Summary of this article
Travel protection has traditionally followed a standardised approach: choose a travel insurance plan and receive a predetermined set of plain-vanilla benefits.
While this offers a basic layer of financial protection, it raises a crucial question for the modern traveller: Can one standard travel insurance plan address every traveller’s needs?
A one-size-fits-all policy can still provide a basic safety net. But as travel becomes more diverse and increasingly personalised, a standard approach risks leaving important gaps in protection.
Travel has changed significantly over the past decade. India’s travel ecosystem is no longer shaped by one typical traveller or one standard kind of journey. A student heading overseas for higher education, a family on its annual holiday, a business traveller attending meetings across destinations and an adventurer exploring offbeat locations may all be travelling abroad, but their needs and risks can be very different.
Travel insurance, however, has traditionally followed a fairly standardised approach. Travellers choose a plan and receive a predetermined set of benefits. While this provides a basic layer of financial protection, it raises an important question: can one standard travel insurance plan really meet the needs of every kind of traveller? The answer is no.
Says Dev Karvat, founder and CEO, Asego: “Travel protection needs to evolve with the way people travel. This means moving beyond a standard list of benefits towards solutions that are more relevant to the traveller, more responsive when something goes wrong and supported by real-time assistance.”
In other words, the industry needs to move from standardisation to personalisation.
Why Segmentation Matters
Different journeys come with different risks, and therefore, require different kinds of protection.
Consider a cruise traveller. Regular medical or baggage cover may not address some of the problems that can arise on a cruise. Missing a port departure, losing money on a prepaid shore excursion or being confined to the cabin because of illness can all add to the cost and stress of the trip. An adventurer, meanwhile, may need protection for activities that carry higher or more specialised risks.
“This is where having the flexibility to choose cover based on the nature of the trip can be useful. Instead of relying on a standard policy, travellers can look for insurance and assistance options that match the kind of journey they are actually taking,” says Karvat.
Instead of expecting travellers to fit into predetermined plans, insurers need to offer products and benefits that can be adapted to the traveller’s profile, destination, and purpose of travel.
Modular add-ons and value-added services are an important step in that direction. Cruise cover, gadget protection, cyber security cover, adventure sports cover and services, such as doctor-on-call assistance can allow travellers to strengthen their basic cover based on the risks associated with a particular trip. The principle is simple: the insurance a person chooses for one journey may not necessarily be the right fit for the next.
From Reimbursement To Real-Time Assistance
The second important shift is from reimbursement after an incident to assistance when the traveller actually needs it.
“Travel insurance has traditionally been seen as a financial safety net. If something goes wrong, the traveller bears the immediate cost, and the insurer reimburses the eligible expense later. But when you are stuck in an unfamiliar country, dealing with a medical emergency, or trying to locate lost baggage, reimbursement later may be the last thing on your mind. What you need first is help with the problem in front of you,” says Karvat.
That is where real-time assistance can make a difference. Services, such as baggage tracking, access to airport lounges during long flight delays and eSIM-based connectivity can be useful when a journey does not go as planned. They may sound like small additions to an insurance policy, but when you are tired, stranded or unsure about what to do next, having practical help at that moment can make the situation a little easier.
The larger shift is from simply compensating travellers for a loss to helping them deal with the problem as it happens.
Making Insurance Simpler Through Technology
The third pillar is technology-led transparency and seamless claims support. Today’s travellers are used to completing almost everything on their phones. Flights can be booked within minutes, international payments can be made digitally, and travel-related services can be accessed from anywhere. It is natural, therefore, for travellers to expect a similar level of simplicity from their insurance and assistance providers.
They should not be left trying to make sense of their policy, work out where to get help, or deal with a complicated claims process when they are already in a foreign country and facing a problem.
Says Karvat: “Technology can make these situations easier to handle. Simple explanations of what the policy covers, quick digital access to assistance, and a smoother claims process can take some of the stress out of travel insurance. When something goes wrong during a trip, travellers need clear answers and timely help, rather than having to navigate layers of paperwork and processes.”
The objective, however, should not be technology for its own sake. Technology should make travel protection easier to understand and use, rather than add another layer of complexity.
The question today is no longer simply whether travellers need insurance. It is whether the insurance they buy is relevant to the journey they are actually undertaking. A one-size-fits-all policy can still provide a basic safety net, but as travel becomes more diverse and increasingly personalised, a standard approach risks leaving important gaps in protection.
Adds Karvat: “For travel insurance and assistance providers, this is an opportunity to rethink what travel protection should mean. It should not be merely a policy document that a traveller carries in case something goes wrong. It should be a layer of support that reflects the journey, responds when circumstances change, and helps the traveller deal with disruptions with as little stress as possible.”
For today’s diverse Indian travellers, smart travel protection is, therefore, not just about having an insurance cover. It is about having the right protection for the right journey, at the right time.
