Travel Insurance Online

Travelling comes with a world of uncertainties, many of which need to be handled on a contingent basis. While a policy may not be able to handle every uncertain situation, a lot can be taken care of with a suitable travel insurance plan in place. You can opt for a personalised set of travel coverages that provide a decent amount of certainty related to handling contingencies while travelling.

Why You Need Travel Insurance

It is essential to protect your trip when travelling, which typically ensures that your peace of mind is secured. When travelling abroad, securing your trip with a suitable insurance cover does just that, keeping you covered against any possible trip interruptions. Travel insurance on MakeMyTrip comes with plans that extend coverage benefits that are not only VISA-compliant but cost-efficient as well.

Types of Travel Insurance Plans

Before you plan to buy travel insurance, it is essential to know the types of coverage available for extensive financial protection. Here’s a list of essential coverages:

Individual

When on a solo international trip, individual coverage is one of the best travel insurance plans to pick for securing your peace of mind. This insurance coverage suits individual travellers, whether they are taking a trip for leisure or business purposes.

International

Travellers can opt for coverage while visiting countries outside India. These policies come with a range of sum insured options, starting from $50,000 and vary with traveller requirements.

There are insurance products available for most countries across the world that cover all your travel inconveniences. The coverage benefits extend to multiple travel-related aspects like emergency medical expenses, losses due to trip cancellations and delays as well as loss of checked-in baggage(s) or delay in receiving. Other losses are also covered from the likes of missed connecting flights, misplaced passports, accidental death and permanent/partial disability.

Medical

Medical coverage under international travel insurance policies provides financial assistance in case of medical emergencies. These coverage options are available for all travel coverages, whether taking a leisure or a business trip.

Student

Students going for overseas education can also keep themselves covered. These insurance plans are curated to cover the financial emergencies of students anywhere in the world.

Travel Insurance Coverage

Coverage benefits under a travel insurance plan inclusively include the following benefits:

Medical coverage

The importance of travel insurance with medical coverage benefits cannot be overstated. It is extensive and can include the following:

• Medical expenses related to accidents and illnesses: Reimbursements are made by the insurance provider in case of medical expenses arising out of hospitalisation necessary due to accident-related injury and/or illnesses occurring when on an overseas trip. Such hospitalisation must be advised by a treating medical practitioner. Medical expense reimbursements are limited up to policy schedule limits.
• Emergency medical evacuation: Medical expense reimbursements are made by insurance providers in case of injury/illness on an overseas trip necessitating out-of-emergency medical evacuation under a medical practitioner’s advice. Coverage includes all expenses related to transportation of the insured to the nearest hospital or back to India for any emergency medical treatment covered.
• Repatriation of mortal remains: Expenses arising out of any unfortunate repatriation of mortal remains of the insured to their usual place of residence are covered in the case of their unfortunate demise on an overseas trip.
• Accidental death: If an accident of the insured on an overseas trip leads to an unfortunate demise, the sum insured mentioned in the Policy Schedule/Certificate of Insurance is paid by the insurance provider to the nominee.
• Permanent total disability: The insurer pays a percentage of the sum insured, as mentioned in the Policy Schedule/Certificate of Insurance, in case of a permanent total disability to the insured resulting from an accident directly or indirectly on an overseas trip. Such disability should result within 12 (twelve) months of the accident.

Baggage coverage

Financial losses arising due to baggage loss or delay are covered under the following pointers:

• Delay of checked-in baggage: In case checked-in baggage arrives late at a foreign airport when on an overseas trip, the insurance provider pays a benefit amount for delays or misdirection from the common carrier exceeding the consecutive hours as mentioned in the Insurance Schedule/Certificate of Insurance counted from the time of the insured’s arrival at the destination. Such delays may be due to the airline sending your baggage to another location or if there has been an operational issue.
• Loss of checked-in baggage: In the unfortunate incident of checked-in baggage loss along with its content sustained by the insured on a foreign trip, the insurer provides reimbursement as per policy terms.

Journey related coverage

Other coverages available related to an overseas journey include the following:

