Do I need to buy travel insurance? This was the question asked by a friend who was scheduled to go on an international trip. My tone was rather stern and I said, “Absolutely Yes”. We often get excited about our maiden trip abroad and indulge in meticulous planning. From air tickets, Visa, itinerary, shopping to packing, everything comes under consideration except a few travel essentials, that we ignore completely. The Travel Insurance Policy tops the chart of the travel essentials. Travelling to a new country with family and friends can undoubtedly give you the much-needed break from your mundane lifestyle. Moreover, the exciting new destinations and thrilling activities will surely rejuvenate the travel spirits. But a misfortune may come unannounced and your dream trip may be ruined in case you fall ill or meet with an accident in a foreign land. Anything can happen, from losing personal belongings to important documents like passport, flight delay, etc. In such emergency situations, it is the travel insurance policy that comes to your rescue. Whether it is paying expensive medical bills, claiming lost baggage/ personal documents, hotel accommodations, you can literally take care of any such situation with the right travel insurance policy.
It was during my first international trip to Thailand a few years ago, when I purchased my first travel insurance policy. I was amazed to know about the benefits it offered to travelers. I would say that a travel insurance policy is a blessing in disguise. It not only makes your travel hassle-free but also allows you to enjoy a carefree holiday. Travel Insurance is essentially a boon for people who travel extensively. All travel insurance policies have specific benefits and it is imperative that we take the time out and choose the right policy which covers all the risks. But before you buy a travel insurance, you should consider the check points mentioned below.
Check Point before purchasing Travel Insurance
- What all are covered by your travel insurance?
- Does the travel insurance policy cover pre-existing medical conditions?
- Will the travel insurance cover sports and high-risk activities?
- Does it cover the cancellation coverage?
- Do you need pre-authorization from the travel insurance company for treatment /hospitalization?
- What is the payment process in case of hospitalization?
- What does it exclude from covering in the Policy?
It is imperative to know the terms and conditions of the travel insurance before you proceed to buy one. Better safe than sorry applies perfectly here. Most of the travel insurance policies generally cover more or less the basic coverage, but it is always advisable to double check the coverage. It also depends on your requirements. Based on the coverage, the premium is decided. So, you should be aware of the benefits and the coverage before you press the button for payment. You get all different levels of travel insurance from fully comprehensive packages to smaller levels. There are different travel insurance for students, family and individuals available.
Apart from that, there are country specific travel insurance policies like Schengen country insurance and Non-Schengen country insurance. For example, if you are travelling to some European countries (which are part of the EU) for holiday or business and the duration is less than 90 days, you must have Schengen Travel Insurance to apply for a Visa. While selecting your travel insurance policy, also check whether you want a single trip insurance or annual trip insurance. If you are a frequent traveler who often travels abroad on business purpose, then it is advisable to buy the annual trip insurance for maximum benefits. But if you travel abroad rarely, then a single trip insurance will work well for you.
Having already discussed the check points above, let us now have a look at the benefits one gets when buying travel insurance. There are numerous benefits for travelers offered by various travel insurance companies. Let’s find out the benefits of buying the Bharti AXA travel insurance here:
Medical and Dental Expenses:
In case of any illness on foreign soil, you can rely on your travel insurance as it includes medical expenses, repatriation, and emergency medical evaluation. Even dental care expenses such as acute and aesthetic treatment of teeth is covered.
Personal Accident:
If you meet with an unfortunate accident during your trip, the policy can compensate for bodily injuries, permanent or partial disablement,or even death caused due to an accident.
Daily Cash Allowance:
Payment of daily allowance for the number of days that the insured person is hospitalized in case it exceeds the number of days covered for hospitalization in the policy document. For example, if the person is hospitalized for 6 days and under the policy only 4 days of hospitalization is covered, then the insured person will get a daily allowance for the 2 additional days.
Loss of essentials:
In case of loss/theft of passport, documents, delay or loss of checked-in baggage, you can claim compensation for the same.
