A travel insurance policy is a must- have, no matter if you are traveling for a day or a month. An accident comes from nowhere and ruins your trip. No matter how perfectly you plan your vacation, things tend to go haywire. However, if you have covered your trip with a travel insurance plan, you can at least recover a decent sum of money that you might otherwise have lost.Before buying your travel insurance you might have a ton of questions about things that are complicated.Here are the answers for six of them.
A travel insurance policy helps you to deal with unfortunate instances like accident, theft, and emergency hospitalization while you on foreign land. It also helps you in case of lost checked-in baggage, lost passport, and other similar conditions. There are several benefits that a travel insurance policy offers. There’s a fair chance that you might get confused and want to know about them in detail. Here are the answers to the basic questions that might pop up in your mind.
Basic Questions that Every Travel Insurance Buyer have in Mind
1: Does the Travel Insurance policy cover your travel destination?
Not all countries are covered under travel insurance policies. Therefore, it should be your first concern to check whether the country you are traveling to is covered under the policy or not. If you are going to an unsafe zone or areas that are excluded in your insurance plan, then you won’t be able to make any claim if anything happens.
2: Are the adventure activities covered in your Travel Insurance plan?
If you are going on an adventuresome holiday, it is recommended to check what all activities are covered in your policy. Usually, high-risk sports such as bungee jumping, scuba diving, skiing, etc. are not covered under most of the travel insurance policies. The exclusion is made because there’s a higher chance of getting hurt while performing these activities. Read the policy documents carefully.
3: What is the maximum payable provided by your Travel Insurance?
Every insurance policy comes with an upper limit. It is always a good idea to check the maximum payables of the plan before finalizing it. Having a good knowledge of the cap will ease your claim process.
4: What are the exclusions of your policy?
Knowing the exclusions of the policy is as important as knowing what it covers. Every plan has its limitations, and you should know them well before making your final call. For instance- most policies don’t include the losses incurred while you are drunk or under the influence of some drug. Read the fine prints of the exclusions and save yourself from future hassles.
5: Does your policy cover pre-existing medical conditions?
A medical condition that you suffer from before you were insured is considered a pre-existing condition. Your policy can be nullified if you don’t declare a pre-existing condition. Most of the policies do not cover any pre-existing medical conditions. So, if you fall under such a situation- it is advised for you to either take a plan that includes pre-existing ailments or opt for an add-on/ rider for the same.
6: What is the process to register a claim?
Insuring your trip with a travel insurance policy that offers hassle-free claim process is a good idea. It will ensure that you get to register your claim in a stress-free manner. Also, make sure that the insurer has a 24×7 claim assistance so that you can contact it anytime while making a claim. Usually, you can get to know the insurance company’s claim settlement by its Incurred Claim Ratio (ICR). It is the ratio of a number of claims settled versus the number of claims registered in a year with the insurance provider — the higher the ICR, the better the company.
Keep these questions in mind will to make an informed decision while buying a travel insurance plan. Happy traveling!
