Worried about flight delay,
baggage loss or medical emergency? Make sure you pack a travel insurance along
with your baggage. A look at the options that can come in handy
While booking travel tickets,
most of us uncheck the ‘buy insurance’ box or decline to buy travel insurance
from agents because it costs extra money. It is good to be optimistic that
nothing can go wrong, but it could get really troublesome if things do go
wrong, especially on foreign soil where help is difficult to get. It,
therefore, makes sense to buy protection against all kinds of disasters that
can strike during travel.
Although travel insurance is not
mandatory, it is highly recommended. If you fall seriously ill while
travelling, these covers can save you a tidy sum, given the skyhigh
hospitalisation costs in countries such as the US and Canada. Also, it is best
to carry a travel cover if you are planning a vacation with a bawling infant or
a toddler in tow.
Delay in receiving baggage or,
worse, loss of baggage, can throw all your carefully laid out plans in
jeopardy, especially if you are travelling for an occasion that has a specific
dressing protocol. However, if you have travel insurance, you can use the money
to go on a shopping spree to put together a dandy wardrobe.
Despite these obvious advantages,
many people do not opt for travel insurance as it is not mandated for travel
within India and in (some) foreign countries. Some people are simply not aware
of it.
The importance of travel
insurance is realised only when one goes through a hard time. For instance,
this January, more than 100 flights were delayed at Delhi international airport
due to dense fog. In another scenario, several passengers were injured in the
recent Nepal flight crash. While one cannot avoid such situations, travel
insurance could mitigate the financial inconvenience, if not the emotional
trauma.
What’s on the menu
Unlike covers for life and
health, purchase of travel insurance is by far the easiest. You can buy it even
a few hours before your travel. The choice of insurance depends on the travel
destination and the duration of travel. According to industry experts, not many
opt for domestic travel insurance as they could be holding a health and
personal accidental cover that can be used during medical emergencies. But if
you want to insure yourself against loss of baggage, flight delay and
cancellation or delay in receiving baggage, it would be best to go for a
comprehensive travel insurance for domestic travel too.
Domestic travel insurance can be
bought online or offline through airlines, travel aggregators/agents, insurance
companies’ portals and insurance aggregators. It is recommended that travel
insurance be bought irrespective of the place of travel — for both domestic and
international use. Frequent travellers could find a travel cover particularly
handy, given the regular delays in flights/trains.
For international travel, travel
duration plays a crucial role in deciding the insurance; whether you are making
a single trip or multiple trips throughout the year. In case of a single trip,
the maximum policy period is usually six months, although it may vary with
insurance companies. These single trip plans are suitable for individuals going
abroad for a specific period — on a vacation, graduation of a family member or
for any other purpose. A multitrip policy is usually valid for a year. The
customer has to pay the premium only once and gets to undertake as many trips
as he/she wants, within the policy period.
There are travel plans
specifically tailored for students going abroad for studies. The policy period
can vary from one month to a year or it can cover the entire duration of study.
The basic cover takes care of medical emergencies during the travel and, while
the student is abroad, baggage loss, trip delay, flight cancellation, and so
on.
Most student travel policies come
with a sponsor cover, wherein, if the sponsor of the policy (parent or
guardian) is no more (during the period the policy is in force), the insurance
company would cover the tuition fees for the student. Other covers include
family visits, loss of laptop and tuition fee repayment on behalf of the
student (in case the study is interrupted or discontinued, the insurer will
reimburse the tuition fee so far paid).
There are also other types of
travel insurance plans specifically targeted at some sections of the
population. For instance, many general insurance companies provide senior
citizen travel policies where they enjoy the same benefits (as other plans)
such as emergency medical expenses cover, personal accident, daily
hospitalisation allowance. Similarly, you can also buy one travel insurance for
the entire family and all sections of the travel policy would be on a floater
basis. Normally, family will include self, spouse and two children.
Know your policy covers
Once you know the type of travel
insurance to take, all you have to do is buy one. Almost all general insurance
and (few) standalone health insurance players offer travel policies. Since
there is a greater need for insurance during international travel, let’s
consider what’s on offer.
A basic travel insurance plan
will cover certain key medical and non-medical expenses. In medical or
health-related covers, all travel policies provide covers for emergency medical
expenses, personal liability expenses (it covers expenses due to injury to
third-party or damage to that person’s property), personal accident cover, medical
or emergency evacuation, cash on hospitalisation or cash in emergencies such as
if you get robbed. The premium to be paid will differ depending on the players
and the policy cover opted.
Non-medical covers include
payments for baggage delay, loss of baggage, loss of passport, trip delay and
cancellation, repatriation of mortal remains and getting hijacked. In addition,
players such as Bajaj Allianz and Tata AIG offer covers for home burglary,
hotel change or hotel upgrade and trip curtailment.
Premium rates vary across
players, so you need to be careful in choosing the best rate. For instance,
ICICI Lombard charges premium of ₹1,178 (including
tax) for single trip for an individual for a cover of $1 lakh. This plan
provides medical and non-medical covers. On the other hand, Bajaj
Allianz General Insurance charges ₹1,377 (excluding
tax) for a cover of $2 lakh — single trip for an individual.
In addition to the basic covers,
the company also gives home burglary insurance between ₹1 lakh and
₹3 lakh, if your home is burgled while you are away, and covers expenses
for hotel change or upgrade to a superior class in a hotel.
You should also look at what’s
covered. Flight delay is not covered by companies such as New India Assurance
while Star General Insurance provides up to $150 ($25 per hour) and Religare
Health Insurance gives $500 maximum for delay beyond 12 hours.
A policy holder has to fulfil
certain conditions to get the claim. For instance, loss of checked-in baggage
will be covered only if you had lost it while in custody of common carrier
(commercial transport flying on regular routes at agreed rates).
Also, the insurance company
deducts a certain amount before paying the claim in certain cases. In case of
emergency medical expenses, for instance, some insurance companies insist on a
deductible — an amount of, say, $100 to be borne by you.
On a cautionary note
Before deciding on the travel
insurance, read the exclusions and the policy document to understand how much
of the claim will eventually be settled.
For instance, if there is an
accident that leads to permanent loss of hearing in both ears, ICICI Lombard
Travel Insurance pays only 75 per cent of the sum assured as part of personal
accident cover.
Similarly, look for the extent of
premium repayment in case of policy cancellation. ICICI Lombard will not allow
cancellation unless the unexpired period of the policy exceeds 30 days. On the
other hand, Bajaj Allianz deducts cancellation charges of at least ₹250, and the refund of the premium depends on how soon you
return from your travel.
Simply put, travel insurance is your plan B, if
all your best laid out plans for the trip go awry.