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What is an International Travel Insurance Policy?

An international travel insurance policy is your trustworthy, reliable and mandatory companion for your trip abroad. Imagine this: You are travelling to a foreign country for leisure or personal business or studies. You don’t want anything to ruin your trip and taint your happy memories. But unexpected things happen. You may fall sick or lose your passport or miss your flight! An international travel health insurance policy helps you deal with financial stress and worries cau​sed by such situations. It protects you in unexpected and untimely situations in an unfamiliar city with language barriers. An international travel medical insurance plan covers flight delays, lost or delayed baggage, lost passport, trip interruptions, medical expenses and trip cancellations.

financial protection to travellers during their international stay or trips. Imagine you’re all set to enjoy a vacation at an exotic destination and unexpected events disrupt your travel plans: You miss your flight or have to delay your trip due to weather conditions or get hospitalised during your stay abroad due to some medical emergency. A travel insurance plan ensures that none of the trip or medical contingencies cause any financial burden to you. It covers you from the moment you reach the airport till you’re safely back to India from your trip.

 

Mandatory by Law

Some countries have made it mandatory for travellers to have a valid travel health insurance plan before entering their borders. For example, it is a prerequisite to purchase medical travel insurance to enter countries like Russia, Singapore, the UAE, Romania and Cuba regardless of the purpose of your visit. The main reason behind making travel insurance mandatory in some countries is to financially secure foreign visitors from unexpected events like passport loss or theft, lost or misplaced luggage, trip delay or cancellations, medical emergencies or accidents and COVID-19 like situations.

Visa Requirements

While there are countries that offer visa on arrival to India, many countries require you to buy a travel insurance policy to initiate the visa application process. For example, it is compulsory to have travel medical insurance with a minimum medical coverage of EUR 30,000 to get a Schengen Visa. This will allow you freely in any of the Schengen countries, including Switzerland, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal and Denmark. Other countries where travel health insurance is mandatory for the visa process include Turkey, Czech Republic, Ecuador, UAE, etc.

Cost of Medical Treatments

Medical expenses can be quite high in foreign countries than in India. The potentially high cost of medical treatments in case of unexpected illness or injury or accidental dental issues, not only increases your financial burden but also leaves you feeling helpless during your international vacation. An international travel medical insurance plan acts as a shield against unforeseen medical bills by offering cover for emergency medical hospitalisation, the cost of transporting the nearest hospital or back to India, and dental treatment due to an accident on your trip.

Coverages Offered

Besides offering international medical coverage, international travel insurance policies offer coverage for various baggage and trip-related contingencies. You lose your checked-in baggage or someone mistakenly takes your luggage or the airline delays or misdirects your checked-in baggage. Similarly, you may miss your connecting flight to your final travel destination or your trip may get delayed or interrupted or cancelled because of conditions that are beyond your control. All of these situations are covered under our plan.

 

Benefits of Travel Insurance Plan

Travel Care Policy has everything you need to ensure your safety and comfort during your international trip. Here are different covers you can enjoy when you buy our international travel insurance policy online:

Baggage Loss or Delays Compensation

In the situation of your checked-in baggage delay, our international travel insurance plan will provide up to USD 100 to help you buy necessary personal items like clothes, toiletries and medication. Additionally, in case of loss of Baggage, our plan will compensate you up to USD 1500* for total loss of checked-in luggage caused by your airline.

Passport Loss or Theft Cover

Losing your passport or becoming a victim of passport theft can be a dreadful experience. Our international travel insurance policy offers cover for passport loss to help you get reimbursement up to USD 300 for expenses incurred to get a new passport or duplicate passport.

Medical Emergency Cover

You may fall sick or get into an accident but with our international travel health insurance you can cover most medical expenses, including medical treatment, emergency medical hospitalisation and transportation, up to USD 500,000*. It also provides a cover of up to USD 500 for any accidental dental treatment needed during your trip.

Trip Cancellations and Interruptions Cover

In case you have to cancel or interrupt your trip due to unforeseen illness or inclement weather conditions or terrorist incidents, our international travel insurance policy will provide reimbursement of up to USD 600* for the forfeited, non-refundable prepaid payments made before the departure date.

Missed Connecting Flights

Our overseas travel insurance plan offers a cover of up to USD 500* in case you miss the connecting flight to your final destination. This will help to deal with your losses or additional transportation expenses without letting this situation dampen your holiday plans.​

Personal Liability Cover

Our international travel medical insurance plan covers you for any third-party bodily injury or property damage up to USD 250,000*​. This cover is helpful especially when you can’t control certain circumstances around you. For example, you may get involved in an accident during your international trip. and end up accidentally hurting another person or damaging their property.

Hijack Distress Allowance

In the unlikely event of a flight hijack, Travel Care Policy offers a distress allowance of up to USD 125* per day (maximum 7 days) to help you deal with the trauma.

Compassionate Visit

No one can replace your loved ones, especially when you need them during medical emergencies on your international trip. Our international travel insurance plan offers a cover for compassionate visit wherein the travel and accommodation expenses of one immediate family member are covered. This cover comes in handy when you’re hospitalised due to an illness or injury and cannot return to India without any companion.

How to Choose an International Travel Insurance Policy?

