When we are planning to travel abroad, we ensure to pack everything smartly and sufficiently to make sure we have access to everything we might need to survive in an unknown country. This becomes too crucial when you plan to buy an international or overseas travel insurance.
However, while preparing for such a trip, it is also necessary to acquire an Overseas Travel Insurance Plan to safeguard yourself from any contingencies that you can-not prepare for and might face on the trip.
Overseas Travel Insurance
Once you purchase a travel insurance, it should provide you peace of mind such that in case of any mishap which may happen during your travel, you should be able to claim your travel insurance policy easily. Let me take you through some of the most important points that comprehend the importance of Travel Insurance while travelling overseas and reasons why you should consider investing in one-
- Having an Overseas Travel Insurance Policy is important as situations like losing your passport, important documents, baggage or other personal belongings while travelling can cause a great interruption to your trip along with costing you heavy numbers. Occurrence of such circumstances are in fact more common than actual travel accidents. And naturally, misplaced passports and luggage can derail any trip in general. However, having an OverSeas Travel Insurance will financially safeguard you against all such contingencies that you might have to suffer through, otherwise.
- Travel Insurance Companies provide coverage for rebooking expenses in case of postponement or delay of trips, cancellation of flights, etc. Hence, it releases you from facing any financial stress as the Insurance Company performs the needful.
- Some of the further benefits of Overseas Travel Insurance Plans is having a scope of adequate compensation to return home safely from the country you are in, death cover benefits and coverage for unforeseen expenses that might occur during the journey.
- Generally offered by most of the Overseas Travel Insurance Policies, having coverage benefits for trip cancellation is another reason to buy a Travel Insurance Plan. This means that in case your pre-planned trip gets cancelled due to specified reasons, you will be eligible to receive an estimated compensation amount for the loss suffered on making advance reservations.
- Acquiring an Overseas Travel Insurance Plan becomes mandatory in case you are travelling to any of the Schengen Countries (developed European Countries) as these countries necessitate the need of having a travel insurance plan for its visitors.
- To have a hassle-free time while travelling and to safeguard your bank balance from suffering a heavy financial contingency, it is rather vital to take out a little amount for paying the premium charges of an Overseas Travel Insurance Policy.
Overseas Travel Insurance Coverage
In Overseas travel insurance policy, Infants of and above 90 days are provided coverage under Travel Insurance Policies. For adults, coverage is available from 18 years to age to up to 65 or 70 years.
For senior citizens, there are separate senior citizen plans which cover them till 99 years of age. Different travel insurance plans have different age limit criteria.
Therefore, it is recommended to find out the age criteria of your policy before purchasing it.
Overseas Travel Insurance Policy Refund
A refund can be availed if the trip did not commence or if the insured returned early from the trip.
The amount of refund for your overseas travel insurance policy is based upon the duration for which the coverage was allowed before the cancellation of the plan.
The total premium amount is refunded in case of free-look cancellation after deducting the administrative charges incurred by the Insurance Company to issue the policy.
It is advisable to get in touch with the expert panel of your Insurance Company to seek further assistance related to understanding or initiating the claim process.
To connect, you can either call them on their toll-free number or send a written request to their email address, both of which will be mentioned on the policy document.
International Travel Insurance – Changes you can make after issuance of policy (spelling, passport no, address, nominee etc)
You can make such changes in your Travel Insurance Plan at a condition that it should not affect the Yes premium of your policy.
Hence, non-premium bearing modifications like changing spelling names, contact details or nominee are permitted under a Travel Insurance Policy. Although, changing your passport number is generally not permitted without having prior consent from your Insurance Provider.
However, a modification might be allowed by your Insurance Provider in case it is needed because of an error in recording the passport number.
Hence, for getting the concerned changes done, you should get in touch with your Insurance Provider to seek expert assistance regarding the same.
To do so, you can simply dial their toll-free number or send a written request to their official email address, both of which will be mentioned on your policy document itself.
Overseas Travel Insurance FAQs
Does Baggage delay benefit is covered during the return journey?
There is no coverage offered under Overseas Travel Insurance Plans for suffering delay in baggage on the return journey.
This is because you would not suffer any financial loss when you return to your house and the baggage gets delayed as your possessions in the baggage can be temporarily replaced with that from your house.
How can I cancel my Travel Insurance Policy?
You should get in touch with your Insurance Company to avail professional assistance on initiating the process of cancellation of your Travel Insurance Policy.
To do so, you can find out their contact number or email address from the policy document, itself. You will be required to submit the proof of cancellation of the trip while requesting for termination of your Overseas Travel Insurance Policy.
Similarly, you will need to submit relevant evidence documents to initiate cancellation in case of your early return from a trip.
What is covered under Personal Accident?
Personal Accident provides coverage for death or permanent disability suffered by the insured due to an accident while travelling. In such cases, an estimated amount of coverage is paid by the Insurance Provider to the insured. It is available as an optional rider in many overseas travel insurance policies.
What is covered under Emergency Hotel Accommodation?
If your trip is disturbed due to any natural calamity, man-made calamity or delay of flight, the travel insurance plan pays the cost of booking an emergency hotel stay under such circumstances.
Is the loss of passport covered in Travel Insurance?
In case of loss of passport, you will definitely be provided coverage under your Travel Insurance Plan.
You will be provided compensation for the costs incurred in availing a duplicate passport and any other travel documents required to return back to India. Coverage for loss of passport is allowed up to a specified limit and only if the costs incurred exceed the coverage deductible mentioned in the policy.
Does Travel Insurance Policy cover loss of credit card or cash?
Yes, under many travel insurance policies, theft of cash or credit card is covered. In such cases, the travel insurance policy gives you an emergency cash advance for meeting the costs of the trip and to complete the trip without any inconvenience.
Will policy cover the expenses towards new passport loss incurred in India?
Coverage will not be provided if you lose your passport within India. This is because of the fact that when you are in India, your trip has not commenced and so the coverage under the travel insurance policy has also not commenced. As such, loss of passport would not be covered.