Legal Expenses:
All legal costs and expenses are covered in case of claims towards third-party liabilities that arise out of death or bodily injuries.
Trip cancellation/delay:
In case non-refundable prepaid payments are made or there are additional expenses incurred subject to the limit of Sum Insured, on a trip being cancelled or interrupted due to medical problems of the Insured/Insured person’s family member, personal employment problems or natural disasters, the insurance company will compensate and cover the expenses incurred by you.
Emergency Accommodation:
If you aren’t able to stay in the original accommodation due any natural disaster, you will be compensated for any additional cost of emergency accommodation.
Hijack Distress:
In case if there is a hijack on a common carrier for a certain number of hours, distress allowance is compensated.
Home and Fire Insurance:
Any kind of loss or damage of things at your home back in India, caused by theft or fire, will be covered.
It is paramount that we buy a Travel Insurance in order to safeguard ourselves and our family from any unforeseen expenses.The right travel insurance takes care of any untimely expenses and makes our travel uncomplicated and problem-free.
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Your blog has important tips for those who love to travel like me. Aside from happy pills I have when I go travel the world alone or with someone, safety is the one should come first. My friend suggested me to purchase travel insurance wherever I do.
….Jeez. It’s been a long time I actually pulled out a piece of printer paper to take notes on a blog post lol. Thanks for this. You’ve earned yourself a new reader!
Awesome work. That’s was helpful for me. Very informative blog keep up the good.
Superb Post, Thanks for sharing the article. It is very informative and was searching for the content related to the topic.
I hardly ever buy travel insurance. However you make some very good points in favor of obtaining it. Your tips are really good as well. I’ll certainly explore it the next time I travel internationally.
wow these are really awesome really like your post you just made 1 more follower to your site
wow these tips are really awesome really like your post you just made 1 more follower to your site
Taking up travel insurance is of utmost importance so as to ensure that tourists like us are able to truly enjoy our trips without needing to worry about anything else, knowinf that we are fully covered should anything unpleasant happen. If one can afford to travel, why not top up with a couple of bucks to get a peace of mind?
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I absolutely agree. Everyone should have coverage in case something happens. I usually either buy a travel insurance, or make sure that our health insurance covers us abroad. The most important thing is to make sure also an emergency flights are covered because they can be very expensive. Now that we have kids, I sometimes even get the insurance to change the flight if needed. You never know with the little ones.
We were just talking about this and I would have to agree that getting travel insurance is a must for international trips. It is so hard and expensive to get sick abroad. I just shared your post to my other travel buddies.
I think it is horror when someone doesnt have a travel insurance and I just pray for them that nothing serious happens! We are actually at the end of our world tour planification but we are still deciding with which travel insurance we are chosing. The World nomad is recommended by most of the travels but as soon as you are seny home for care, they dont covered that anymore…so we are still figuring out how we are doing.
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Many travellers consider travel insurance as just another expense and tend not to buy one. But it is so very important. In most cases, your travels may go without any hitch but emergencies can happen at any time, anywhere. And this is where travel insurance plays an important part. I have never travelled overseas without a travel insurance. And having had to use the insurance once to claim medical coverage when I was hospitalised during my travels, I cannot stress how important insurance is.
This is an interesting post. I am a frequent traveller but I have never actually considered buying travel insurance. One of the reasons is that I get medical insurance from my workplace but that, obviously, does not cover baggage loss, non-refundable flights, etc, only the medical aspect. Thanks for this informative post, maybe i will look into travel insurance that focuses on these aspects of travel rather than just medical!
Even I didn’t know about the importance of buying travel insurance when traveling abroad. Imagine, I visited some countries without buying one. But, now I always buy travel insurance. You wrote a very informative and detailed article!
I have had to call upon my travel insurance several times and cannot stress enough how important it is to take out a policy. There are too many headlines of people failing to take out a policy then pleading for people to help them raise funds to get home. Considering the small cost of a policy, it is foolish to travel without