How important is a Travel insurance?

The world has become more interconnected than ever, and traveling has become a part of everyone’s life. Irrespective of whether you are a frequent traveler or an occasional one, you would know that there are certain common steps that you would need to incorporate in your preparation for every travel that you undertake.  This will include purchasing the air, rail or bus tickets, booking your accommodation and packing your luggage. But, do you always protect yourself with a travel insurance?

If you are surprised, then you are not the only one. Most travelers eagerly prepare for their tour, but either forget or ignore this critical step. While this might seem to be an extra expenditure to many, the truth is buying a travel insurance is one of the most critical steps that you would need to take while planning for your travel.

What is a travel insurance?

A travel insurance will cover various expenses that you might incur in case your trip gets canceled or interrupted.

These expenses might include:

• Tour cancellations

• Medical expenses, in case you fall sick while traveling

• Any accidents that  might occur during the journey

• Lost luggage

• Hotel ticket cancellation expenses that you may occur in case your tour gets canceled

Various Types of Travel insurance

You can buy a travel insurance from an insurance company to cover your domestic and international travels. The following are the types of travel insurance that  are commonly available:

• Domestic Travel insurance

This will cover you for your journeys within India. The domestic travel insurance covers most of the possible interruptions that can happen to your journey, including tour delays and cancellations, loss of baggage, emergency hospitalizations, accident cover and personal liability. Some of the best travel insurance companies also offer emergency cash benefit along with their travel insurance cover that they provide.

• International Travel insurance

These will cover you when you set out on an international tour. The biggest benefit of taking an international travel insurance is that you will get coverage for treatment in a wide network of medical facilities in the country of your travel. Apart from this, the international travel will also provide coverage against loss of travel documents and passports, delays in the arrival of luggage,  flight hijacking and a variety of other costs that can surely deplete your savings, in case you don’t take in international travel insurance.

• Corporate Travel insurance

As the name suggests, this is intended for the corporate traveler who has to make frequent business trips, both within and outside India. The coverage that is provided is very similar to the ones that an international travel insurance will provide, namely flight cancellations and delays, loss or late arrival of baggage, medical treatment. An additional benefit provided by the best travel insurance policies is the coverage of trip cancellations which is common in business tours.

• Family Travel insurance

All the travel insurance is that we have already discussed cover a single person. However, what if you are planning to go on a vacation with your family? Insert a case you would need a family travel insurance. This will cover the cost that your entire family might incur in case something goes wrong on the trip. The most common expenses that a family travel insurance will cover will be tour cancellations, baggage loss, hospitalization expenses, accidental cover, etc.

Why you require Travel Insurance

A travel insurance is something that you need to buy immediately after you book your tickets. The reasons why travel insurance cover is  indispensable for everyone are as follows:

• Protection against losses:

Consider a situation where are you reach your destination in a foreign country and you are waiting in the baggage collection but your suitcase doesn’t arrive. What will you do in such a case?

If you don’t have a travel insurance, then you will have to spend from your own pocket to buy the necessities that will help you to sustain till your baggage is tracked by the airline and is sent to you. In a foreign country, this may be a very costly proposition, since you will have to spend in foreign currency to buy your necessities. If the baggage gets lost totally, then you will incur a bigger loss.

If you have a travel insurance, then the insurance company will cover you against such losses. You will be reimbursed for your expenses, and will not have to incur any significant out of the pocket expenses.

• Mental peace

If you have a travel insurance cover, then you will have complete mental peace while traveling. You would always know that the insurance company is there to protect you in case something goes wrong. Mishaps can happen to anyone, and in spite of your best efforts, you may not be able to avoid those. By taking a travel insurance, at least you can minimize the impact of the monetary losses.

• Medical  Treatment

The biggest benefit that you will get is prompt medical attention without having to worry about advance payments to the hospital. This is extremely important, especially when you are traveling in a foreign land which might be completely alien to you. The travel insurance policy will ensure that you will get treatment in the nearest network hospital which comes under its purview.

• Tour cancellations

In many cases, you might be forced to cancel your trip even before it starts. In such a situation, you may lose a substantial sum of money because the airlines might not refund you the full amount that you paid for the flight tickets. A travel insurance will cover you against such instances and the insurer will reimburse the difference to you.

• Other benefits

Travel insurance will cover you against several other common and uncommon incidents that might happen during your journey. These include the loss of travel document, emergency evacuation, accidental death, legal expenses, etc. The best travel insurance companies sometimes have a dedicated helpline which you can call up in case you are in an emergency. They will try our level best to help you out and resolve your problems.

These are some of the compelling reasons why a travel insurance is extremely important to every traveler. One thing you need to remember here: to get the full benefits out of your travel insurance cover, it is highly recommended that you by the policy along with your journey tickets, and not postpone the purchase for a later date. You will then be covered from the very initial stages of your travel.