Carry Your Travel Insurance Before Going On A Vacation

Going on a vacation without any pre-planning does seem adventurous, but one of the most ignored aspects of an international trip planning is travel insurance. The travellers don’t realise that the cost of treatment of a simple stomach infection abroad might just become more expensive than the cost of their trip. Normally a health insurance cover bought in India does not hold valid on foreign land for your healthcare needs unless specially provided for in your health insurance policy. Domestic health insurance and travel insurance are not the same.

Travel insurance does not just take care of your medical expenses but also other situations that could arise. These include flight cancellations, loss or delay of baggage, stolen passports, trip cancellations, terror attack and more. Who would not like to avoid additional expenses on account of these incidences?

Travel insurance is easy to buy and can be purchased online. One should always shop around before buying a policy. The reason is that travel insurance, while a standardised product still has many catches to look out for.

 Pre-Existing Conditions

One aspect to look for is the cover for pre-existing conditions. Some insurance companies will cover a health emergency caused due to a pre-existing situation and others won’t.

Incidental Cover

An airline needs to get you to your destination as a part of your contract with them. But there are many clauses where the airline is not obliged to reimburse you in case there is a cancellation or delay beyond their control. The terror attack on twin towers left many passengers stranded across many airports of the world. In such a situation, one could end up spending a lot of money on hotels, meals and alternate travel arrangements. Here, the insurance company would have stepped in to reimburse the incidental costs.

Trip Interruption Benefit

Travel insurance policy would also compensate if there is some sort of an issue midway through trip that causes you to curtail your stay. Under the trip interruption benefit, the travel policy would cover you up to a prespecified limit for expenses. If you were in Sri Lanka when the bomb blast occurred on Easter Sunday and you had to head home with a first flight, you get trip interruption benefit.

Choose Your Plan Wisely

If you are a frequent international traveler, you might want to buy an annual plan that covers multiple trips or single trip insurance if you don’t travel as often. It would work out cheaper for business travellers to have an annual plan.

On-The-Spot Assistance

It’s important to check that you are buying a policy which provides you with on-the-spot assistance on the foreign land. Managing money when you are on a foreign land might be difficult if you opt for a policy which asks you to pay off front and get reimbursed later.

So, the next time you pack your bags, make sure you spend some time in buying a right travel insurance plan and avoid unforeseen expenses when you are on a foreign land. Hope you never have to use this policy.

The author is the CEO, Quickinsure Insurance Brokers .