1.Why Opt For International Travel Insurance?
Overseas travel insurance is often ignored due to either less frequency of travelling, employer providing an insurance cover, or simply because some find it too complex to understand. In reality, getting travel insurance is a breeze and covers you financially in case things go wrong while travelling abroad.
Whether it be a business travel or a family vacation, a hundred things can go wrong that can either leave you stranded in a foreign land or drain your finances as to try to face adversities. This is where travel insurance becomes your point of rescue, especially during international travel. To bring further clarity to your decision-making process, here a few elements of travel insurance that most aren’t privy to. Hence, we bring to you these factors, demystified:
2.Pre-existing Disease Coverage
A very critical component of international travel insurance is travel health insurance which covers your medical treatment, hospitalization and more while on foreign soil. Usually insurers exclude coverage for treatment of pre-existing diseases, however, a few of them have begun to provide coverage in case of a life-threatening condition. Thus, whenever you buy a travel insurance,it is recommended to declare your pre-existing condition in advance. Insurers will carry out a detailed assessment at the time of claim and if you’ve been upfront about your medical condition, the chances of claim approval of your travel health insurance increase significantly.
However, if you do not disclose any pre-existing condition, then your claim is most likely to be rejected. This is also applicable for any unrelated illness for which the claim was made, but it turned out to be a result of a pre-existing condition. At the time of assessment, you are also obliged to cooperate with the insurer and provide supporting documents.
3.Main Exclusions Under Travel Insurance
When opting for international travel insurance, it’s best to review the plan thoroughly and understand the exclusions that will not be covered in your international travel insurance plan. These exclusions might differ from insurer to insurer, however, following are some of the main exclusions you’ll find in nearly all major insurance plans:
- Distress/damage caused by nuclear weapons
- Ayurvedic/homoeopathic treatments
- Mental conditions including depression and anxiety
- Cosmetic or plastic surgery
- HIV/AIDS, STDs and venereal diseases
- Damages or injuries caused due to alcohol/drug addiction
- Injuries arising out of illegal adventure sports
4.Limitations Under Hospitalisation Cover
While the sum assured may look appropriate at the time of buying a policy, it may prove to be inadequate at the time of need and might not even have been considered as per medical inflation. Your policy may even have further limitations like the exclusion of certain indoor expenses that need to be carefully looked at before buying a policy.
5.Baggage Loss
While most of us with travel insurance are confident about our baggage and rely on our insurer, but the baggage loss policy do have some exclusions such as:
- Only checked-in baggage is insured
- No compensation will be given for cabin baggage loss.
- Baggage loss will be covered only on your flight from India to your destination and not on the return flight.
- A delay of more than 12 hours is only considered for coverage. Besides you may be asked to prevent bills of several items lost in your baggage.
6.Third Party Liability Cover for Vehicle
While the sum assured may look appropriate at the time of buying a policy, it may prove to be inadequate at the time of need and might not even have been considered as per medical inflation. Your policy may even have further limitations like the exclusion of certain indoor expenses that need to be carefully looked at before buying a policy.
These tips and tricks will clear your doubts regarding travel insurance. Now you have a better understanding of things you need to look out for while buying a travel insurance. You will be able to make an informed decision next time.