Travel Insurance Glossary

A travel insurance policy is your safety net that ensures your financial and personal well-being from unexpected issues during or before your trip. However, you can make the best use of this net if you understand its intricacies and gaps. We have compiled a list of core terms related to travel insurance and simplified them for your understanding.

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Safety is not expensive, it's priceless!
Travel Insurance plans starting at just ₹20 per day*
  • No medical checkup required
  • Pre-existing coverage available
  • Instant Policy Issuance
  • Medical expenses, Trip cancellation/delay, Loss of baggage & Passport etc.
  • 24x7 claims support

* Price shown is for a 90 day trip to Glossary with 50,000 dollar coverage for an adult of age 25 years

A-D

Adventure Sports Cover

An optional travel insurance add-on that covers medical emergencies, accidental death, or permanent disability if you get injured while participating in high-risk sports (like scuba diving, trekking, or skydiving) in a non-professional capacity.

Assistance Company

This is a 24/7 global support partner appointed by your travel insurer. You need to contact them immediately to register an emergency claim, request a medical evacuation, or arrange cashless hospital payments while travelling abroad.

Bounced Airline Booking

This is an add-on cover that compensates you for emergency/extra flight arrangements if an airline overbooks your flight. In such cases, the airline unfairly denies you boarding on a confirmed ticket against your will.

Breach of Law with Criminal Intent

A standard policy exclusion means your insurer will immediately reject your claims and refuse to cover any injury, hospitalisation, or legal liability if you are caught intentionally committing an illegal or criminal act abroad.

Cancellation due to Visa Rejection

A specialised coverage benefit that reimburses your prepaid, non-refundable travel and hotel bookings if the embassy unexpectedly denies your tourist visa before your departure.

Cashless Facility

A direct claim settlement feature that has your travel insurer pay approved treatment bills directly to the network hospital abroad, saving you from paying huge medical costs out of your own pocket and waiting for reimbursement.

Checked-In Baggage

The personal luggage you hand over to the airline or transport carrier at the check-in counter, for which you receive an official baggage receipt. This explicitly excludes hand baggage, cabin bags, or items shipped separately.

Child Education Benefit

An optional financial safety net that pays a lump-sum amount to support the school or college fees of your surviving dependent children if you meet with a fatal travel accident during your trip.

Co-Payment

A cost-sharing clause where you agree to pay a pre-fixed percentage (e.g., 10% or 20%) of the approved medical bill out of your own pocket, while the insurance company pays the remaining balance.

Coma Cover

A specialised insurance extension that pays a guaranteed lump-sum financial benefit to your family if a severe accident during your trip puts you into a continuous, unconscious comatose state requiring intensive life support.

Common Carrier

Any fully licensed commercial public transport service such as a scheduled passenger airline, train, bus, or cruise ship authorised to carry fare-paying passengers. Standard policy accident benefits apply only when travelling on officially registered transport systems.

Congenital Anomalies

Physical or medical birth defects and structural abnormalities have been present since birth. Travel insurance completely excludes coverage for any medical treatments, surgeries, or emergencies linked to these conditions while travelling.

Day Care Treatment

Medical or surgical procedures that require you to be formally admitted to a hospital or clinic but allow you to be discharged within 24 hours, thanks to modern medical technology, eliminating the need for an overnight stay.

Deductible

A fixed, upfront amount (e.g., USD 50 or USD 100) that you must pay out of your own pocket for a claim before your travel insurance policy steps in to pay the remaining balance.

Delay of Checked-In Baggage

A benefit that provides a fixed financial allowance to buy essential emergency items (like clothes and toiletries) if the airline temporarily misplaces your checked luggage for more than a specific number of hours past your arrival.

Disclosure to Information Norm

A strict legal rule stating that your travel policy will be instantly cancelled and your claims rejected if you hide, misrepresent, or lie about important facts—such as failing to declare your past medical history when buying the plan.

E-L

Electronic Portable Items

Personal gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, and cameras are carried in your luggage. Since standard baggage covers heavily limits high-value items, these gadgets are categorised separately to determine specific depreciation rules and theft limits.

Emergency Medical Evacuation

A travel insurance benefit that covers the cost of emergency air or land transportation to move you to the nearest capable hospital if you fall critically ill abroad, as well as the cost of bringing you safely back to India for further recovery.

Flight Cancellation

This benefit compensates you for non-refundable expenses if your airline permanently cancels your scheduled international flight. This coverage requires that the cancellation be completely unexpected and not announced by the airline well in advance.

Flight Delay

This benefit provides you with a fixed financial allowance if your scheduled flight departs significantly later than planned. This is applicable if the flight is continuously delayed beyond a specified number of hours due to bad weather, technical faults, or industrial strikes.

Fraudulent Claim

An illegal reimbursement request made using fake documents, forged hospital bills, or exaggerated financial losses. Please note that filing a fake claim results in an immediate policy cancellation, outright claim rejection, and a permanent loss of premium.

Frequent Flyer

A unique add-on where the insurer reimburses the value of airline reward miles or loyalty points used to book your ticket if a covered emergency forces you to cancel your journey before departure.

ICU Charges

The hospital fees incurred for staying in an Intensive Care Unit. These costs cover the specialised critical-care bed, life-support equipment, and 24/7 continuous monitoring by dedicated critical care nurses.

