As the world slowly opens up, people are starting to travel - be it for work, education or vacation. With the current health scenario in mind, the need for a travel insurance plan is even more significant. So, if you’re looking to buy travel insurance for the first time ever, here are some tips we have for you.
Whether you’re travelling domestically or abroad, a travel insurance policy can come in handy in multiple ways.
All standard travel insurance policies give coverage for medical emergencies. This includes emergency room visits, hospital costs, diagnostic bills, surgeries, pharmacy costs and more. This can come to great use if you face any sort of health-related issues on your trip outside. Furthermore, insurers also pay for your medical evacuation if need be.
One of the major setbacks that you might face while travelling, is flight cancellation or delay. In such scenarios, you could face huge financial losses. This is especially true if you’re travelling internationally, as international flight tickets cost a lot. Travel insurance policies do cover for such losses.
Travel insurance policies also provide coverage against baggage loss or loss of other personal belongings such as passports, purse, wallet etc.
A travel insurance plan will also provide coverage against all trip disruptions. This includes hotel and other booking cancellations as well.
Certain travel insurance policies also provide personal liability coverage. If you accidentally damage someone else’s property or cause loss to people, insurance policies also pay for the losses for those third parties.
You can come across many unfamiliar circumstances while travelling overseas. Travel insurance companies have a dedicated assistant to help with a range of requirements.
If you’re a first-time travel insurance buyer, here are some tips for you.
Before buying a travel insurance plan, make sure to research different policies and what they offer. If you’re planning to go on a vacation, you might expect coverage for a limited number of days. However, if you’re a frequent traveler, you might find an annual plan beneficial. Furthermore, you should also decide whether you’re looking for a family policy or an individual policy. If you have clarity over your requirements, buying a plan will be much easier.
Every insurer will offer multiple plans -- with different coverage and coverage periods. Make sure to consult your insurer to know about the details of each plan before opting for one.
Though people across the world are getting rapidly vaccinated and the cases are going down, Covid isn’t a thing of the past yet. Hence, you must make sure that your travel insurance plan provides Covid coverage. Some insurers might still be offering benefits with respect to the pre-Covid times, thus excluding Covid coverage.
We often fixate too much on the financial aspect of an insurance plan. Don’t make this mistake while buying a travel insurance plan. Even though it is important to consider the price, don’t compromise on the benefits for a cheap plan. Cheap plans may often exclude coverage benefits that can hurt you in the long run. Hence, even if you have to pay a little more, make sure that your plan has coverage against baggage loss, medical emergencies and all other trip-related risks.
The concept of “the more, the better” doesn’t really hold for travel insurance plans. If you just plan on travelling for a week or two, don’t spend money on buying a policy that covers for 6 months.
As soon as you finalize your trip and make the necessary bookings, do buy a travel insurance plan as well. Buying a plan at the earliest can help you in case your trip gets cancelled. Some insurance companies also allow you to cancel your insurance plan if your trip gets cancelled.
Group travel insurance policies are often more useful if you’re travelling in a group. The overall individual cost of your insurance plan also decreases if you buy a group plan.
Before buying a travel insurance plan from a company, do some background search about the insurer. Reading reviews on the internet can also give you an idea if the insurer is reliable.
While planning a trip, we often tend to ignore the things that could go wrong. But there can be multiple things that could go wrong. You could lose your baggage, meet an accident, require an emergency dental check-up or something else. In all these cases and more, a travel insurance policy will have your back. Buy travel insurance online from HDFC ERGO, one of India’s most reliable insurance companies.
Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.
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