Have you noticed that the travel insurance expenses have come down considerably over the years?
Is it due to lack of takers?
Or is it due to tough settlement procedures?
As a frequent traveler, I don’t feel the necessity to insure because of very less chances of mishaps and consequent claims. And I am wrong!
Even those who are aware that the Indian Railways is offering insurance plans at a pittance are not opting for it. Can you think of any other reason for the slash in prices?
Now, let us look into the necessity of travel insurance when going out of country. International travel insurance is not very popular among many travelers.
Traveling to another country does not take place often among majority of us. We may plan a trip abroad once in two years or more. It involves a lot of planning and it can really get you exhausted however exciting it may be.
Of all the industries, I think the insurance industry has not seen much competition. If you know about 5 or 6 insurance providers today, five years ago, you would have known the same companies. Still, the competition is there among them.
So, choosing an international travel insurance provider may not be really tough.
There are plenty of insurance providers out there that offer different kinds of insurance policies including travel insurance apart from medical insurance and auto insurance.
What exactly need to be covered in a travel insurance plan?
- Cancellation of flights due to various reasons like weather conditions, unfavorable political developments, internal trouble by the flying and support staff etc.
- Loss of baggage or delay in getting the baggage
- Cancellation of hotels bookings
- Delay in flights leading to overall disturbance of travel plans
- Cancellation of trips due to ill-health
- Medical emergencies abroad
- Life coverage
- Theft of ID papers
I might have omitted a few important aspects. Please comment if you need me to add anything else.
Now that we know what all the risks when travelling abroad are, it is only matter of asking quotations from the travel insurance providers and comparing the price meticulously over each and every coverage point.
This we are all good at; I mean comparing the prices and choosing the lowest.
However, is the lowest price the sole criteria to select the insurance provider?
No, it is not.
We must read the customer reviews and look for complaints regarding hidden costs, delay in settlement over claims, etc. We must do a thorough background check on insurance providers that we have short listed.
These days, we book our travel plans through a travel package provider who also takes care of travel insurance. In that case, we need not worry over the selection of travel insurance service provider.
The insurance industry is always competitive due to the fat profits they rake in and as such, they are ready to offer a bit extra that we ask for. So, do not hesitate to drive a bargain.
Validity of Travel Insurance
At times, we may postpone our travel itinerary. Therefore, while paying for the travel insurance, it is wise to ask for a flexible validity period.
We are all aware of the existence of travel insurance but somehow shun away from it so that we can save some money. It may turn to be an unwise decision when we end up spending a fortune just because our travel plans go away.
