1. Home
2. Blogs

How does Travel Insurance Help if a Family Member is Hospitalised?

• 
• 
• 
• 0
• 0

Work and life can be quite stressful at times. If you face any such occurrences, going on a trip or travelling might be a sound option. A lot of us are constantly working and do not take any time off. Not taking any time off to de-stress or switch off can be harmful in the long run. Travelling can rescue you from such situations and help you de-stress. Buying travel health insurance will make your travels, that much easier without any hassles.

When you travel, you stay away from deadlines, day-to-day dramas, the daily grind and so on. You can unwind, relax amidst nature, and clear your mind out. It helps you to recharge your batteries and connect with yourself for a change.

Once you decide on a trip and make all the necessary bookings, you are all set to travel. But your travel plans can take a back seat if any of the family members is sick or needs to be hospitalised.

Trip Insurance and Its Benefits If a Family Member is Hospitalised

Seeing your loved ones fall sick can be disheartening for anyone. And more so, if it happens a day or two before the trip that you have so carefully planned for. It can change a lot of things. To start with, the efforts that you had put towards planning and preparation might all just go to waste. And more importantly, you will be constantly worried about taking care of your loved ones. This is where travel health insurance comes into the picture. A travel health insurance plan offers a bunch of incredible benefits that can help you out in such situations. To be precise, in this example, if a family member is hospitalised.

Trip Cancellation

A lot of trips usually get cancelled due to bad health or sickness. A smart way of tackling such cancellations is to opt for overseas travel health insurance. The policy will help you in the event that you have to cancel the trip suddenly due to sickness.

Any such last minute cancellations might otherwise cost you a lot of money since you would have already booked your tickets, hotel rooms, tour operators and other expenses.

There are a lot of insurance providers in India that offer overseas travel health insurance. And most of them cover last minute cancellations for reasons that are mentioned in the policy documents. One of these reasons includes your co-traveller falling sick.

The insurance plan will help you get the reimbursement for the cancellation of a flight, cancellation of any accommodation that you might have booked and so on. This holds good if any of your family members fall sick just before your travel dates.

The plan usually covers other non-refundable reservations as well, as long as they are related to your travel.

Trip Curtailment

Trip curtailment is when your ongoing trip is cut short due to an emergency. While trip cancellation takes place even before you have started, trip curtailment comes into the picture after you have started a trip.

Any incident that forces you to return to India would usually hold as a valid reason for trip curtailment benefits. These reasons could include the hospitalisation of a family member or in the worst-case scenario, the death of a family member.

Should the unfortunate happen, you can return to India and all the unused expenses that you had pre-booked will be taken care of by your insurance provider.

The reason that forces your return is the major factor in deciding whether or not your claim will be approved.

Compassionate Visit for Policyholder

The benefit of a compassionate visit might not be a standard offering on all travel health insurance plans. However, it can be extremely helpful if you are a student studying overseas or are a frequent flyer.

Should you fall sick during your overseas travel or while studying abroad, the insurance provider will cover the expenses of travel and accommodation of an immediate family member to visit you abroad. Depending on your insurance provider, the plan might cover a few other important expenses as well.

On the other hand, if you are abroad and any of your immediate family members get hospitalised, the insurance provider will cover your travel expenses to India and back to your place of study or work. Thereby ensuring that you can take care of your loved ones without any hassles.

Escorting A Minor Child

It is possible that an adult is travelling with a minor to an overseas country, and they get hospitalised. In such cases, it is not possible for the minor child to return to India since airlines require the presence of an adult.

The insurance company, in such instances, can pay for the travel expenses of another immediate family member to travel and escort the minor child back to India. The insurance provider will cover the flight ticket expense for the adult.

Key Things About Travel Insurance Prior To Your Next Trip

Here are a few things that you ought to know about travel health insurance before your next trip.

● The family members of the insured can include parents, siblings, legal spouse, step-parents, siblings-in-law, legal guardian or ward.

● Escorting a minor child benefit is an add-on with most insurance providers.

● Insurance providers would need proof of hospitalisation, and their condition must be severe enough for them to approve the claim.

● Make it a habit to read the policy wordings to better understand the coverage of the policy. Knowing what is covered and what is not covered as a part of the policy is crucial. And can help you avoid unwanted claim rejections.

Travel Insurance Claim Process

In the unfortunate event of any of your loved ones being hospitalised, you can claim travel health insurance. Here are all the steps that you need to follow.

● Ensure to inform your insurance provider about the health condition of your loved one if they are hospitalised before or during your trip.

● Almost all insurance providers offer trip cancellations.

● Insurance providers do not usually cover mild issues such as flu.

FAQs

1. When can I claim trip cancellation?

Generally, you can claim trip cancellations in the case of sudden sickness or hospitalisation or natural disasters or bad weather conditions.

2. Do trip cancellations cover COVID-19?

Yes, you can claim trip cancellation due to COVID-19.

Conclusion

Travel health insurance ensures that you are not at a loss due to a few unforeseen events, especially related to health. Travel health insurance plans usually allow you to cancel your trips or even shorten them in the case of an emergency.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

RELATED ARTICLES

How to Utilize Travel Insurance for Hospitalization Abroad?

Medical and travel related covers provided by your travel insurance policy

5 Things to Consider Before Going Abroad With Family

---

• 
• 
• 
•