We saw the benefits of a hospitalisation policy while travelling abroad in the previous instalment of Cover Note. What about several other niggling fears and threats that interfere with enjoying your break abroad or focussing on work?
Your typical overseas travel policy does cover many of these as well. It is a package policy which protects you against the financial impact of loss of baggage, loss of passport and travel documents, flight delays and trip cancellations, missed connections departures, hijack distress, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation of remains to name some.
Cash advance
Some policies offer emergency cash advance, twice the SI as benefit in case of accident (as different from treatment expenses in case of an accident), a built-in personal liability cover and even a burglary cover for your home while you are away.
The sum insured (SI) of the policy applies across all sections and a specified SI out of this is allocated for each section or each type of cover. For example, loss of passport could bring $250 or $300 by way of claims while for loss of baggage it is around $1,000 whereas personal liability, should you be held responsible for injury to someone else or property damage, could be $1,00,000 to $ 2,00,000 depending on the insurance company, the policy and its options.
You should check deductibles under each section so that you get a true feel of the extent of your coverage and also your burden in case of a claim. In addition, the cover for medical expenses could have sub-limits and some policies offer a waiver of sub-limits for extra premium. As with all insurance policies, the devil is in the exclusions which you should study before you buy.
In travel policies the usual hospitalisation policy exclusions apply like pre-existing conditions, claims arising out of suicide, attempted suicide, intentionally self-inflicted injury or illness, sexually transmitted conditions, mental or nervous disorder, anxiety, stress or depression, AIDS, HIV infection, being under the influence of drugs, alcohol etc.
In addition, claims incurred while serving in the defence forces during war or peace, operating or learning to operate any aircraft, or working on the crew of any aircraft/airline are excluded as is any loss arising out of war and war-like conditions, or while engaging in manual work for employment or any other potentially dangerous occupation, participation in adventure sports and due to pregnancy and all related conditions. If you are travelling against medical advice or for the purpose of medical treatment abroad, claims will not be payable.
The important thing about a travel policy is that you should buy it before undertaking the journey. You can cancel it only if the entire journey is cancelled (this does not apply to multi-trip policies which we discussed earlier). If your trip is extended, you can extend your policy period as well and that is a convenience. Some companies allow you to do it online.
Claims for these policies are administered by claims settling agencies in various destination countries and they are similar in function to the third party administrators (TPAs) here.
Their contact information will be on your policy document. Keep this information handy and in a safe place. Travel policies are also available abroad from insurance companies abroad and do present an option. But with an Indian policy, you would have better access back home to the companies’ claims’ mechanism and the complaints and grievances’ procedures of the company and the regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) as well.
(The writer is a business journalist specialising in insurance & corporate history)
