What is Travel Insurance: Meaning, Types, Requirements and Benefits

• Written by Care Health Insurance

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Picture this. You have finally got the opportunity to visit your favourite overseas destination. You make all the arrangements for the trip itinerary and book affordable connecting flights.

Unfortunately, the worsened weather conditions led to a trip delay as you reached the airport. Due to the unannounced delay, you miss your connecting flight and bear multiple losses not covered by your airline.

Did you know? Amidst such scenarios, travel insurance can come to your rescue!

Yes! To ensure comprehensive coverage, you can purchase of overseas travel insurance before embarking on a foreign trip. Now, what is travel insurance you may wonder.

Well, read on to learn about travel insurance meaning, its features, coverage, etc.

What is Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance is an insurance that provides financial coverage against losses incurred due to unforeseen incidents during a trip. It typically covers your trip itinerary from the day you start to the trip's intended end date. The plan provides financial assistance in situations such as medical emergencies, loss of belongings, loss of documents, trip delays, medical evacuation etc.

Some of the most popular destinations worldwide are more expensive compared to India. Thus, there is a list of countries where you cannot enter without travel insurance. Having travel cover while travelling to such countries ensures that your pocket is not devastated amidst an undeniable emergency.

In simpler words- Travel insurance is a financial helmet bought in rupees that saves you from expenditures worth dollars!

Types of Travel Insurance

Based on your unique requirements, there are seven types of travel insurance.

• Domestic travel insurance: A travel insurance that covers your trips within the borders of your home country is known as domestic travel insurance.
• International travel insurance: International travel insurance covers your foreign trips against unforeseen medical and non-medical emergencies.
• Schengen travel insurance: Schengen travel insurance covers your trip when you visit one of the 27 Schengen region countries. Having Schengen travel insurance becomes mandatory when you apply for a Schengen visa.
• Individual travel insurance: A travel insurance designed to meet the journey-specific needs of an individual is known as Individual travel insurance.
• Family/ Group travel insurance: A travel insurance that safeguards the trip of two or more people is known as group travel insurance.
• Student travel insurance: Student travel insurance provides financial coverage when you visit a foreign country to pursue higher education.
• Travel insurance for senior citizens: A travel plan that covers the unique needs of senior citizens while they travel overseas is known as travel insurance for senior citizens.
• Single-Trip Travel Insurance: A travel insurance designed to cover destination-specific needs of a single trip is known as Single-trip travel insurance.
• Multi-trip travel insurance: One of the main features of travel insurance for multiple trips is that it covers multiple trips taken by the insured member for up to an year.

Apart from these major types of travel insurance, there are certain travel insurances that comes as a coverage within a comprehensive plan. Read on to know:

Other Types of Travel Insurance

Some other uncommon types of travel insurance are mentioned below:

• Trip Cancellation Insurance: A trip cancellation insurance generally comes as a coverage in a travel insurance plan.The trip cancellation insurance can be beneficial if you have to cancel your international trip under covered reasons.
• Baggage Insurance: Losing your luggage during an international trip can be heartbreaking and pocket-derailing. However, you do not have to worry if you have covered your luggage with baggage insurance cover.

Now that you are well-versed with the types of travel insurance, keep reading further to know the main features of travel insurance.

Key Features of Travel Insurance

While buying a policy to cover your overseas trip, you should ensure that it meets all your unique requirements throughout the trip. The key feature of an ideal travel insurance should be as follows:

• Coverage: One of the most important features of travel insurance should be its comprehensive coverage. While buying travel insurance for your upcoming trip, you must assess the plan’s coverage carefully.
• Premium: Premium is another feature you should consider while buying a travel cover. The best travel insurance would provide extensive coverage at an affordable premium.
• Exclusions: Exclusions of travel insurance are yet another considerable feature. While you compare travel insurance from different insurance providers, you should check out the exclusions and T&C to avoid any last-minute surprises.
• Pre-existing diseases: Most travel insurance providers do not provide financial assistance if you encounter hospitalisation due to pre-existing conditions. Thus, you must check whether your travel insurance covers existing illnesses.
• New-age benefits: In the travel insurance plan, you should opt for travel insurance that provides new-age features such as emergency evacuation, upgradation to business class, and companion cover benefits. Such features shall ensure that you remain comprehensively covered throughout your trip.
• Claim procedure: An easy claim procedure is another feature of travel insurance you should look out for while buying travel insurance. You should consider important aspects such as claim settlement ratio, time taken in claim approval and whether the company provides cashless claim settlement in a foreign country.

