor’s advice, suicidal attempt, mental disabilities, HIV or AIDS, damage or loss due to war, nuclear attack, performing or participating in adventure sports

Royal Sundaram Overseas Plan

• Entry Age - up to 75 years of age
• Pre-Medical Tests - not required
• Inclusions - loss of passport, loss of baggage, trip cancellation, flight delay or cancellation, accidental death or dismemberment, emergency cash requirement, emergency dental care
• Exclusions - Pregnancy-related complications, non-allopathic treatment, suicidal attempt, pre-existing diseases

How to Buy Overseas Travel Insurance Plan?

You can buy a travel insurance plan offline or online. The offline channels include agent or branch. You can consult the agent or visit the branch directly. By choosing online option, you can cut down the premium as the insurance company will give a discount for online policies.

1. Compare Policies - You can visit the insurance aggregator’s website to compare bike insurance policies offered by various insurance companies. After comparing various policies, you can visit the official website to find more details about the policy.

2. Destination - The travel insurance premium is based on the destination country. If you are travelling to countries where the healthcare expenses are high, you should pay a higher premium.

3. Affordability - The insurance plan should be affordable. You should pay less premium and gain more privileges from the insurance company.

4. Duration of Travel - The insurance plan should be selected as per the duration. If you are undertaking multiple trips, you can go for multi-trip insurance plan so that the premium will be low.

5. Purpose of Travel - The insurance premium is also based on the activities that you will undertake during the trip. If you are participating in adventure sports like racing, deepwater exploration, parasailing, water sports, trekking, surfing and other activities, you should pay a higher premium. The insurance company will assess the risk factors of the insured and the premium will be calculated.

6. Age - The overseas travel insurance premium will change as per the age. Most of the insurance companies offer an insurance plan for a child of 3 months to 60. For senior citizens, a different insurance policy will be issued by the insurance to cover their specific needs.

7. Sum Insured - The sum insured will have an impact on the insurance premium. Higher the sum insured, lower the premium. If the sum insured fails to cover your expenses, you should pay from your pocket. Hence, to reduce the out of pocket expenses, you should go for higher sum insured.

8. Claim Settlement Ratio - The claim settlement ratio indicates the performance of the insurance company. The information will be presented on the official website of the insurance company as well as on the IRDAI website. The claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 will be available in the year 2017-18.

9. Inclusions - You should ensure that all the risk factors that are relevant to your journey, health and activities should be included in your overseas travel insurance plan.

10. Exclusions - Risk factors which are not relevant to your journey or health can be avoided. If you are traveling without checked-in luggage, baggage loss risk can be avoided.

11. Customization - As you Buy Travel Insurance Online, you can customize the policy as per your needs. You can include certain important risk factors and avoid unnecessary risk factors. Thus, you will pay an optimum premium to get best insurance coverage from the insurance company.

If you are suffering from health issues before buying the travel insurance policy, they should be shared with the insurance companies. Non-disclosure of information will lead to cancellation of the policy or the claim by the insurance company. You should be aware of the claims process of the insurance. Most of the insurance companies implement online claim settlement process.

Conclusion

International Travel Insurance Plans offered by Indian insurance companies offer many benefits. They are affordable and the policy can be customized as per the needs of customers. You can minimize losses and overcome financial stress by choosing the best travel insurance plan. There are individual, family, student, senior citizen and Schengen insurance policies which can be subscribed as per your requirements.