If you love traveling and prefer to plan the trips systematically, there should be no way something can go wrong on the trip. Unfortunately, it is not true as every time you are on tour, be it professional or personal, there is a possibility that something may go wrong. Thus it would help if you got a travel insurance plan. It assures you peace of mind while you explore the world. However, to ensure maximum coverage, there are some factors that you should keep in mind while purchasing a Travel Insurance Plan Online.
Few useful tips on choosing the right travel insurance plan online
- Sum assured: A lot of coverage features depend on the sum assured that you choose. The best part of travel insurance is that you can customize it and make it the one that best suits your requirements. The choice of sum assured should depend on the country you are traveling to. Also, do consider it is a professional or personal trip. For example, a three-day professional trip to the UK will cost way more if compared to a similar journey to Sri Lanka or Nepal. Choosing for higher sum assured will keep your mind off from worried like unexpected medical emergency and other significant expenses that may occur while you are traveling.
- Understand the features and how they will affect you: As mentioned in the first point, the sum assured decides the features you may get in your insurance plan. However, you need to understand that every element will have a limit to the amount of coverage too. Let’s take an example. Imagine you are planning to visit the US for a two-day trip. You made a cover that will equate to somewhere close to $20,000 for the trip. In such cases, the insurance company will provide you a breakdown that will explain how much cover you can claim for different features. Taking it into consideration, based on your policy, you may only get $500 worth protection on your baggage while the complete $20,000 protection will be available in case of a medical emergency.
- Understand the exclusions: The first thing you need to keep in mind that travel insurance is not going to cover everything. There are some exclusions that every insurance company imposes on the policies. For example, in the basic coverage that is common among all travel insurance plan jewelry will be in the list of excluded items. You have to buy a rider or add-on in case you are carrying jewelry with you. Also, events like terrorist attacks and some medical conditions may not be covered under your travel insurance plan. Thus you must study the list of what is included and excluded and make sure you get the required coverage by choosing the right plan and add-ons.
- Types of plans: Insurance companies offer a wide range of travel insurance plans. On top of it, you can customize most of the plans as per your requirements as well. Every plan varies in terms of coverage, features, and benefits. For those who are frequent flyers, there are Annual Trip Plans or Multiple Trip Plans available as well. Many plans are designed exclusively for senior citizens and students. You can avail of a travel insurance plan for both international and domestic trips.
- Age of insured: If you are planning to travel with your family, there are insurance plans in which you can add more than one member. However, it is essential to check the upper and lower age limit of the insured person in the plan. Some insurance plans restrict the entry age to 60 years and 70 years, and in such cases, you have to buy a separate senior citizen travel insurance plan.
- Process of claim settlement: When there is a distressing situation, you would not prefer to deal with someone arrogant on the other side of the claim process. You must understand the claim process so that you know what to do in case of an emergency. Also, make sure to check the reviews of the insurance company so that you can decide if the company is going to honor its promise or not. In most cases, the claims are approved in a two to five-day process. Some companies also offer cashless support in case medical emergency. If your insurance plan includes that, make sure to understand the procedure.
- International tie-ups for assistance: Understandably, the insurance companies cannot have offices in every company. To provide support to their customers they tie-up with local insurance companies in each country. When you are traveling to any country other than India, make sure to list down the significant numbers that you can contact in case you need any assistance of any reason including but not limited to medical evacuation, loss of passport, and more.
- When to buy the insurance policy: Some countries like the US and the UK have made it mandatory for travelers to have a travel insurance plan at the time of applying for a visa. In many other countries, it is compulsory to have some form of travel insurance that they may check at the customs. You can buy a travel insurance plan as early as 60 days before the trip.
- The connection between the premium and the coverage: The more things you want to cover under a travel insurance plan, the higher the premium will be. It is one of the major reasons people often undervalue their belongings on the trip to reduce the premium cost. But think about it in the other way once. You are going to spend tens of thousands on the trip. There will be a chance of any sort of mishap on the said trip. How wise will it be to ignore the coverage to save a few hundred rupees? Thus, make sure to get maximum coverage and buy add-ons if required.
- Get the complete information: There are tons of things that you need to learn about the insurance plan before you purchase it. From coverage to claim process, it is essential to read the documentation carefully. There are some clauses for a refund and offers for group policies as well that you can opt for. All the information is easily available on the websites of the insurance companies or you can opt to check aggregator websites where you can check information about multiple plans from different insurance companies and compare them side-by-side.
Select the right option always
Traveling has become much more comfortable in the last few years, but the risks are on an all-time high too. Thus it would help if you got a good travel insurance plan for the upcoming trip. The tips mentioned above will help you in choosing the right insurance plan online.