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How to Find the Best Travel Insurance

For a successful trip, various factors are necessary, which includes choosing the right hotel, flight booking, packing and necessary documents. More often than not, we skip the importance of travel insurance. These insurance policies can offer a cover against various unexpected circumstances, including trip delays, loss of baggage, loss of important documents (like a passport), medical expenses, etc. Therefore, the travel insurance must be an integral part of travel planning.

Travel insurance categories

Travel insurance is mainly divided into three major categories:

1) Student travel cover: As the name suggests, this policy is for students who visit some other country for the educational purpose.

2) Business travel cover: This type of policies are suitable for individuals who travel abroad for official purpose, mainly for meetings, conferences, seminars, business research, or for handling a project.

3) Holiday travel cover: When an individual is traveling alone, with a group, or with his/her family for leisurely purposes, he/she opts for holiday travel cover.

Sometimes, the companies also offer a separate category called travel health insurance, under which the focus is only on medical emergencies.

Common requirements of travel insurance

There are some requirements related to purchasing travel insurance or for getting the cover, which includes:

Cost of travel insurance

There are various factors that decide the premium of a travel insurance policy.

Read: What is Domestic Travel Insurance?


Methods to choose best Travel Insurance Company

Here we discuss some tips you shouldn’t ignore while choosing a policy from a travel insurance company.

It is not a wise idea to buy a policy from a company that is not trusted or popular. Check whether the company is registered with IRDAI or not.

You must also refrain from purchasing cheap travel insurance policies. They may look attractive due to less premium amount but can result in hassles, if any issue arises during the trip.

If you depend on tour operators or travel agents for insurance purposes, the chances are that you will end up paying more. Therefore, prefer purchasing directly from the insurers.

If you have to travel multiple times in a year, go for multi-trip travel insurance, as the policy remains active throughout the year. Check the terms and conditions for this type of insurance, as some insurers offer a limitation on a number of days per trip.

It is a good idea to select a policy that also takes care of your elderly parents while you are away on the trip. For example, ICICI Lombard offers medical concierge service under which appointment with a local doctor, plumbing & electrical assistance and home nursing care facilities are included.

A lot of insurance policies offer home insurance in combination with travel insurance. This feature covers your home against fire, theft, house breaks and related risks while you are abroad.

Imagine you face a medical emergency when you are in some other part of the globe. It becomes quite difficult to manage the hospital expenses, especially when you are traveling alone. This is where cashless hospitalization cover appears as a savior. Make sure your insurance company is offering this facility.

There are numerous medical conditions and treatments excluded from the travel insurance. Here’s what commonly excluded:

The insurers have a limit related to medical expenses or related cover. For example, Royal Sundaram offers overseas medical covers of up to 150,000 dollars. It is a wise idea to check the limit of cover beforehand to avoid surprises during an emergency.

Travel insurance is often associated with international trips. But, even if you are travelling within India, you shouldn’t ignore domestic insurance. The domestic insurance policies also cover you against trip delays, personal liability, accidental death, loss of luggage and trip cancellation.

Some companies offer some refund if travel is cut short. It is necessary to read the brochure or contact the customer support representatives for clarification on this clause.


Additional Reading: Know About Medical Travel Insurance Plan


Conclusion

Make sure to follow each of these tips to enjoy your travel to the fullest, without any worries. As discussed above, it is a sane idea to purchase the policies directly from the companies instead of travel agents. You can also get your policies customized if you contact the companies directly. To choose the best travel insurance policy, ComparePolicies.com of different insurers through policy comparison site to opt the best suitable one for yourself.