The need for travel insurance is deeply felt in case of personal accident or any other incident that happens all of a sudden while you are traveling. This can happen despite taking all the necessary precautions.
Different companies offer different types of insurance policies. Also, travel insurance from India to the USA, for instance, will be different from domestic flights.
This blog mentions all the different types of travel insurance and when exactly you can need them. You definitely need to make a quick survey before choosing the insurance suited for your travel type.
One needs travel insurance while traveling abroad as you can never predict what is going to happen next. All the unwanted occurrences cannot be anticipated and afforded at the same time. One should always have a safety blanket of insurance for protection from unforeseen emergencies.
Types of Travelling Insurance
Travel insurance can be categorized under different sections according to their cost-effectiveness and necessity. Here we have mentioned 4 of its types:
- Trip Cancellation
Such insurance is designed in a way to refund some part or the entire fare of the normally non-refundable travel charges. The cancellation should have occurred because of a personal or a family member’s medical emergency. This insurance is issued to the passengers at the time of booking the tickets and in no case, the passenger can ask for the insurance once the tickets have been purchased.
- Loss or Theft of Baggage
This insurance covers all or some part of the value of your belongings in case of their theft, loss or damage. One needs to go through all the terms and conditions of the insurance policy before availing it. The requirements to make a claim in such cases may vary greatly. There might be different policies with different companies regarding acceptable circumstances and valuation formula, etc.
- Emergency Medical Travel
Such insurance reimburses the entire or a part of the medical expenses during the travel. This type of insurance is the most purchased and a practical kind of insurance available in the market. Whereas, some policies cover sports like scuba and sky diving while others do not. So, you need to go thoroughly through the instructions. For a medical insurance company, the time and the place of the accident is an important aspect when you try to make a claim.
Medical insurance is a must and is very beneficial if one falls ill or meets with an accident. You just need to read the fine print. Check all the things that come under the policy.
- Expat
Some of the travel insurance companies do not have any policy for full-time or long-term travelers. Also, they cannot avail of the benefits of a regular policy because of their extended stay in another country. Expat insurance can be also called International Health or medical insurance. This is a kind of worldwide Travel Insurance that offers insurance facilities for ex-pats and long-term travelers.
Tips for Structuring Policy
- Repatriation and Evacuation
One must take a plan that includes policies for repatriation and evacuation cases. Especially, if a person is residing in a developing country like India such plans are beneficial to a large extent.
- Pre-Existing Conditions
Most of the insurance companies exclude the pre-existing conditions from their coverage areas. In such cases, if you face an emergency while you are traveling, this may lead to heavy bills. Make a survey and choose the best travel insurance from India to the USA that underwrites you medically and covers all the conditions by charging an extra fee.
- Pregnant or Plans
Plans for medical travel insurance will not include pregnancy-related issues or illness. But for your relief, ex-pat insurances might cover pregnancy if you have been availing the insurance for more than a year. That also means you should have the policy in place for 12 months before you become pregnant.
- Choosing a Reputable Company
While taking insurance, make sure that you are taking the best travel insurance from India to the USA. Choose the company that has the potential to stand by its coverage and can successfully manage your claims. You have to go through the instructions to make sure that they have good and secure financial ratings. For this, you can check the online reviews to know the customer’s experience.
- Using a Broker
Brokers work with reputed insurers and can easily find you the best insurance policy meeting all your expectations and requirements. They can also help you with the application, claim, and renewal of the insurance. Don’t worry about the high broker fee, you can relax. Since the insurance company itself compensates their charges.
Tips for Expats
- Dental, Visions, and Extras
Some of the insurance companies might provide plans that include dental and vision care as well, while others might include services like massage and physiotherapy. Choose your plan wisely as added benefits come with higher premiums.
- Excluding/Including USA
Some of the ex-pat insurance companies might not have policy coverage in the USA while others can offer the same. As the medical charges are quite high in the USA, so, some of the companies might exclude it from the list in order to reduce the premium.
Making a Successful Claim
- Reading the Policy
Read your policy carefully. It might be a boring task to do, but it is the only way by which you can make a successful claim.
- Calling the Insurance Company
According to the rules and regulations of the travel insurance companies, you have to make a call to the company immediately at the time of emergency. Calling them will help you to take treatment from the supported medical facility. In adverse circumstances, you might not be able to claim the reimbursement.
- Making Copies of Everything
While making the claim, you have to produce the original documents of your policy that includes the receipts and other related things. You cannot back up your claim in case you lose the originals. Make copies so that if in case the claim is not processed successfully you have your own set of proofs.
- Prepare to Fight
Sometimes the insurance companies make mistakes intentionally as well. You have to be ready to analyze things carefully and speak up for yourself. They might not make the payment in the required currency or they might exclude certain charges from the claim. In such cases, you can talk to the higher authorities.
- Being Patient
Claiming for the insurance policy might need a lot of patience at all the steps. Different departments check and cross-check every minute detail. That may take time more than expected. This might take months to resolve but the time spent will be worth the claim. You just need to be patient and calm while following the procedure in an ethical way.
These are some of the tips that you can consider while choosing travel insurance from India to the USA. Going through the terms and conditions of the insurance policy you are taking should be your major concern as it is the only thing that will decide the future of your claim.