Insurance for travel
Traveling either for business or pleasure offers rich and varied experiences. People insurance for travel within ones country or globally. Travel mishaps are unexpected.
Mishaps can occur at any place or time. Sicknesses, injury, travel delay, loss of baggage in transit or worse situations could mar the pleasure of travel. These defeat the very purpose of travel. Unexpected medical expenses far from home, global terrorism and unpredictability of life could deter people from traveling. Travel insurance safeguards the interests of the traveler against these risks. Insurance protects the travel investment and personal health of millions of individuals and families. Travel insurance provides total peace of mind before and while traveling. It covers travel within the country or internationally.
Insurance cover is available for international vacationers, business executives and consultants, missionary groups, expatriates, professional entertainers and athletes. Government entities, schools and universities, professional marine captains, individual or groups can also avail insurance cover.
The most common risks that are covered by travel insurances are:
- Cancellation of trips
- Delayed departure
- Loss, theft or damage to personal possessions and money (including travel documents)
- Delayed baggage delivery (and emergency replacement of essential items)
- Medical expenses
- Emergency evacuation/repatriation
- Overseas funeral expenses
- Accidental death, injury or disablement benefit
- Legal assistance
Basic travel insurance coverage
Basic coverage can be brought under the following major categories. The traveler can choose the ones most suited to their needs. It is better done after understanding insurance for travel the coverage offered under each of these categories.
1. Cancellation or Curtailment: Trips are at times cancelled or cut short. Reasons may be illness, injury, redundancy, police request following burglary and damage to home. At such times the insured is covered against loss of pre-paid travel and accommodation costs.
2. Personal Accident: Travel insurance covers for accidental injury resulting in death, loss of eye or loss of limb. It also covers permanent disablement.
3. Medical and Other Expenses: Insurance covers the hospital and other medical expenses incurred abroad. It includes additional hotel and repatriation expenses. The insuring company makes available round the clock emergency service.
4. Hospital Benefit: The insurer pays an additional amount for the cost of in-patient treatment in a hospital abroad. This is paid on per day basis.
5. Baggage and Personal Effects: It covers the accidental loss or damage to personal belongings or delayed baggage arrival. Overall limit for loss of valuables such as camera, jewels, furs etc are fixed.
6. Money and Documents: Insurance covers money, tickets and travelers checks against accidental loss or theft.
7. Loss of Passport: This is available to international travelers. At times there are instances of lost passports. Insurance covers additional travel and accommodation costs for obtaining a replacement of the passport.
8. Travel Delay: Outward or inward flights are delayed at times due to adverse weather, mechanical breakdown or industrial action. The policy covers such delays. However the entitlement varies depending on the hours of delay.
9. Missed Departure: This is available for international travels.
At times the insurance for travel arrives too late at the outward departure point. This delay has to be due to absence of public transport, mechanical failure or accident involving the car traveled in. Under such circumstances the insurer generally pays the additional travel and accommodation expenses incurred in reaching the destination.
10. Personal Liability: It covers the liability for injury or damage to other people or their property during travel.
11. Legal Expenses: The insurer provides the legal expenses following the injury. It is to pursue your rights against a third party following injury.
12. Hijack: This coverage is available for international travelers only. The company pays up for each day you are prevented from reaching your destination.
13. Winter sport equipment: The policy covers loss or theft or damage of skis, boots and poles. The equipments in question may either be owned or hired. Level of reimbursement varies depending on whether owned or hired.
14. Ski pack: At times the insurer is unable to ski due to illness or injury. Under the circumstances, the company reimburses the pre-booked cost of ski pack.
Coverage and cost of insurance vary depending on the country of the traveler and the insurer. Widest choices for period of insurance are available for various types of travelers. Single trip holiday or round the world trips are most common options. Multi-trip insurance may suit frequent travelers moving as families, singles, groups or couples. Insurance for travelers over age sixty five and special business travel schemes are the specific categories to suit different people.
Single Trip Travel Insurance is suitable for a single short holiday travel. Coverage is generally provided to various sports activities too along with travel trips. It is a comprehensive single trip travel insurance cover for medical emergencies, loss or damage to belongings, reimbursement for travel delays, personal liability cover, support with legal costs and many other options. Most of the insurers provide a round the clock emergency helpline.
Annual Multi Trip Insurance annual policy offers both convenience and value for money for those planning to travel repeatedly during a year. Coverage includes medical emergencies, personal belongings, travel delay, personal liability, legal costs and much more
Backpackers policies are meant for adventure travelers for adventure sports. These include bungee jumps, scuba diving and white water rafting. Cover for medical emergencies, personal belongings and repayment of student loan, personal accident, personal liability, legal costs and more.
Travel Insurance over 65 is a special category of insurance for those aged between 65 and 75. Single and Annual Travel insurance policies are available. Annual Travel insurance over 65s policies offer a generous duration limit of 31 days per trip. Cover includes medical emergencies, personal accident and personal liability and belongings. It also reimburses for travel delays and cancellations.
Business insurance for travel provides cover for delayed business equipment, and will even pay for a courier to get vital items for business trips. Group policies are also available.
This is a broad outline of travel insurance policy. Various companies offer variants of the same to suit different needs.
Purchase and Effective Date of coverage:
Travel policy has to be bought atleast the day before or on the day of travel. Individual travelers and those traveling through agents can purchase the policies. For medical coverage policies, coverage begins on the day of departure. If purchased on or after departure date, coverage begins the next day. Flight Accident Policies become effective the day of departure upon boarding the flight.
Travel insurances cover exactly the duration of that trip. A more extensive, continuous insurance can be purchased at the time of travel, from insurance companies who offer such facilities. An insurance card provided by the company is sufficient proof for availing all the facilities. Some companies even offer automatic extension of coverage for specific periods in case of extension of travel period. The card furnishes contact details in the country of travel in case of need.
Cancellation of policy:
Many companies allow you to review the policy for a few days following purchase. Cancellation of the policy within that period is permitted. The companies also refund the cost in full. However most of them do not refund the processing fee charged earlier.
It is better to ensure a comprehensive coverage. Because they combine insurance with services designed to help you manage health and safety threats. They also identify and access quality healthcare overseas. One has to choose the company offering all the benefits at a competitive cost.
Buying travel insurance amounts to buying peace of mind which can be the best incentive for insurance for travel. It is always better to take your trip knowing that you are insurance covered and hence in safe hands.
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