Travelling is an important and regular event in everyone’s life whether it is for leisure or work. Travelling creates memories which we cherish all through our life. Who won’t want to go on a vacation amidst scenic lands, pampered days and carefree moments – far away from hectic life! Well, how much we love to travel we should not undermine the risks that it entails. Yes, travelling does have its own risks and probabilities of unforeseen situation distress.
What You Need? A good travel insurance plan will take care of any unforeseen situation during transit. Situations like loss or theft of baggage, delay of flights leading to financial loss, loss of passport and other important documents and medical emergency are quite common. The best way to ensure that we can manage such an expected situation is to buy a travel insurance plan with right coverage.
Big Mistake: Buy the lowest premium insurance or tick off any box the agent or airline asks you to.
Result: Just not enough when the actual need arises. Either it won’t cover that situation or the reimbursement will be a measly amount.
Solution: Buy the coverage for travel insurance keeping in mind the country you are traveling to and the purpose of your travel.
Not Convinced Yet? Consider these situations and statistics:
High Cost To Meet Medical Emergency: If you are travelling to United States, Singapore, Egypt, Turkey or Greece (the most popular tourist countries) and you fall sick even with a basic problem of gastritis you are up for big trouble. Do you know that an approximate cost of a basic medical treatment in US is $15, 889? Only a higher coverage plan can reimburse sufficiently in such a situation while anything else will just be namesake. The good point is while you pay in Indian Rupees, you will get coverage in dollars.
Student Travelling Abroad for Education: If you are studying abroad in Australia, US, UK or Canada (countries that see highest influx of Indian students) you would definitely need a higher coverage travel plan to cover any unforeseen situation. Cost of living in these countries is quite high and so will be the cost of any misadventure like medical emergency, loss/theft of essentials or documents. Cases of racism and student mis-treatment are quite rampant abroad. Staying safe will let you focus properly. And the most important document to keep you safe abroad is your insurance policy papers. Don’t compromise on the premium amount as nothing should come in your way of safety on a foreign land.
Adventure Travel: If your travel plan includes indulgence in adventure or extreme sport activities like mountain climbing, sky diving, paragliding, rafting, etc you may want to go for a higher travel insurance coverage. This will ensure you are always protected against any of the medical emergencies you may face, no matter how good you are in sports.
Acts of Terrorism: Are you planning to travel to Thailand, Egypt, Turkey or Philippines without a good insurance plan? My advice: Don’t.
These countries rank the highest in the Global Terrorism Index Score. Acts of terrorism is the ugly reality of modern life and we can never be prepared enough for it. The least we can do is to have a terrorism clause in the plan we buy. Needless to say, it comes at a higher premium.
Airlines – The Soft Targets: Hijacking, accidents, terrorist attack, and flight delay – we have heard about these situations innumerable times. Airlines are, undoubtedly, the soft targets. Don’t be vulnerable and safeguard yourself with an adequate travel insurance plan. And, yes, needless to say only a higher coverage plan can be of some assistance at such trying times.
I am sure you now understand why I am emphasizing on not just buying a insurance plan but buying the one with right coverage so that you don’t leave out anything for luck.
When you are travelling then only good preparation can save you and buying a travel insurance plan that covers you adequately is an important preparatory tool.
Recommended Minimum Travel Insurance Coverage (USD):
- US or Canada—$50,000
- Europe excluding UK—$30,000
- UK—$50,000
- Entire Asia Excluding Japan—$15,000
- Anywhere Else—$50,000
~Yashish Dahiya, CEO & Co-Founder, PolicyBazaar.com
