Tips to find best travel insurance
Tips to find good and adequate international travel health insurance.
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No, as per the terms and conditions of the India travel insurance policy, the travelling insured must be in India at the time of purchasing the policy. Hence the policy cannot be purchased post the commencement of the journey / the insured leaving India.
Read more »India has around 21 million (2.1 crore) International travellers and 13% of them were headed to Europe in 2017-18. France, UK, Switzerland and Germany are the four countries which account for almost 2 million (20 lac), clearly the largest share of the Indian travellers headed to Europe. According to the CAPA report which published this information, these four cities along account for almost 75% of all European travel with Italy & Netherlands also receiving a reasonable share of mainly leisure tourists. If any traveller is asked which is the most popular tourist attraction in Europe, they would spontaneously say the Eiffel Tower in Paris. But interestingly, the Eiffel Tower is only the 8th highest visited tourist location across Europe according to a 2017 study by TravelandLeisure.com which published the following list of 15 most visited tourist locations across Europe.
| Position | Tourist Location | No of Annual Visitors |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Bazaar, Istanbul | 15,000,000 |
| 2 | Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris | 13,650,000 |
| 3 | Disneyland Park, Marne-la-Vallée, France | 10,500,000 |
| Sacré Coeur Basilica, Paris | ||
| 5 | Sacré Coeur Basilica, Paris | 8,500,000 |
| 6 | St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Rome | 7,000,000 |
| 7 | Colosseum, Rome | 6,900,000 |
| 8 | Eiffel Tower, Paris | 6,700,000 |
| 9 | Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany | 6,000,000 |
| Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Lourdes, France | ||
| Shrine of Padre Pio, San Giovanni, Rotondo, Italy | ||
| 12 | Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France | 5,900,000 |
| 13 | British Museum, London | 5,800,000 |
| 14 | St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice | 5,600,000 |
| 15 | Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Italy | 5,500,000 |
Apart from these tourist attractions, there are other popular ones including the Swiss Alps in Switzerland for fulfilling your skiing aspirations, Leasing Tower at Pisa, Berlin Wall in Germany and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Europe has a very unique visa policy. There are 26 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland) which have come together as Schengen Countries and they offer a standard comprehensive visa covering all these countries. This means that if there is a traveller is visiting any or multiple countries, they need just a single visa for their travel.
Another important aspect of this visa is that the traveller mandatorily needs Schengen Visa travel medical insurance policy to cover their trip with an Accident & Sickness cover of atleast €30,000. Hence the traveller will need to buy a 30,000Euro travel medical insurance policy before applying for a visa. Many of the Indian Insurers offer a specific Schengen Visa health insurance which are accepted by the Schengen visa authorities.
Healthcare costs throughout Europe are relatively lower when compared with USA or UK, but is still significantly higher when compared to India. Hence the discerning traveller should ensure they have a comprehensive Schengen visa insurance coverage for their travel and not just the mandatory cover of €30,000.
| Figs in $ USD | USA | Switzerland | Spain | UK | India |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humira Drug for Arthiritis / Skin Conditions | 2,669 | 822 | 1,253 | 1,362 | 1,000 |
| Harvoni Drug for Hepatitis C | 32,114 | 16,861 | 18,165 | 22,554 | 2,000 |
| Avastin Drug for Cancer | 3,930 | 1,752 | 1,534 | 470 | 450 |
| MRI Scan | 1,119 | 503 | 788 | 175 | |
| Day in Hospital as an Inpatient | 5,220 | 4,781 | 424 | 200 | |
| Appendix Surgery | 15,930 | 6,040 | 2,003 | 1,500 | |
| Cataract Surgery | 3,530 | 2,114 | 1,719 | 3,145 | 300 |
| Bypass Surgery | 78,318 | 34,224 | 14,579 | 24,059 | 8000 |
| Knee Replacement | 28,184 | 20,132 | 6,686 | 18,481 | 4500 |
| Source - International Federation of Health Plans / Indicure | |||||
Apart from the overseas mediclaim health cover, it will be ideal for the traveller to choose a plan which has covers like Trip Cancellation/Curtailment, Loss of Passport, Baggage Loss/Delay, Bounced Hotel, Personal Liability etc since travelling as a tourist could result in some of these losses occurring during the trip. The Schengen plans have reasonable premium that should encourage the traveller to choose a more comprehensive plan.
| Insurance Plan** | Sum Insured for Accident & Sickness in USD $ | Sum Insured for Accident & Sickness in INR | Age 28 years - Premium payable in INR | Age 43 years - Premium payable in INR | Age 66 years - Premium payable in INR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | $30,000 | Rs.21,00,000 | 740 | 867 | 1,503 |
| Plan 2 | $2,00,000 | Rs.1,40,00,000 | 1,014 | 1,171 | 2,049 |
| Plan 3 | $500,000 | Rs.3,50,00,000 | 1,534 | 1,870 | 4,438 |
** - please note that the coverages under the different plans vary with the insurance company for the same Sum Insured, please go through the coverage details while deciding on the most suitable plan.
Yes, it is mandatory to have Travel Insurance when one is travelling to Europe. Also as per the Schengen Visa authorities the sum insured coverage for Accident & Sickness (A&S) needs to be €30,000 (currently approx. USD $40,000 / ₹ 24,00,000). Without these two conditions being met, no visa is granted for entry to any of the Schengen countries. The list of the Schengen countries for your immediate perusal are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland. So if one is travelling to any of these countries, one must have an insurance plan with a minimum coverage of €30,000 in place.
However given that the cost of healthcare in Europe is significantly higher when compared to India, it is recommended that the traveller opts for a (A&S) coverage of atleast $250,000, but ideally $500,000 (₹INR 3.5 crores). Given that almost all Indians travel to Europe on a holiday, one could suffer a non-medical emergency like a Trip Cancellation/Interruption, Loss of Passport, Baggage Delay/Loss, Missed Flight, Flight Delay or even a Bounced Hotel and hence ensure that the travel insurance plan that is being chosen also has a comprehensive range of non-medical coverages as well.
If the Indian traveller to going to any of the Schengen countries, they need to mandatorily have an insurance policy in place with an Accident & Sickness (A&S) cover of a minimum of €30,000 (currently approx. USD $40,000 / ₹ 24,00,000). The countries that come (and don’t come) under the Schengen visa requirements are listed below:
Countries part of the Schengen Visa requirement**
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Countries not part of the Schengen Visa requirement**
United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria
** - this is as on April 2019 and could undergo a change in the future.
This to convey our gratitude to your customer support team for having guided us very well in procuring our overseas travel insurance.
Vrinda Tandan
One of the most important financial securities a traveller can avail for visitors while going abroad is insurance coverage. In the critical event of hospitalization or emergency medical treatment or any non medical emergency, travel/health insurance will come to the immediate assistance of the traveller. There are visitors insurance plans designed by Indian insurance companies for travellers staying abroad even for a short stay. Compare free quotes and buy visitors insurance online.
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