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Sowmya Sundar

PLANNING to visit your cute little grand-daughter in the US or off on your much-awaited trip to Singapore? The last thing you would want is to fall sick and end up in a hospital or get robbed leaving you stranded without, perhaps, even a change of clothes! Besides spoiling your holiday, it may land you in a financial mess too.

At such times, a travel insurance plan can be godsend as it would offer at least financial assistance. Most insurers cover overseas travel. A couple offer insurance covers for domestic travel too, though the risks covered are slightly different from those relating to overseas travel.

Type of plans

Whether you are off on a holiday or a business trip or going to a university, you can find a plan to cover specific risks.

If you are taking your family on a holiday, you can opt for a plan that offers comprehensive cover at competitive rates, instead of taking individual plans.

Individual plans: The common risks covered by individual plans are death or disablement due to personal accident, hospitalisation expenses for accident or illness, loss of baggage, loss of passport and legal liability towards a third party for unintentional loss of life or property during the course of overseas travel.

Most companies provide covers from $50,000 to $5,00,000. Some tailor the products to include certain benefits and exclude others. A few companies allow you to choose the benefits a la carte.

Most policies cover the common risks. But a few offer some bizarre covers too. For instance, Bajaj Allianz reimburses the expenses incurred on throwing a party for achieving a hole-in-one in a game of golf during the trip!

Another offbeat cover offered by Bajaj Allianz is Emergency Cash Allowance. If you require emergency cash on theft or loss of luggage, the insurance provider will co-ordinate with your relatives in India to provide emergency cash assistance.

Student cover: Student cover is available for the whole year. The covers available are reimbursement of tuition fees if you are unable to continue the course due to serious illness; reimbursement of school fees if your sponsor is disabled or dies in an accident; and the travel cost of a visit by your parents or you if either falls seriously ill.

Annual cover: If you are airborne much of the time, then an annual insurance cover may be more suitable. The cover is for a certain number of days in a year regardless of the number of times you go abroad. Some companies specify the maximum number of days covered per trip.

Family plan: A family plan covers an individual, the spouse and children below 21 years or 18 years depending on the product. The premium for a family package is far cheaper than individual plans. You can cover additional members at extra cost, usually as a percentage of the base family premium. You can also include your parents in the scheme, subject to age limits.

Premia

The premium depends on your age, the period and the country of travel. Most companies have premiums for a fixed age band and travel periods. ICICI Lombard, however, charges on a per day basis.

For instance, the premium for a 30-year-old, for a trip excluding the US and Canada, for 22 to 28 days would cost you Rs 1,138 if you take a Tata AIG plan.

For the same parameters, an ICICI Lombard plan would cost Rs 593 for 22 days and Rs 679 for 28 days. So you pay only for the actual number of days of travel. The benefits payable under each risk is subject to a maximum amount. For instance, the maximum claim entertained for loss of baggage is $1,000. The premium outgo will rise with every additional risk covered. You can opt for a plain vanilla cover to reduce the cost of your plan.

Claim settlement

What do you do if you need immediate medical attention? You call the helpline numbers and inform the company. Most companies offer a cashless settlement for hospitalisation. Some provide cashless settlement if the expenses exceed a certain limit.

For instance, Royal Sundaram offers cashless settlement if the costs exceed $500. Expenses below $500 have to be settled by you and reimbursement sought later. Bajaj Allianz offers cashless settlement if hospitalised but not for outpatient treatment.

While submitting claims for loss of baggage or passport, you have to produce proof of such loss. You need to submit a copy of the complaint lodged with the local authorities.

In the case of a claim for baggage delay, you need a certificate from the airport authority acknowledging the delay in receiving the baggage. The delay should be for a minimum of 12 hours to claim compensation.

Some pointers

When settling claims, a certain portion has to be borne by you. This is called the deductible. If your actual expenses are within the deductible limits, then you bear the cost and do not get compensation from the insurer. The deductible is mentioned for each of the risks covered.

The cover kicks in the moment you board the flight till the time you deplane on return. The cover is usually not extended beyond the trip period. PSU insurers, however, allow you to do so on payment of additional premium. Royal Sundaram too allows an extension up to a maximum of seven days when absolutely necessary.

Most insurance companies do not cover third party legal claims if you are in an automobile or if it is in the nature of penalty or charges.

The number of days of cover provided for a single trip differs from insurer to insurer.

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