The travel season is ahead, and international trips may be on the cards for many. Protection in the form of travel insurance is a must for the wanderlusts, business persons or students. With a wide variety of options that are available at an affordable price, travel insurance can suit a variety of travel needs.

Here we look at the fundamentals of travel insurance — the basic options that must be expected, the caveats in applicability of the policy and, finally, covers for special cases.  

Base cover

Travel insurance is a mix of health, accident, life, theft and ‘lost item’ insurance all rolled into one. That such a versatile option is priced around ₹1,500 per person per week should make it an obvious choice on a trip. But with so many offers at hand, choosing the right policy becomes manageable if one knows the primary risks to cover — and specific needs to look out for.

Travel insurance covers are broadly divided into medical, trip-related and baggage insurance.

Medical covers protect against an unplanned and emergency medical expense while on the trip. It has to be unplanned, which implies that the doctor’s observation should clarify that the hospitalisation is unplanned and not part of an overseas treatment.

Medical cover most likely does not cover the entire treatment. An emergency ‘tape and shut’ treatment is provided — this, so that the policyholder can make it back home for the actual treatment to begin. Most times, policyholders look at the cover amount of $500,000 and may anticipate a broad treatment option, which is not to be. Also, the cover amount starts from $100,000 to $1 million or so. A policyholder can go as high as possible but ensure a base of $500,000 at least. There is a reason why health insurance is critical in high-net-worth economies and to find out on a trip will be far from ideal.

Apart from medical emergencies, personal accident covers are also important to have if the trip involves road or vehicular transportation. A cover of $30,000 is generally provided in policies, but not all of the policies cover this.

While dental and others are also covered in policies regularly, far-off possibilities of death and related expenses of transportation are generally provided in base policies.

Trip and baggage cover

Trip-related covers generally protect against a cancellation, missed connection or trip delays. This allows to cover emergency expenses, non-refundable bookings or transit expenses to the tune $300-600. But the reason for the exigencies should not be the immediate fault of the insured. For instance, trip cancellation on serious illness, weather or accident is entertained and $500-1,500 is paid to cover for non-refundable bookings. A return trip on account of personal emergencies is also covered under this head and can be a useful tool in such situations.

Baggage-related covers kick in to protect against any minor mishaps that can potentially play spoilsport. For instance, losing one’s passport in a trip is surprisingly a common occurrence, which is covered with a $300-500 reimbursement to accommodate a replacement. If the airlines lose or delay one’s baggage, again a common mishap, essentials are covered till reinforcements are shipped. This cover also includes a personal liability insurance that ranges from $100,00 to $200,000. A litigious counterparty can drain financial savings of Indians in a trip.

Special circumstances

Covid, anyone? The terminology has been phased out of the lexicon. But keep in mind, in travel insurance, hospitalisation expenses are covered — but not those of any prescribed isolation/quarantine in hotel room.

Although gaining popularity, covers for adventure sports are hard to come by. Extreme sports like paragliding, river rafting, bungee jumping, have to be disclosed prior to a trip. A cover, on the other hand, even after disclosure, may be an add-on option if it exists in the first place.

Home insurance while on a trip or pet insurance are available as basic packages in travel insurance. This rounds off the basic and specialised services that can be purchased in a stock travel plan.

A critical aspect of travel insurance, even if bought online, is the Third-party administrator or TPA. The contact details of the TPA, especially in a multi-destination policy, must be ensured before taking off. Be it the list of network hospitals in the destination or even the travel mandates applicable to each zone, TPAs may be helpful. Also, claim process becomes that much smoother with the involvement of a TPA.

The actual plans for a week’s trip to the US starts from ₹950 at Oriental Insurance or ₹1,200 from Nova Bupa. Amongst the traditional BFSI firms, Bajaj Allianz (₹1,400), SBI General Insurance (₹1,640), Tata AIG (₹1,700) are also available.

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