What is Travel Insurance

What is Travel Insurance in Simple Words?

While travel insurance is required by most developed countries, it has not yet been a common purchase during domestic travels. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Indians have started opting for travel insurance plans to safeguard any added expenses while they need to travel.

To put it simply, travel insurance protects you from unwanted extra expenses while you are away from the safety of your home. Everyone has a budget and the last thing you need on a trip is getting into unpleasant medical or legal situations. This is where travel insurance comes to your rescue; not only do they provide you with sufficient coverage but also offer you proper assistance through their emergency help lines.

What are the Benefits that you can avail?

Many domestic insurance plans offer special benefits like child education bonuses and different plans for people traveling by bus, trains, e-commerce cabs, and other modes of transport. Some of the common benefits offered by most travel insurance providers are listed below:

• Help with any accident or sickness-related medical expenses, including dental treatments
• Compensation for any baggage loss, delay, or other related troubles
• Reimbursement for expenses in case of passport loss or bounced bookings
• Personal accident covers that provide compensation for the insured person's death or disability
• Many policies have special add-on covers that protect you in case of home burglary, hijack, missed flight, and more.

There is no doubt regarding the fact that travel insurance is the best way to cover or unpredictable scenarios that may crop up when you are on the move. Make sure you are aware of the most common features that come with your travel insurance policy:

What is Trip Cancellation or Interruption Coverage in Travel Insurance?

Unforeseen situations may get your trip canceled; this can happen because of your airline’s issues or maybe from your end.  What is going to happen to your ticket price and all the bookings you made? It will definitely lead to a substantial loss if you do cancel because of unavoidable reasons.

This is where a travel insurance cover for flight delay or flight cancellation helps.

You can get most of your money back and even something on top of that. This however depends on what kind of insurance you have selected, along with any add-ons. International travel insurance compensates the customers in case the trip is canceled due to untoward happenings.

Having a travel insurance plan also covers you from flight cancellation or flight delays by providing immediate compensation or accommodation expenses if the delay is over 12 hours.

On the other hand, domestic travel insurance plans also compensate you for missing trains or flights and even cover sudden stay-related expenses for the insured and their family members.

Baggage and Personal Effects Coverage in Travel Insurance

As per BBC News, over 20 million pieces of baggage are misplaced each year by airlines globally. Misplacement, delay, or losses of luggage are some of the problems that may occur during the course of your travel. With over 40% baggage losses occurring during international travels, you can be left in the lurch if this happens to you.

However, this does not have to be so, when you have hefty travel insurance to provide the ideal kind of cover in such situations. It can help to replace at least your essentials during the trip and gives you compensation for any relevant necessary expenses that are pre-determined by your policy.

This is applicable on domestic travels too, where the loss of baggage cover can be purchased with many plans. This ensures that you can still be compensated for any necessary medicines and utilities while traveling.

You can buy travel insurance online since this surely helps to provide at least an iota of satisfaction even if you may not ever get back what you lost in the first place.

Short-Term Medical and Major Medical Coverage

The most important cover provided by your travel insurance is medical expenses coverage which provides financial aid when you are in a pickle in an alien city or country. This may include anything from hospital charges, the footing of pharmacy bills, cashless facilities, and even emergency evacuations if such a need arises. In extreme scenarios, the company will also provide for the transport of the remains in case a person dies while traveling.

The reimbursement is usually made through cashless hospitalization or compensated later, depending on your urgency and policy terms. With medical travel insurance in place, you can surely breathe a sigh of relief and concentrate on sightseeing and other aspects of your vacation or business trip.

Accidental Death and Flight Accident Cover

Probably the most dreaded benefit, if unfortunately you or a loved one meets with a fatal accident or bodily injury while traveling then this cover will provide some relief with the medical expenses and other unavoidable expenses incurred during treatment and repatriation.

This is also applicable if the insured person’s flight or train meets with an accident resulting in their death or dismemberment. In case of such unforeseen losses, the insurer provides the beneficiary with the maximum amount as per the policy's sum insured.

The Bottom Line

Medical travel insurance is just one of the aspects of such covers to keep you and your family safe and happy while ensuring the best vacations in all respects. In today’s day and age, traveling without hefty travel insurance may seem suicidal. After all, the unpredictability of life is ever increasing. So be sure to compare before buying the desired plan by visiting Policybazaar.com. In case of any confusion, you can also write to us at care@policybazaar.com.