How to Get the Best Deal for Buying a Student Travel Insurance Policy?

What is Student Travel Insurance?

Like all travel health insurance policies, student travel insurance is specially made for people traveling and temporarily residing abroad for higher studies. The plan can be easily bought to suit your institute’s or your personal requirements. At an affordable premium, you will be able to seek compensation for any additional expenses that your policy will cover. Common problems like flight delays/cancellation, medical expenses, loss of baggage, etc. will be taken care of by your insurer so that you’re not left alone in a foreign land.

How Does Student Insurance Work?

It is simple, you pay a small premium for your insurance policy that will offer you coverage against the mentioned cases and if you face any of those, your insurer will pay you a fixed amount to help you cope with that loss. For example, accidents, sudden sickness, loss of wallet, your flight suddenly canceling on your trip, etc. These cases differ from one insurer to another and cannot be fixed.

If by any misfortune you do get in a pickle and need to pay during those covered emergencies, your insurer will be in touch with you and help you either with a cashless claim procedure or reimburse the amount (up to a predetermined limit) to you later once the formalities are done. How nice is that??  

Ways to Get the Best Deals for Student Travel Insurance Policy?

Most international universities are highly coveted and need extensive preparation to get into. The top study destinations are extremely competitive and offer high-quality education to those who make it there. So, if you're one of them, nothing should be stopping you from chasing your dreams. Least of all, money worries should be the last thing you should think about once your travel plans have been finalized. As soon as you accept your admission offer, you should start looking for the best student travel insurance deals around you. Since there are multiple options to consider, make sure to use the following tips to narrow down your options:

Find Appropriate Coverage

The best way to start is to know what's out there. You should get an idea about what are the latest benefits offered to you and what are the dangers abroad that you could be exposed to. Only after this thorough research will you know which plan will suit you and which one will be just a waste.

Different countries have varying situations, societies, and medical services. It's a fact that treatment in developed countries like Canada, the USA, and other parts of Europe is pretty expensive when compared to India.

Compare to Find Cheap Coverage

Once you've decided what benefits you'd be needing in the new place, it is time to start comparing. According to your budget and requirements, you will find many insurance providers offering a number of plans. You should go for a plan which offers you the best at the same or lesser price. These coverages are covered later in this article. If you’re using an agent to find a plan, it’s possible to negotiate the price and even avail of some discounts. However, this will be entirely at the discretion of your insurance company’s rules.

Buy Your Travel Health Plan Online

Opting for online convenience is going to save you a considerable amount of money and time. This is because it cuts down any middlemen and agents that may be involved in the purchase. These plans can be easily compared and read in detail before you get a final quote. This can also be done on Policybazaar.com where a variety of student travel insurance policies are available. You can learn more about them, compare them with other available plans and buy them easily without any complications.

Don’t Forget Fact Check

Finally, when you’ve compared and finalized different plans, make sure you have your facts in order. Ask yourself these questions before you pay the premium”

• Does your university require travel insurance from an Indian provider or need you to buy a plan which is offered by the institute itself?
• Is there any additional requirement that your policy may not be offering?
• Are issues like loss of passport, baggage, etc. taken care of?
• Is your insurer providing worldwide 24x7 assistance to you?
• How long will it take them to settle your claims?
• What is your insurer’s claim settlement ratio?

These are some of the important questions you should ask yourself before buying a plan. Finally, once you settle on an insurer, ensure you’ve read about them and done a reputation check. If you find valid and satisfactory answers to these questions, then you are good to go!

Look Out for These Benefits in Your Student Travel Insurance Policy

With so many travel insurance companies in India offering plenty of plans, make sure your insurer provides you the following benefits at the least:

Medical Related Coverage

First and most important, your policy should protect you against any expenses because of emergency medical expenses in a foreign land. These could be due to sickness, injuries, or even sudden dental pains. In worse-case scenarios like hospitalization, disability, or death, your policy should offer medical evacuation or repatriation expenses.

Baggage Related Coverage

Imagine this: A student trying to carry some pieces of their home to another country among other important documents, only to find it lost or stolen. With so many mixups by airlines, the chances of your baggage getting delayed or lost are pretty high during an international flight. In case your checked-in baggage is delayed or lost, your insurer should compensate for that loss and offer enough reimbursement for basic necessities to help you start your new life.

Stay Related Coverage

For the duration you will be staying in a foreign country, there are many complications that can affect your financial budget. Personal liability in case you find yourself accidentally liable to another party, or a legal difficulty requiring bail money; your policy should offer you protection by covering these expenses too. Most importantly, the policy should offer important student-specific contingencies like study interruption, sponsor protection, compassionate visit, etc.

Additional Coverage

In addition to everything mentioned above, your policy should be customizable. This will let you tailor it to your university’s and your needs. Thanks to add-ons (optional covers) many policies offer optional coverage like college sports injuries, maternity benefits, mental health expenses, and many more. These can be easily bought at an extra premium to ensure nothing is left to chance!

Over to you,

While some universities require travel health insurance mandatorily, there are many institutions around the world that may not ask for one. However, given the risks and expenses that you may end up getting exposed to, you should not skip buying a plan. At the most, it is important to have someone help you with any emergency health and legal expenses that you may get caught up in. In a country far away from your home, a student travel insurance plan will help you better than any distant relative in terms of support and expenses.