Read on to understand the advantages of securing your trip with travel insurance.

Advantages of Buying Travel Insurance

Travel insurance benefits you by securing your trip in the most comprehensive ways. From coverage amidst medical emergencies to helping amidst non-medical emergencies, there are multiple advantages of securing your trip with travel insurance. Carefully bought travel insurance provides the following advantages:

• Travel insurance provides coverage amidst medical emergencies. The foremost advantage of travel insurance is that it provides financial assistance when you encounter medical emergencies in a foreign country.
• It lends a helping hand amidst trip cancellations. Unforeseen situations such as trip cancellations can devastate your pocket. Here, travel insurance can lend you a helping hand by covering non-refundable expenses in times of need.
• The policy has your back amidst liability charges. Liability charges during a foreign trip can be embarrassing and pocket-derailing. Thus, most new-age travel insurance provides coverage for liability charges. Given that the charges abide by the policy’s t&c.
• It covers you in last-minute changes to the trip. Travel insurance may cover you for last-minute trip cancellations, given that the reasons are unforeseen and undeniable.

Now that you know the advantages of travel insurance, let us understand how to calculate travel insurance premiums.

How to Calculate Travel Insurance Premium

Travel insurance premiums can vary based on various factors such as trip duration, the destination you are travelling to, the number of travellers covered, coverage of the plan, pre-existing disease coverage etc.

Thus, to find the best travel insurance at the most affordable premium, you should compare travel insurance from various providers and calculate their plan's premium using the travel insurance premium calculator.

To calculate the travel insurance premium, the steps are mentioned below:

• Step 1: Determine the type of travel insurance required for your trip. For instance, you must go for group travel insurance if you travel with several people.
• Step 2: Visit the company's official website and navigate the premium calculator.
• Step 3: Once on the premium calculator, you may be asked questions such as trip duration, number of members travelling, age of travellers, and whether the insured members have a pre-existing health condition. Enter the details truthfully to get the appropriate premium for your ideal travel insurance.
• Step 4: Once you enter the details and click ‘Get Quote’, you get the final premium for your plan.

Although you can easily buy travel insurance by following the steps as mentioned above, there are certain terms & conditions that most travel insurance companies follow. Read on to learn this common T&C of travel insurance.

Common T&C of Travel Insurance Providers in India

To ensure that insurance companies do not have to pay for fraudulent claims, insurance plans are designed with terms & conditions such as:

• The policy shall be purchased before the trip start date. You can only buy travel insurance before leaving the borders of your home country.
• If you purchase travel insurance well in advance, you may get a free look-up period to read and understand the policy thoroughly. However, this is not the case if you buy travel insurance at the last minute.
• Any reimbursement claim without proof, such as expense receipts, shall not be entertained for claim approval.
• The insurance company shall not approve any claim arising from foreseeable events.
• Your travel insurance benefits shall not cover expenses incurred due to breach of law, self-harm, or crimes.

The list of T&C of travel insurance may vary for every insurance provider. Mentioned above are common terms & conditions that you may find common among all insurance companies.

Secure Your Next Trip With The Right Travel Insurance

It is crucial to buy travel insurance if you are planning a trip across borders! We hope this blog guided you through selecting the best travel insurance!

Fret no more if you are anticipated about which travel insurance to buy. Visit the official website of Care Health Insurance and select from a list of destination-specific plans.

At Care Health Insurance, travel insurance plans are designed to cover your finances while you travel overseas. You should opt for international travel insurance plans from Care because they provide comprehensive coverage at an affordable premium. Additionally, the hassle-free claim settlement process for all types of plans makes it much easier to travel worry-free!

Wait no more! Secure your trip with travel insurance from Care Health Insurance today!

Disclaimer: All travel insurance features, benefits, coverage, and claims underwriting are subject to policy terms and conditions. Kindly refer to the brochure, sales prospectus, and policy documents carefully.