Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance isn’t a luxury – its a must. A lot of us enjoy a vacation after a long time, for which we have saved money. So it makes sense to protect your investment. The travel plan you choose is critical to the success of your trip. This is an insurance that is intended to cover medical and non medical losses while travelling, if any. At one time, people would be afraid of bringing up this topic because it was considered negative. But not anymore. It is one of the most essential items to pack today. It is your health, holiday, luggage and documents. There are several Travel Insurance companies offering varied plans for various kinds of travel. Students, businessmen, holidaymakers, adventurers etc.
The top three reasons you should have a travel insurance policy are
Peace of mind
Protection against the unexpected
Concern over losing financial investment over trip
The general things that could possibly go wrong are
Your flight gets cancelled
They lose your bags which contain your crucial medication and you need an emergency replacement
Your passport / wallet are stolen
You need to cancel the trip due to illness
Your airline / cruise / tour operator goes bankrupt
You have a medical emergency in a foreign country
Emergency evacuation due to floods / hurricane / accident
Terrorist attack, forcing you to cancel trip
Accident in a foreign country
Lost / damaged / delayed / stolen baggage
Rental car damage
Cashless hospitalization
Types of Travel Insurance
Trip Cancellation and Flight Interruption
This kind of insurance protects the buyer against any sort of unforeseen interruptions and events, that prevent you from going on or finishing your trip. What if you are booked on a once in a lifetime cruise holiday. Its big money. Won’t it make sense to protect your investment? This also covers illness, injury or even death of a member of the insured’s immediate family. Insure your trip. Its always the best thing to do. But go through a certified and licenced Insurance company, not the tour operator or cruise line. This policy will also cover you for cancelled and delayed flights.
Health Care
Sometimes people get confused with their regular medical policy and this one. This is specially for your travel and not related to the medical policy you hold. Medical Insurance encompasses several types of coverage. This is highly recommended for passengers taking cruises or travelling to remote areas. This will cover evacuation and expatriation too. This helps in facilitating cashless transaction in case you are hospitalized and any other medical assistance you may need suddenly.
Luggage Insurance
The coverage under this policy includes lost, damaged, delayed and stolen baggage. While the airline is responsible, they have limited responsibility with regards to this matter. Each ticket had a notice printed on it called the Warsaw Convention. Read that sometime. This is the international convention that regulates the airlines liability with regards to baggage, persons or goods.
There are other covers too. For your document protection, sports equipment, adventure travel etc. The above are the main ones.
In India, the main Travel Insurance companies are:
Cholamandalam General Insurance Company
The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.
The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
Royal Sundaram General Insurance
The Action Plan
1. Evaluate the total expenditure on holiday and then decide on appropriate plan. If its just a sector ticket you buy, say $100, you won’t be getting cover right?
2. Compare a few companies and their plans before you freeze on the one you want.
3. Go through a certified Insurance company.
4. Always read the fine print. Ask questions and clear any doubts.
Always decide on the cover that is most appropriate for you after going through the cover carefully. Either do it on your own, through the links provided or contact your travel agent to guide you. Check the inclusions and exclusions. Never take your insurance from the tour operator or cruise line, always go through an independent Insurance Company. Its your holiday, your family and hard earned money, protect it. Be insured and rest assured you will have peace of mind.
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