Affordable travel insurance

• One of the main reasons to buy Travel Insurance is because most Indians have little or no health care coverage when they travel outside the country. For whatever reasons, if you require to be hospitalized, the medical costs in most developed countries are significantly higher than India.
• The policies of most insurers cover other eventualities like Loss of Passport, Baggage Delay/Loss, Missed Connection etc which could result in financial loss whilst abroad.
• In the event of your trip being cancelled, all airlines, hotels, cruise lines charge penalties if you must cancel your trip within their penalty periods. Travel Insurance will refund these penalties if you cancel for a covered reason.

Foreign nationals in India who have a Work or Residence Permit and are based in India are eligible to buy an insurance policy from an Indian insurance provider.

Yes, once you have chosen the insurance provider on completing a few more personal details you will be directed that insurance provider where online payment can be made.

Yes, if you prefer to speak to someone about your insurance purchase, please call us at our Assistance number mentioned on this site and we will come back to you at the earliest.

Travel Insurance can take much of the worry out of a bad situation by paying for covered medical evacuation required to transport you to the nearest hospital with required medical facilites. In addition, assistance services are included to verify coverage so that you can be treated immediately. The assistance services can also help you communicate with the doctors if you don't speak the same language. Without the medical coverage included in a Travel Insurance plan, you may be forced to pay out of pocket up front for medical treatment and medical transportation, and you'll be on your own dealing with the doctors and the hospitals in a foreign country.

Firstly take a look at what insurance coverage you may require based on where you are traveling to, duration of travel. Then review all insurance companies and their plans…Take factors like Reputation of the Insurer, Assistance Partner abroad and their hospital networks across the world, Claims settlement capabilities. Thirdly, review the cancellation and refund policies applicable to your trip so that you know what the penalties are and when they will go into effect. This includes fees/penalties charged by all vendors including cruise lines, airlines, hotels, transfer companies, tour operators, etc. Contact the insurance provider directly if you have specific coverage questions.

• In addition to purchasing Travel Insurance, consider flying to the city of embarkation a day early to get accustomed to the weather and adjusting to your hotel etc. This is especially important if you are traveling internationally or across several time zones.
• Keep your insurance policy certificate handy, or atleast keep a copy of the same on your mobile phone, in case you need to reach out to the Assistance Company for any reason. Identify your policy certificate number, to quote to the Assistance Company/Hospital.
• Make sure all of your baggage is clearly labeled. Consider keeping a separate, written inventory of all the items you are taking with you including cameras, jewelry, clothing, etc., as well as their approximate values and descriptions. If you do have something that is lost or stolen, it could be easier to locate if you have this information. Additionally, it ensures that you do not forget to file a claim for something.

If the treatment, tests, medication are expenses that you have necessarily and actually incurred for medical treatment on account of Illness or Accident on the advice of a Medical Practitioner, the same would be covered under the policy. This is however subject to the fact that the expenses are incurred for a condition admissible under the policy.

Pregnancy and all related conditions, including services and supplies to the diagnosis or treatment of related conditions, including surgical procedures and devices are all excluded under the coverage of the policy.

The medical expenses incurred due to this accident will be covered under the policy, subject to you not being a professional sportsperson participating in a professional sport; or you participating in a professional sport for which you are untrained. It will also be covered subject to you not putting yourself in needless peril.

A traveller must first realise that there are many insurance companies offering Travel Insurance plans in the India market today. They should also understand that in Travel Insurance, one size doesn’t fit all…this means that just buying a Travel Insurance product for the sake of obtaining a visa, or buying a policy because someone suggested it, is not the right way to approach the purchase of Travel Insurance. One must consider the following aspects of the insurance company before choosing a plan:

• Destination Country – some insurance companies are strong in certain geographies (like Tata AIG in Americas or Bajaj Allianz in Germany) because of their parent organisations being very strong in those markets. Also if the insured is likely to travel to multiple countries (purchasing an Annual Multi Trip) in a year, it is better to opt for an insurance partner who has a worldwide presence
• Duration of Travel – the longer the duration of travel, the more comprehensive the policy conditions need to be
• Age – Given the age of the insured, they could likely have a pre existing medical condition, it is ideal to opt for a plan that covers the same
• Activities during the Trip – if one intends to participate in any adventure activities like bungee jumping, scuba diving, snorkelling, skiing etc, it is better to buy a plan that has a coverage of Adventure Sports

Given that there are so many factors to be considered prior to buying a Travel insurance policy, it is critical for the traveller to evaluate all options before choosing the right insurance company and ideal plan. This is facilitated by an online distribution partner like eIndiaInsurance where there are multiple options available to choose from. eIndiaInsurance also provides a comparison facility that allows the traveller to compare options of insurance plans before making an informed decision on the most suitable plan. The traveller can also search for specific coverages like Pre Existing and Adventure Sports to ensure they don’t miss out on these critical coverages. While an agent promotes just one insurance company, the traveller may not be presented with all available options in the market to choose from and that is where a partner like eIndiaInsurance comes in handy. Post choosing of the plan, the buying process is made even more simple with multiple payment options to choose from and instant receipt of the policy certificate.

The purpose of any Travel Insurance policy is to ensure peace of mind to the traveller when they leave home for a holiday or on business. It is also required to cover any unforeseen expense that may come up due to medical or non medical reasons during the trip. One must realise and acknowledge that such exigencies are as likely to happen abroad as in India. This suggests that every traveller should protect themselves from financial loss even during their travels within India.

The most common excuses for not buying Travel Insurance for trips within India are:

• Nothing will happen, I’m traveling for just 2-3 days and within India
• I don’t know where to buy a Domestic Travel insurance policy from
• The premium may to be too high and I’m already over budget for this trip
• Are there any claims actually paid for losses during Domestic trips? The claims process will be too complicated for such a small claim

The traveller could have an unfortunate accident and need medical assistance or even evacuation to a hospital from a remote location…the common carrier they are traveling with could lose or delay delivering their bags…their unattended home could be burgled when they are on vacation…you could miss your flight or train for genuine reasons while reaching the airport / railway station…there could be an untimely passing away of a family member and his/her remains will need to be transported back home…your flight could be delayed indefinitely due to technical snags of the aircraft…your trip could be cancelled or curtailed due to illness or hospitalisation…accidental coverage for Adventure Sports while vacationing…DOMESTIC TRAVEL INSURANCE plans offer coverage for all of these unforeseen emergencies…

Travel insurance is perhaps the best idea for an International Traveller. While current data suggests that travel insurance is the last thing on the travellers mind when they plan a trip to foreign shores, it is imperative that the discerning traveller gives way more importance to travel insurance than what is it currently being given. Experts would argue that having an insurance policy is as important as booking a hotel or a land tour package and that insurance should never be looked upon as an expense but as a mandatory investment. The purpose of insurance is to safeguard the financial status of the insured in the unfortunate and unforseen event of a claim – be it a medical expense or for any non medical cover like Baggage Loss or Delay, Trip Delay, Bounced Hotel, Missed Connection etc.

Ask a traveller who has lost his baggage or passport, or had a flight delayed and spent 12-18 hours at the airport, or someone who didn’t have a room to check into since the hotel had overbooked their customers, ask a traveller who has had to pay for his/her medical treatment through their personal savings and all of them will say that travel insurance should ideally be amongst the first few boxes to tick off when planning an International holiday.