
Travel Insurance

Importance of travel insurance
People have been traveling from time in memorial for Leisure, Business, Visiting Friends, Participate in Religious Activities, or even Medical Treatment. A snapshot according to World Tourism Organisation, UNWTO Report 2018, above, are the reasons why people travel around the world (see chart above).
What is obvious is that people always travel for a reason. Indians today travel to all corners of the globe, however the USA, UK, Australia, the Schengen countries of Europe, Dubai, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives and other Asian countries are the popular travel destinations of Indians. The profile of Indian travellers also cover the entire gamut from small children to older travellers, from healthy travellers to those with pre-existing medical ailments. One of the travellers’ wish is that nothing untoward happens during the trip. But they could face any unforeseen exigency either medical or non-medical which could cause them financial and emotional stress. And this is why it is recommended that every traveller buys the best travel insurance available. One of the most important financial securities a traveller can avail while they travel within India or abroad is good overseas mediclaim insurance coverage. International travel involves buying overseas health insurance, while domestic health insurance insures travel within India. It is important to add international health insurance policy to your checklist/itinerary while you plan your vacation, be it for leisure or business or for any other reasons. Nowadays it is convenient and easy to buy International travel medical insurance online, you can use the online travel insurance premium calculator, review and compare benefits offered by different Indian visitors health insurance insurance plans and buy the best India travel mediclaim insurance online all without the hassle of making a call to an agent or visiting the insurance company office.
Benefits of travel medical insurance

Emergency medical expenses
- Accidental expenses
- Sickness expenses
- Dental treatment

Travel exigencies
- Trip cancellation
- Flight delay
- Airline/Hotel bounced booking
- Missed connection

Baggage & documents
- Baggage delay
- Baggage loss
- Passport loss

Other medical coverages
- Accidental death
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains

