Sunday 24 June 2018

Travel insurance policies – types and benefits

Who doesn’t love to travel? Planning a trip to a new destination is exciting and fun. There is just so much to look forward to. But what do you do if your trip gets plagued with uncertainties. You lose your luggage, misplace your passport, or worse you require medical attention. Even though you may hate to think of these scenarios, when faced with the actual situation, it is worse, especially if you are in a foreign land. Such scenarios lead to lots of stress, not to mention, thrust you into a situation where you end up spending so much more. To avoid these unforeseen scenarios, you need travel insurance.

What is travel insurance and what does it cover?

Travel insurance policies are usually comprehensive policies that insure you for both financial and medical emergencies that may arise while you are travelling, especially abroad. You can choose from different travel policies offering protection for travel to domestic and international destinations. Such policies cover significant things such as loss/delay of checked-in luggage, loss of passport and other important documents and offer cashless hospitalization in case of medical emergencies.

Types of travel insurance

You can choose from three different types of travel policies available in the market viz. single trip insurance, multi-trip insurance and family travel insurance.

Single Trip insurance: Single trip insurance policies are created to cover occasional travellers. Most single trip policies are valid for a period of six months. These policies are best for businessmen and tourists travelling abroad for a limited period of time.

Multi trip insurance: Designed for frequent travellers, multi trip policies are valid for one year and vary depending upon your insurance provider. Such policies are available for people travelling for 30-90 days. This plan helps frequent travellers save money. You just pay the premium once and you are secured for a complete year of travel with no limitations on the number of trips you make in this period.

Family floater plans: These plans are designed to provide comprehensive financial coverage to your entire family on your overseas trip. It covers every single member of your family, and can only be availed under single trip policy for a single premium. The sum assured is shared by family members.

Benefits of travel insurance

Although travel insurance covers a whole plethora of circumstances, here are a few worth considering
• Emergency medical assistance and hospital/medicine costs overseas
• Coverage can be availed anywhere in the world
• Accommodation and travel expenses in case you fall ill abroad and cannot travel back until your health is better
• Cover for your travel partner
• Delay/loss of luggage
• Loss of passport
• Permanent disabilities; you are covered for a period of at least 12 months upon your return home.

Availing insurance

Premiums of policies generally depend upon the destination country and travel duration. You may have to pay higher premiums if you are travelling to countries prone to natural disasters. You can now purchase policies for travel insurance online. Just ensure you fill in all your details correctly, disclosing all relevant information which comes in handy while making claims.

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