Know about Five Travel Insurance Myths

In recent times, the number of domestic and foreign business travelers has gone up substantially and the travel industry is on a boom. People travel for business, to spend their holidays, for education and for various other reasons. Unfortunately, while all of us think about the benefits and enjoyment that await traveling will bring, most do not think about what will happen if things go wrong. Due to several misconceptions and lack of awareness, they do not think that it is necessary to protect ourselves adequately with a travel insurance before starting our journey.

So let us discuss how some of the common ideas that people have about travel insurance are actually nothing but insurance myths.

1. My Tour is short, so I do not need an Insurance

The reality is that the duration of the trip does not matter at all! Even on a short trip, there are many things that can go wrong, for example:

• Baggage may get lost
• Flight might get canceled
• There can be an accident
• The passenger may suffer serious injuries or even die
• The trip might get interrupted for various reasons

The travel insurance will cover you from these eventualities, and much more. In case one of the incidents for which you are covered occur, then the insurance company will bear all costs. Unless you take the travel insurance policy, you will have to deal with all these problems yourself, and incur large expenditures in the process.

2. The Airline will Cover Me in Case my Flight gets Delayed or Cancelled

Many think that buying a travel insurance is unnecessary since the airline will provide them with alternative arrangements and bear all incidental costs like a hotel stay, meal expenses etc. in case the flight gets delayed or doesn’t take off at all.

Their understanding is only partially correct. There is a clause wherein the airline is not obligated to reimburse the passenger in case the flight doesn’t take off for reason which are beyond the control of the airline. They will only make alternative arrangements to get the passenger to the destination, and will not bear the additional costs  In such a situation, the passenger can easily end up incurring heavy expenses out of his/her pocket.

A travel insurance can come to the rescue of the passenger in such circumstances. If you have a policy, there in the insurance company will step in wherever the airlines will not. It will reimburse the incidental costs that the passenger has incurred.

3. I am  already  Insured Adequately, so I don’t need Travel Insurance

Getting a domestic insurance and a travel insurance is not the same. A domestic health, life or house owners insurance policy will only cover you within India. The moment you cross the borders of the country, the protection from these policies may or may not cover you. For example, a  domestic health policy will  ensure that you will get treatment in a network hospital within India only, not in a foreign country.

As we already mentioned, a travel insurance policy provides several benefits that the other insurance policies do not provide. These include protection against baggage loss, theft, flight delays, accidental death, and most notably a global health coverage, which can get you medical treatment anywhere in the world. So in case you meet with an accident, or get injured while traveling in a foreign country, you need not worry. The travel insurance will ensure that you will get a proper treatment in a medical facility in that country.

4. Collecting a Claim  is Extremely difficult in a Travel Policy

This is one of the commonest insurance myths. Many travelers avoid taking an insurance because they think that placing a claim and getting it settled by the insurance company is extremely difficult, even almost impossible in certain cases. The insurance company will ask for solid proof, which will result in an endless round of communications, and severe delays, especially if it was a foreign tour.

The reality is that the claim settlement process of travel insurance is hassle free and easy. Since the purpose of the travel insurance is to ease the worry of the traveler, the insurance companies will not do anything which will make the policyholder feel otherwise. Thus, you can easily buy an online travel insurance policy and feel adequately protected.

5. All Online Travel Insurance Policies are The same, so I can Choose any One of them

Travel insurance is a special category of insurance, and there are many different types of policies available to shoot the needs of the different types of foreign travelers. Take an example to understand this: The insurance need of a business traveler will be very different from that of a family who is going out on a vacation, either in the domestic country or abroad.

To cater to the varying needs of the travelers and the rules and regulations applicable in various countries, insurance companies have come up with different types of insurances.

To find the right online travel policy for yourself, you can visit comparepolicy and can search for domestic travel insurance and foreign travel insurance policies there. After that, you can browse through the features of the different policies to choose one that suits you best. The travel policy will give you the necessary mental peace that you will need while travelling.