Immediate Family Member

This is your close legal relative such as your spouse, child, parent, sibling, or parent-in-law. If your trip is disrupted because of their sudden death or life-threatening hospitalisation in India, it is a valid reason to claim trip cancellation benefits.

Intentional Self-Injury

A standard travel insurance exclusion where insurers will completely reject any medical, hospitalisation, or accidental death claims arising from a suicide attempt or purposeful self-harm.

Intoxication by Liquor or Drugs

This is a strict policy exclusion that rejects your entire coverage if you suffer an accident, injury, or illness while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or unprescribed narcotics.

Lifestyle Modification Cover

A policy add-on that reimburses the costs of installing prosthetics or physically modifying your home or vehicle in India (such as installing wheelchair ramps) if a severe travel accident leaves you permanently disabled.

Loss of Checked-In Baggage

A benefit that reimburses your financial loss only when an airline officially declares your entire checked bag permanently lost or undelivered. It does not compensate for minor external damage to the suitcase or for individual items missing from a lost bag.

M-P

Missed Connecting Flight

A financial safety net that reimburses alternative travel arrangements or unused ticket costs if you miss an onward flight. This applies strictly when your missed boarding is directly caused by the delayed arrival of your preceding flight due to severe weather or airline delays.

Non-Passenger Aviation Activities

An exclusion stating that your policy is invalid if you are injured while operating an aircraft, training as a pilot, serving as flight crew, or participating in extreme aerial sports like hot air ballooning. You are only covered when travelling as a standard, fare-paying passenger.

Non-Refundable Travel Expenses

The upfront, out-of-pocket costs paid for flights, hotels, or visa fees that booking operators refuse to refund if you cancel your trip. These form the baseline losses your insurer uses to calculate when settling a valid trip cancellation claim.

Notification of Claim

It is the formal process of informing your travel insurance company or their global assistance partner about an emergency. This can be an accident, or loss during your trip. This must be done within a specific time window to officially register your claim.

Nuclear and Radiation Hazards

No travel insurance company will cover medical treatments, evacuations, or property damage caused by exposure to nuclear explosions, radiation leaks, or hazardous chemical materials.

OPD

Outpatient Department (OPD) treatment refers to medical care where you visit a clinic or hospital consultation room for diagnosis, doctor checkups, minor tests, or pharmacy medicines without being admitted to a hospital bed overnight.

Personal Baggage

The everyday clothes, suitcases, and personal items you carry with you during your journey. Standard travel insurance generally excludes high-value items like hard cash, luxury watches, and fine jewellery from this category.

Pre-Authorisation

The mandatory process of obtaining official, advance approval from your insurer's assistance team before undergoing major, non-emergency hospital surgeries or booking medical evacuations abroad. Skipping this step can lead to a direct claim rejection.

Pre-Existing Disease (PED)

Any medical condition, injury, or chronic illness (like diabetes or hypertension) that was diagnosed, treated, or for which medical advice was taken within the 36 months (3 years) right before your travel insurance policy starts.

Pregnancy and Childbirth Complications

An exclusion stating that standard travel insurance does not cover medical costs for routine pregnancy, delivery, elective abortions, or prenatal care abroad. Only sudden, life-threatening pregnancy emergencies caused by a direct accident are considered.

R-W

Reasonable and Customary Charges

The standard, average cost of medical treatments charged by hospitals within a specific geographical area. If a foreign clinic wildly overcharges you, your insurer will only pay up to these baseline local market rates.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

A strict policy exclusion means that your insurer will completely reject medical claims for the diagnosis, treatment, or health complications arising from venereal diseases or sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Subrogation

A legal clause which allows your insurance company to "step into your shoes" after paying your claim. It gives them the authority to legally pursue and recover those paid expenses from the third party that actually caused your accident or financial loss.

Travelling Against Medical Advice

This is an important policy exclusion that applies if you take an international trip despite a doctor certifying that you are medically unfit to fly. If your primary objective is to seek medical treatment overseas, claims arising from this will be completely rejected.

Travelling Companion

The specific individual officially booked to travel alongside you on the exact same itinerary and dates. To trigger mutual trip cancellation benefits due to an emergency, this person must typically be insured under the same plan or provider.

Trip Cancellation

This is a major pre-trip insurance benefit which is applicable before your trip begins. It reimburses your prepaid, non-refundable expenses if a sudden, unexpected emergency forces you to cancel your journey before departure. These can’t be just any reasons, but covered ones such as severe illness, a natural disaster, or a tragedy in the immediate family.

War and Civil Commotion

This is a universal exclusion where insurers refuse to cover medical emergencies, property damages, or flight disruptions caused by events beyond their control. These include foreign invasions, military coups, civil riots, rebellions, or declared wars.

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Travel Insurance Companies

Disclaimer: The list of insurers mentioned are arranged according to the alphabetical order of the names of insurers respectively. Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by any insurer. The list of plans listed here comprise of insurance products offered by all the insurance partners of Policybazaar. For complete list of insurers in India refer to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India website www.irdai.gov.in

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* Price shown is for a 90 day trip to Glossary with 50,000 dollar coverage for an adult of age 25 years

Coverage, exclusions and claim outcomes may vary depending on insurer, policy wording and circumstances of the loss.

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