Financial emergencies
- Emergency cash advance
- Fraudulent charges

Other non medical benefits
- Home burglary
- Personal liability
- Hijack coverage
What are the various visitor travel insurance plans?
International travel insurance
Insurance companies offering international travel insurance
- Emergency Accident & Sickness Reimbursement
- Sickness Dental Coverage
- Medical Evacuation
- Repatriation of Remains
- Baggage Loss/Delay
- Trip Cancellation/Curtailment
- Passport Loss
- Personal Liability
- Trip/Flight Delay
- Missed Connection
- Bounced Hotel/Air Booking
- Emergency Cash Advance
- Any Pre-existing Condition
- Routine physicals or other examination
- Elective, cosmetic, or plastic surgery
- Suicide, (AIDS), / (HIV) infection
- Under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants
- Loss arising out of War, civil unrest, Terrorism
- Congenital anomalies
- Participation in Adventure Sports
- Pregnancy related conditions
Student travel insurance
Insurance companies offering student medical insurance
Coverages offered
- Emergency accident & sickness reimbursement
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains
- Treatment of mental disorders
- Cancer screening and mammography
- Maternity coverage
- Study interruption
- Sponsor protection
- Missed connection
- Compassionate visit (2 way)
- Emergency cash advance
Policy exclusions
- Travelling against the advice of a Physician
- Pre-existing conditions
- Serving in any branch of the Naval, Military or Air Forces
- Being under the influence due to usage/abuse of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants
- Ionising radiation or contamination by radioactivity from any nuclear fuel
- External congenital anomalies
- Adventure sports, skydiving/parachuting, hang gliding, bungee jumping, scuba diving, mountain climbing
- Ayurvedic, Homeopath or naturopathy treatments
Senior Citizen travel insurance
Companies offering overseas travel insurance for senior citizens India
- Emergency accident & sickness reimbursement
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains
- Baggage loss/Delay
- Passport loss
- Personal liability
- Flight delay
- Emergency cash advance
- Any pre-existing condition
- Routine physicals or other examination
- Elective, cosmetic, or plastic surgery
- Suicide, (AIDS), / (HIV) infection
- Under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants
- Loss arising out of War, civil unrest, Terrorism
- Congenital anomalies
- Participation in adventure sports
- Pregnancy related conditions
Asia travel insurance plan
Insurance companies offering Asia travel insurance
- Emergency accident & sickness reimbursement
- Accidental death
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains
- Baggage loss/delay
- Passport loss
- Personal liability
- Travelling against the advice of a physician
- Pre-existing conditions
- Serving in any branch of the Naval, Military or Air Forces
- Being under the influence due to usage/abuse of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants
- Ionising radiation or contamination by radioactivity from any nuclear fuel
- External congenital anomalies
- Adventure sports, skydiving/parachuting, hang gliding, bungee jumping, scuba diving, mountain climbing
- Ayurvedic, Homeopath or naturopathy treatments
Schengen Visa travel insurance plan
Insurance companies offering Schengen visa travel insurance (VFS Global approved)
Coverages offered
- Emergency accident & sickness reimbursement
- Accidental death
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains
- Baggage loss/delay
- Trip delay
- Missed connection
Some insurers offer a plain Accident & Sickness coverage for 30,000 Euros, which is the minimum requirement for obtaining a visa.
Policy exclusions
- Travelling against the advice of a physician
- Pre-existing conditions
- Serving in any branch of the Naval, Military or Air Forces
- Being under the influence due to usage/abuse of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants
- Ionising radiation or contamination by radioactivity from any nuclear fuel
- External congenital anomalies
- Adventure sports, skydiving/parachuting, hang gliding, bungee jumping, scuba diving, mountain climbing
- Ayurvedic, Homeopath or naturopathy treatments
Domestic travel insurance
Insurance companies offering domestic travel insurance India.
- Emergency accident hospitalisation expenses
- Home burglary
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains
- Baggage loss/delay
- Trip cancellation/curtailment
- Passport loss
- Personal liability
- Trip/Flight delay
- Compassionate visit (Family Member)
- Missed departure
- Any pre-existing condition
- Routine physicals or other examination
- Elective, cosmetic, or plastic surgery
- Suicide, (AIDS), / (HIV) infection
- Under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants
- Loss arising out of War, civil unrest, Terrorism
- Congenital anomalies
- Participation in adventure sports
- Pregnancy related conditions
Corporate travel insurance program
Insurance companies offering corporate travel insurance
- Emergency accident & sickness reimbursement
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains
- Baggage loss/delay
- Trip cancellation / curtailment
- Personal liability
- Replacement of staff
- Emergency cash advance
- Any pre-existing condition
- Routine physicals or other examination
- Elective, cosmetic, or plastic surgery
- Suicide, (AIDS), / (HIV) infection
- Under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants
- Loss arising out of War, civil unrest, Terrorism
- Congenital anomalies
- Participation in Adventure Sports
- Pregnancy related conditions
Family travel insurance plan
Insurance companies offering family travel insurance
- Emergency accident & sickness reimbursement
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains
- Baggage loss/delay
- Passport loss
- Personal liability
- Flight delay
- Emergency cash advance
- Any pre-existing condition
- Routine physicals or other examination
- Elective, cosmetic, or plastic surgery
- Suicide, (AIDS), / (HIV) infection
- Under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants
- Loss arising out of War, civil unrest, Terrorism
- Congenital anomalies
- Participation in Adventure Sports
- Pregnancy related conditions
Factors to consider while buying travel insurance
Now that one has chosen the type of policy you have to buy online, it becomes important to decide which insurance company’s policy to decide upon. Not all the general insurance companies who operate in India have expertise in selling and managing Travel Insurance. The important factors to taken into consideration with regards to the insurance company include:














Does this travel insurance have direct settlement or payment?
Yes, all travel insurance companies do offer direct/cashless settlement to hospitals for inpatient treatment for Accident of Sickness expenses incurred by the insured traveler. Direct settlement is more often referred to as cashless settlement or payment and is the process where the insurance company issues a Guarantee of Payment (GOP) letter to the medical institution (Hospital) confirming coverage for the insured against the treatment being availed by the insured. This GOP is issued to the hospital after the insurance company/its TPA confirms that the insured does have a valid policy and the treatment/ailment is actually covered under the scope of the policy terms and conditions.
It is important for the insured / family member of the insured to inform the Assistance company as soon as the insured is admitted to the hospital for treatment to ensure they don’t end up spending any money from their pocket except the deductible payable for every claim.
The process for Direct / Cashless Settlement is as follows:


Article - Travel insurance online
- They have adequate Accident & Sickness (A&S) Expense coverage. For example if the traveller is bound to The Americas (including USA), Europe, UK etc, it is important that they opt for an insurance plan which has a minimum of $250,000 as A&S coverage. If they are bound to South East Asia (SEA) or any of India’s neighbouring countries, they can opt for a lower Sum insured between $50,000 and $100,000
- They must opt for a plan which has a Trip Cancellation cover in case of any unforeseen emergency due to which they have to cancel their trip. This coverage helps them against a financial loss if they do not get a full reimbursement from the Airline, Hotel or Tour/Cruise company.
- They should ideally have coverage for Passport and Baggage Loss, Baggage Delay and Personal Liability which are relevant coverages for today’s travellers.
There are many types of travel insurance plans which cater to the requirements of all categories of travellers Travel Insurance International plans cover travellers bound to The Americas (North & South American continents including USA & Canada) as well as other countries in the world other than North & South American, which is known as Excluding Americas plans. Most companies offer a specific plan for Asia, which covers their travel to any Asian destination or a Schengen Plan which covers travel to any of the 26 Schengen countries in Europe. A few insurers also offer a Travel Insurance Domestic plan which covers the traveller for travel within India. All these are Single Trip plans which cover the individual traveller for a specific trip only.
Almost all insurance companies also offer a Multitrip Insurance policy, which is specifically suited for the frequent traveller. This is an annual plan which covers the insured traveller for any number of trips during that year.
What are the exclusions under a travel isurance policy?
Some of the typical exclusions under the travel policy will include:
- any pre-existing condition or any complication arising from it (unless specifically covered under certain plans that are purchased by the insured)
- services, supplies, or treatment, including any period of Hospital confinement, which were not recommended or approved, and certified as Medically Necessary by a Physician
- routine physicals or other examinations where there are no objective indications or impairment in normal health, and laboratory diagnostic or X-ray examinations except in the course of a disability established by the prior call or attendance of a Physician (an example could be a person visiting the hospital to check their blood pressure or their cholesterol levels, just for their information)
- elective, cosmetic, or plastic surgery, except as a result of an Injury caused by a covered Accident
- suicide, attempted suicide (whether sane or insane) or intentionally self inflicted Injury or Illness, or sexually transmitted conditions, mental or nervous disorder, anxiety, stress or depression, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Human Immune deficiency Virus (HIV) infection
- being under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants or hallucinogens unless properly prescribed by a Physician and taken as prescribed
- any loss arising out of War, civil war, invasion, insurrection, revolution, act of foreign enemy, hostilities (whether War be declared or not), rebellion, mutiny, use of military power or usurpation of government or military power, Terrorism
- congenital anomalies or any complications or conditions arising therefrom
- participation in winter sports, skydiving/parachuting, hang gliding, bungee jumping, scuba diving, mountain climbing (where ropes or guides are customarily used), riding or driving in races or rallies using a motorized vehicle or bicycle, caving or pot-holing, hunting or equestrian activities, skin diving or other underwater activity, rafting or canoeing involving white water rapids, yachting or boating outside coastal waters (2 miles), participation in any Professional Sports, any bodily contact sport or potentially dangerous sport for which You are untrained (please note that on our eIndiaInsurance website, we offer some insurance plans that cover Adventure sports…so if the insured is likely to participate in any of these activities, it’s best to buy a plan that covers Adventure Sports)
- pregnancy and all related conditions, including services and supplies related to the diagnosis or treatment of infertility or other problems related to inability to conceive a child; birth control, including surgical procedures and devices