• Missed connection: In the case of connecting flights during international travel, reimbursements are provided for any delay/cancellation of the first flight. This missed flight should be due to the delay/cancellation of the flight the Insured Person is travelling in immediately prior to the missed flight.
• Trip/common carrier delay:If the Insured Person’s overseas trip is delayed due to the late departure of a common carrier arising out of the following circumstances, the insurer reimburses the specified amount.
  • Inclement weather
  • Strike or other job action by employees of the common carrier
  • Equipment failure of the common carrier
  • Any order or direction by the government or public authority
  • Operational reasons at the departure airport due to air traffic restrictions
  • Operational reasons of the common carrier by which the Insured Person is travelling overseas, returning to India or travelling between two international destinations
• Trip cancellation:The insurance provider reimburses expenses where overseas trip cancellation of the insured prior to its commencement is due to:
  • Illness and/or injury of the insured requiring hospitalisation or unfortunate death of the insured, their travel companion, their spouse/parent/child(ren), or their travel companion’s spouse/parent/child(ren)
  • Occurrence of a catastrophe
  • Mass bandhs or widespread strikes acknowledged/announced by a public authority, which the insured could not avoid or plan ahead for
  • Cancellations caused by government regulations or controls
  • Cancellation by the common carrier which was scheduled for departure for such overseas trips
• Trip interruption:The travel insurance company reimburses the expenses for shortening and/or alteration of the overseas trip/trip interruption caused due to:
  • Illness and/or injury of the insured requiring hospitalisation or unfortunate death of the insured, their travel companion, their spouse/parent/child(ren), or their travel companion’s spouse/parent/child(ren)
  • Occurrence of catastrophe
  • Mass bandhs or widespread strikes acknowledged/announced by a public authority, which the insured could not avoid or plan ahead for
• Loss of passport: The insurance company provides reimbursements for expenses related to the insured obtaining a duplicate or fresh passport if they lose their passport on an overseas trip.

COVID-19

Various expenses related to COVID-19 are also covered by various insurance plans. Some of them are listed below:

• Medical expenses: Medical expenses related to COVID-19 diagnosis and resulting hospitalisation when you are on an overseas trip also remain covered, with reimbursements up to specified amounts as per the Policy Schedule.
• Emergency medical evacuation: If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 on a trip abroad and need transportation to the nearest hospital or back to India as per the medical practitioner's recommendation, related expenses are covered under certain insurance policies.
• Trip cancellation: If an overseas trip cancellation arises out of COVID-19 diagnosis to the Insured Person/their travelling companion/their spouse and/or parent and/or child(ren), their travelling companion’s spouse and/or parent, and/or child(ren), expense coverage is available as per Policy Schedule specifications.
• Trip interruption: Expense reimbursement is also available for shortening and/or alteration of the overseas trip/trip interruption due to COVID-19 diagnosis requiring hospitalisation under these insurance policies.

The cost of purchasing travel insurance online varies based on the types of coverage available under your selected policy. It also varies from one insurance provider to another, and you may make policy comparisons to find your best fit.

You can also find travel insurance for senior citizens from different insurance providers. The different types of plans you can explore for senior citizens include options like:

• Travel insurance for over 65 years of age
• Travel insurance for over 75 years of age
• Travel insurance for over 80 years of age
• Travel insurance for over 90 years of age

How to Claim

Customers can make claims against travel insurance policies in the following ways:

Cashless claims

Cashless claims simplify insurance claim procedures, especially during overseas trips. Cashless claims provided under policies allow the insured to avail of cashless benefits from network travel or healthcare providers when seeking assistance for covered benefits. For instance, in case of covered illnesses, hospitalisation at a network healthcare facility allows the insured to avail immediate medical assistance without any out-of-pocket payment through simple documentation of such cashless claims.

Reimbursements

In case of travel coverage reimbursements, the policyholder or nominee can directly reach out to the insurance provider (contact details will be mentioned in the insurance policy document) to raise a claim request and share the required documentation as requested by the insurance provider for the claim to process.

Travel Insurance for Most Visited Countries

Take a look at some most visited countries you can purchase an insurance plan for when going there for a trip from India:

• The UAE: When travelling to UAE, a country in the Middle East, you can pick a customised insurance plan that covers probable contingencies and mitigates financial risks on this overseas trip.
• Thailand: Thailand is another popular destination Indians travel to. You can protect your overseas trip to Thailand with customised insurance.
• Singapore: You can ensure that your trip to Singapore is financially protected from various contingencies with a suitable insurance policy.

List of Countries Where Travel Insurance is Mandatory

Some countries require you to have your stay covered with an insurance policy when visiting them or even before applying for a visa. These have been mentioned below. Due to regulations in different countries constantly evolving, ensure you do your research before applying for a visa to check if travel insurance is mandatory or not. The below listed countries generally need travel insurance as a mandatory requisite:

• The Schengen Area
• Qatar
• Turkey
• Cuba
• Ecuador (for entry to the Galápagos Islands)
• Russia
• Antarctica
• Iran
• The UAE
• Lebanon
• Saudi Arabia
• Ukraine
• Algeria

Other Countries

Purchasing travel insurance has to be among the essential items to consider while planning to travel abroad. It offers financial security in case something unexpected happens during the trip. If you experience an unforeseen medical emergency, trip cancellations, or lose your checked-in baggage, having insurance protects you from suffering a financial loss. So, purchasing insurance is a wise decision if you want to enjoy peace of mind while travelling internationally.