Selecting the right overseas travel insurance is a crucial for securing your trip abroad. It is important to choose an international travel insurance policy that offers comprehensive coverage and high sum insured instead of a cheap international travel insurance that doesn’t protect you adequately. So, how do you choose the right online international travel insurance? Here are a few pointers for you:

Check International Travel Insurance Policy Coverage

Check if the international travel health insurance policy covers emergency medical expenses, passport loss, baggage delays, baggage loss, trip cancellations, trip delays, trip interruptions, etc. We recommend you to look for comprehensive coverage when buying an international travel insurance online. For example, if you face a situation where the airline has misplaced your checked-in luggage, then our Travel Care Policy will help you get reimbursed for the lost baggage.

Look for Medical Emergency and Dental Treatment Covers

Best international travel insurance plans offer cover for a wide range of medical contingencies. You could get admitted in the hospital due to some accident or sudden illness and your travel plan should cover you for the hospitalisation expenses. Even if you need emergency dental treatment while on your trip then your international travel insurance should reimburse you for that. Make sure you get a plan that covers you for all of the previously mentioned scenarios.

Choose Need-Based Sum Insured

Every international travel insurance plan has a Sum Insured, which is the maximum amount that an insurance company will pay toward a claim. The higher the Sum Insured, the better financial protection you get against medical emergencies and other trip-related contingencies. While we recommend you to choose an online international travel insurance policy that offers a high Sum Insured of up to $500,000, you need to select a plan based on your requirements.

Evaluate Claim Settlement Process

You should always check the travel insurer’s claim settlement ratio and process before buying international travel insurance online. A higher settlement ratio and a smoother claim procedure will ensure your claim is successfully processed.

How to Buy International Travel Insurance Policy Online?

Buying international travel insurance for your upcoming trip isn’t as easy as buying your favourite chocolate. You need to choose the right travel insurance that meets your requirements while giving comprehensive protection during your stay abroad. That’s why we’ve made it simple to buy overseas travel insurance online – just follow our step-by-step guide and you’re good to go.

• Step 1: Scroll to the top of this page and enter your details including travel type, mobile number, email ID and travel destination.
• Step 2: Choose your preferred plan type and click on ‘Buy Now’.
• Step 3: Check your premium details, enter your personal details and choose your preferred mode of payment.
• Step 4: Get your international travel health insurance policy for your upcoming trip.

Factors that Affect Your Travel Insurance Premiums

Your international travel insurance premium is influenced by a combination of factors like the country you’re travelling to, your age and the duration of your trip. Check out the list below to know in detail how each factor affects your premiums:

Your Travel Destination

The country you choose as your travel destination affects your international travel insurance premium as each country carries its own risk, which the insurer assesses. Therefore, your premium will go higher if you’re travelling across USA and Canada in comparison to travelling to Asian destinations.

Length of Your Stay

Your international travel insurance premium is affected by your trip duration. A shorter trip results in lower premiums because the chances of risk is lower and the opposite applies for longer trips where the risk is higher. If you spend more time in your holiday destination, there is a higher risk of injury or illness since you’ll be out travelling to enjoy your holiday.

Age of Traveller(s)

The age of all travelling members plays a role in the premiums too. Older people are associated with medical higher risk as they have a high probability of having pre-existing diseases, therefore the premiums for them would be higher. On the other hand, younger travellers will have lower premiums as they are usually fitter and have a low medical risk.

Type of Insurance Plan

Different international travel health insurance plans cover different needs. If you’re a student going abroad for education, then we have an international travel insurance plan for students. If you take multiple trips in a year, then we have an annual multi-trip travel insurance plan. The premium changes based on your need and the type of insurance plan for that need.

Sum Insured

Every travel insurance policy has different plans that offer varying amounts of the Sum Insured. The Sum Insured is the maximum value that an insurance company will pay towards your claim. The claim could be related to flight delays, missed connecting flights, trip delays or interruptions, medical expenses, lost passport, loss or delay of checked-in baggage. So when the Sum Insured is high, the premium will be higher.

 

What are the Documents Needed to File a Claim?

1. You need to complete the KYC Process as per the AML/CFT Guidelines issued by IRDAI. You also need to submit PAN/Form 60 along with the below-mentioned documents for your international travel insurance claim.
2. You need to submit the original ticket/boarding pass, a copy of the passport indicating the travel dates and the completed claim form for every claim.
3. You also need to submit original bills/vouchers/reports and discharge summary for all claims.
4. You have to submit an official death certificate and a physician’s statement giving the cause of death to avail reimbursement of the costs of transporting the mortal remains of the Insured/Insured Person to the Republic of India or of costs of burial abroad.
5. For claims related to lost passport, you have to submit a Police Report obtained within 24 hours of the Insured/Insured person becoming aware of the theft along with the original bills/receipts of expenses incurred for new/fresh passport.
6. A Property Irregularity Report or other report is usually issued by the common carriers in the event of loss of checked-in baggage. A letter from the airline will also need to be submitted stating the compensation, if any received from them for the lost baggage.
7. In case of claims related to personal liability, you need to submit proof of judicial decision rendered by a Court.
8. For claims under financial emergency assistance benefit, the police report filed within 24 hours of becoming aware of the robbery needs to be submitted.