Whenever a person plans for a foreign trip, he or she invests a lot of time in preparation. Preparing starts with deciding what clothes to wear, what things to carry along, checking the best deal for sight-seeing, shopping, and for staying.
However, one usually forgets or tends to ignore the essential requirement – Travel Insurance.
Travel Insurance is not just any insurance, but it is a saviour for people who fall under unforeseen circumstances during their travel abroad. A travel insurance plan covers for loss of luggage, cancellation of trips at the last moment, sudden severe illness, loss of bags at the airport, flight delays, hospitalization in a strange unknown place.
A comprehensive travel insurance plan will also provide coverage for medical emergencies, accidental disabilities, death, and personal liability loss due to sudden cancellation or even cutting short of the trip.

Travel Insurance is a must for an international trip

Many foreign countries like Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey etc. have made it mandatory for travelers to have travel insurance before they can enter in the country. It only takes a small amount of your travel budget to invest into a good travel insurance plan which will be of great help in case of unexpected incidents. It is always better to get a travel insurance plan than emptying your pockets in case of any unforeseen incidents that may result in financial loss during your dream holiday trip.
Let us have a look at the following reasons why one must opt for a travel insurance plan:

Keeps you financially equipped

Financially unequipped is one of the most stressful things during unpredictable situations. Such losses are enormous on a foreign trip, especially where the loss is in dollars. In such cases, travel insurance comes to your rescue. Travel insurance for a single trip or multiple trips in a year, it provides financial shield for medical expenses, which may incur owing to unpredictable situations like accidents and illness. If a traveller is already insured, he or she can reimburse the medical treatment cost.
There is more to travel policy than medical and dental expenses. Due to flight delays, the insured person receives a certain amount each day as compensation for the delay.
One of the most important documents is a passport, loss of a passport is also covered. Moreover, a travel policy also compensates for the loss of luggage or theft of baggage.

Coverage for personal accidents

Under accidental death cover, a specific amount is offered to the nominee if he or she dies due to any injury caused during the travel.

End-to-end coverage

You are covered for medical expenses, dental expenses, flight delays, personal liability, accidental death, loss of passport and checked-in baggage, home burglary up to a cap, etc. from the departure date to return date as mentioned in the policy.
Opting for a reliable insurer with an optimum plan can help drive maximum benefits from it. The travel insurance not only takes care during your travel but also secures the most valuables of your home while you are travelling. There are few policies which also provide coverage if there is an incident of home burglary up to a cap.
In addition to this, the insurer also offers cover for legal liability, which includes legal expenses for bodily injuries or damage to the property of another person caused by you. Suppose, if a traveller loses his or her credit card or gets stolen on a trip, the insurance company reimburses the traveller with the credit card replacement cost.

Easy documentation

The insurance company emails the policy with plan coverage, terms and conditions, and details on the registered email. A soft copy is sufficient for the insured to make a claim.

Curtailment

One of the distinct features that the travel insurance policy offers is that it also covers an unexpected return journey, such as termination of trip midway due to the medical crisis.

Cost of premiums

The cost of the premiums depends on various factors such as:

1. Destination (Few countries such as Japan, The US or Canada would have higher premiums)
2. Age (as the age increases the policy premium also increases)
3. Duration of the travel (Long trips might shell out more money for your premium)
4. Plan Coverage (single trip requires a lower premium than a multi-trip cover)

So far, you might have understood why opting for a travel insurance plan is a must and what benefits you get along with the complete peace of mind.
Conclusively, next time you plan a foreign trip, do consider the following points and buy an optimum travel insurance plan.

The author is Director, Probus Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd