Travel Insurance
A foreign emergency reduced to a phone call
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance covers what goes wrong away from home — medical emergencies abroad, evacuation, trip cancellation, baggage loss, passport loss and personal liability — for one trip or a year of them.
Your Indian health policy will usually not respond outside India, and a hospital admission in Europe, North America or Japan sits in a different order of magnitude from the same treatment at home.
Several destinations also make cover a visa condition — the Schengen area requires at least €30,000 of medical cover, valid across all member states, including evacuation and repatriation.
What is travel insurance?
A short-duration policy that covers what can go wrong away from home — medical emergencies abroad, trip cancellation, baggage loss, passport loss and personal liability — for the length of a single trip or a year of trips.
Its centre of gravity is medical. Your Indian health policy will usually not respond outside India, and a hospital admission in Europe, North America or Singapore can cost several times what the same treatment costs at home, payable in a currency that is not yours.
In plain terms: it converts a foreign emergency from a financial catastrophe into a phone call.
What a travel policy actually does
- Pays for emergency hospitalisation and treatment overseas
- Arranges medical evacuation, and repatriation if the worst happens
- Reimburses a cancelled, curtailed or delayed trip
- Covers lost or delayed baggage, and a lost passport
When travel cover is not optional
Several countries treat travel medical insurance as a visa condition rather than a recommendation. The Schengen requirement is the one most Indian travellers meet first.
Schengen minimum medical cover — €30,000
EU Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 — the Schengen Visa Code — requires proof of travel medical insurance covering at least €30,000 of medical expenses, valid for the whole stay.
Schengen states covered — 29
The policy must be valid across every state in the Schengen area, not only the country issuing the visa. A single-country policy is a standard reason for refusal.
Evacuation and repatriation — Included
A Schengen-compliant policy must cover emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation, medical evacuation and repatriation of remains. Cover that stops at hospital bills is not sufficient.
Other visa regimes — Varies
A number of other countries require proof of travel medical cover as a visa or entry condition, with their own minimum amounts. Requirements change — confirm the current rule for your destination before you file the application.
Sources: EU Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 and consular guidance. Visa and insurance requirements are revised periodically; check the position for your destination and nationality at the time of application.
Which travel policy fits the trip
They differ mainly in duration, geography and who is on the policy.
Single-trip international
Covers one round trip from the date you leave to the date you return. The default for a holiday or a one-off business trip, and the form most commonly used for a Schengen application.
One journeyAnnual multi-trip
Covers an unlimited number of trips within a year, each subject to a maximum length — commonly thirty to sixty days. Sensible economics for anyone travelling more than twice or three times a year.
A year of journeysDomestic travel
Covers trip cancellation, delay, baggage and personal accident on journeys inside India. Lighter than an international policy because your health cover already responds here.
Within IndiaStudent travel
Extended-duration cover for students, typically including medical cover for the academic year, study interruption, sponsor protection and cover for compassionate travel. Many universities require it as a condition of enrolment.
Study abroadFamily and group
One contract covering a family or a group, usually at a lower cost than separate policies and with a shared or per-head sum insured — check which, because it matters if two people claim.
Travelling togetherSenior citizen
Designed for travellers above the usual age bands, generally with a medical questionnaire at proposal and specific terms around pre-existing conditions. Cover is available; the declarations matter more.
Older travellersWhat a travel policy typically pays for
- Emergency medical treatment. Hospitalisation, surgery, doctor’s fees, medicines and diagnostics arising from illness or injury during the trip, up to the sum insured.
- Medical evacuation. The cost of moving you to the nearest suitable hospital, or home, where the treating doctor considers it medically necessary.
- Repatriation of remains. Transport of mortal remains home in the event of death abroad — a requirement of the Schengen rules and an expense families are rarely prepared for.
- Emergency dental treatment. Acute dental pain or injury needing immediate attention, usually within a modest sub-limit.
- Personal accident. A benefit on accidental death or permanent disablement occurring during the trip.
- Trip cancellation and curtailment. Non-refundable costs where the trip is cancelled or cut short for a covered reason — illness, injury, a death in the family or specified disruptions.
- Trip delay and missed connection. A benefit for each block of hours a flight is delayed beyond a stated threshold, and cover for a connection missed because of a covered delay.
- Baggage loss and delay. Compensation for checked baggage permanently lost by the carrier, and a benefit for essential purchases where it arrives late.
- Loss of passport. The cost of obtaining an emergency travel document or a replacement passport, plus reasonable associated expenses.
- Personal liability. Your legal liability for injury to another person or damage to their property while travelling.
- Hijack and distress allowance. A daily benefit if the aircraft you are travelling on is hijacked.
- Emergency cash assistance. Help arranging funds if your money and cards are lost or stolen abroad.
What is not covered
Undeclared pre-existing conditions
Treatment for a condition that existed before the trip is generally excluded unless it was declared and accepted, though most policies do cover a life-threatening emergency arising from one.
Travelling against medical advice
If you were advised not to travel, or travelled for the purpose of obtaining treatment, the medical section will not respond.
Alcohol and drugs
Any claim arising while under the influence, which in practice covers a meaningful share of holiday injuries.
Adventure and hazardous sports
Skiing, diving, mountaineering, motorsport and similar activities need a specific add-on. Assuming they are included is a common and expensive mistake.
Self-inflicted injury and suicide
Excluded under every policy, as with life and personal accident cover.
War, civil unrest and terrorism
Usually excluded, or covered only on specific terms. Travel to a destination under an official advisory will often void cover entirely.
Unattended baggage
Baggage left unattended in a public place, or valuables not carried as hand luggage, are typically not covered.
Losses not formally reported
Baggage loss must be reported to the carrier and a property irregularity report obtained; theft must be reported to the local police. Without the report there is no claim.
Routine and elective treatment
Check-ups, cosmetic procedures and anything not arising from an emergency during the trip.
Extensions worth considering
Not every traveller needs these, but the ones who do usually find out at the worst moment.
Adventure sports extension
Brings skiing, scuba diving, trekking above a stated altitude and similar activities inside cover. If the trip has a sport at the centre of it, this is not optional.
Pre-existing condition cover
Extends the medical section to a declared and accepted condition. Requires honest disclosure at proposal and usually a higher premium.
Cancel for any reason
Widens trip cancellation beyond the listed causes, typically reimbursing a proportion rather than the whole. Useful where the trip cost is large and the plans are uncertain.
Gadget and laptop cover
Cover for high-value electronics carried on the trip, which the standard baggage section limits sharply.
Rental vehicle excess
Meets the excess payable under a hired car’s own insurance if it is damaged.
Home burglary while away
Covers contents of your home against burglary during the period of the trip — a genuinely useful extension on longer journeys.
Sports equipment
Cover for golf clubs, ski gear or camera equipment being carried, which is usually excluded or sub-limited under the baggage section.
Compassionate visit
Pays for a family member to travel out to you if you are hospitalised abroad beyond a stated number of days.
How to choose a policy
The checks that change the outcome, in the order they matter.
How a claim actually works
Most rejected claims fail on process rather than on cover. These five steps are the process.
Call the assistance line first
Before treatment where you can. The insurer’s international assistance partner identifies a hospital inside the network and sets up cashless treatment. Calling afterwards turns a cashless claim into a reimbursement one.
Get the paperwork at the time
A medical claim needs the treating doctor’s report and the itemised bills. A baggage claim needs the airline’s property irregularity report. A theft needs a police report filed locally. None of these can be obtained once you are home.
Notify within the stated window
Policies set a time limit for intimation, often within a few days of the event. Note the claim reference given to you.
Submit the claim form and originals
The completed form, original bills and receipts, the passport pages showing entry and exit stamps, and boarding passes where the claim relates to travel disruption.
Settlement
Cashless claims are settled with the hospital abroad. Reimbursement claims are paid to you after assessment, usually in rupees at a stated conversion basis, less any deductible.
Myths and facts
Terms you should know
Frequently asked questions
Other products in our suite
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Is Travel Insurance right for you?
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