International Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is a safety net that helps travellers protect their investments from financial loss and ensure the well-being of their loved ones. Besides the inherent cost of foreign travel, it is also often fraught with risks such as expensive or inaccessible healthcare, petty crimes, natural disasters, etc.

Besides ruining your travel experience, such incidents can result in unanticipated financial or medical risks. This is where International travel insurance comes into play. It is not only a good-to-have but international travel medical insurance is also mandatory to get a visa from over 30 countries, including the Schengen Region, Cuba, Turkey, Fiji, and the UAE.

When travelling abroad, you may encounter various risks, varying in severity and complexity, from missing your connecting flight and losing your baggage to getting into an accident.

However, with the right insurance plan, you can stay a few steps forward, anticipate these risks, and avail coverages to mitigate and manage them. To achieve this while ensuring that the premium cost is not too high, different plans are offered to the traveller with varying degrees of comprehensiveness.

The main features of these plans are the coverages offered for the following risks:

• Medical-related
• Baggage-related
• Trip-related
• Accident-related
• Student-related
• Senior-citizen related
• Loss of document-related

Niva Bupa offers international travel insurance with comprehensive coverage options designed to provide complete protection for travelers.

You must consider buying international travel insurance mainly to protect yourselves and your loved ones from the abovementioned risks. As several countries have mandated international travel medical insurance to get a visa, additional requirements such as the sum insured or minimum coverage to travel to those countries might exist.

Another scenario where international travel insurance can act as a shield and protect your investment is if your visa application gets rejected or you cannot go on the trip for certain reasons. The insurance can reimburse some of the costs you might have to otherwise bear on your own.

Travel insurance primarily offers financial protection like any other type of insurance. This alone makes it highly advantageous to have when travelling. Still, there are other benefits, like being able to avail medical treatment and a visa for a few countries, which make it essential. In certain countries like the US, you must showcase your travel insurance or ability to pay before getting medical treatment. This can be extremely difficult to deal with when facing a medical emergency.

Even if you can pay the amount, the cost of treatment might be high and result in you suffering a financial loss. Besides these, the advantage of having travel insurance is directly related to the coverage offered. The scope and the range of the coverage provided can make the difference between having to suffer a loss or being able to travel confidently.

With Niva Bupa, you can enjoy comprehensive coverage that can protect you from any unforeseen situation. Additionally, we offer three curated and carefully designed plans under the Travel Assure Policy that you can opt for based on your requirements and travel plans.

Although you are offered dozens of coverages when you buy international travel insurance, certain exclusions must be considered to avoid surprises when you are looking to claim a settlement.

If you are looking to purchase or have already purchased travel insurance for international travel from Niva Bupa, the following are the exclusions you must keep in mind.

1. These include treatment for any injury or illness resulting from nuclear, radiological emissions, war or rebellion, and certain acts of terrorism.
2. Active participation in military exercises, war games, or engagement with the enemy.
3. Any loss or injury due to committing or attempting to breach the law with criminal intent.
4. Expenses for cosmetic or plastic surgery or any treatment to change appearance, including obesity or weight control programs. Unless in certain circumstances as listed in the policy document.
5. Maternity expenses
6. Non-prescription or unproven drugs or treatments
7. The provision of certain medical treatments or equipment
8. If the insured person is travelling against the advice of a Doctor or is receiving or on a waiting list for specified medical treatment.
9. Death, injury, medical condition, or disability resulting from suicide or attempted suicide, self-inflicted wound or illness, consumption of alcohol or drugs, and depression.
10. Countries with travel restrictions for Indians
11. Medical Tourism
12. Injuries due to adventure sports unless part of the coverage
13. Expenses related to any admission specifically for diagnostics and evaluation purposes that are not related or incidental to the current diagnosis and treatment.

While these are the general and specific exclusions, you must remember that when you buy international travel insurance online, you must read the policy document for particular exclusions.

Note: As these exclusions differ between insurance providers, you must always check the policy documents to know more.

Anyone who is travelling overseas, regardless of age, fitness, or physical capabilities are advised to purchase international travel insurance. This is important as travelling abroad offers a unique and highly sought after experience which makes them highly anticipated. Empowered by international travel insurance, travellers can mitigate dozens of risks and explore the world for all it has to offer with confidence and peace of mind.

Travel insurance is also highly recommended for senior citizens, family travellers, business travellers, adventure travellers, and those looking to travel to countries mandating travel insurance.

Now that it is clear as to why it is crucial to buy travel insurance and all of the things to keep in mind when purchasing one, you must also know that it is effortless to buy international travel insurance online from Niva Bupa.

All you need to do is follow the given steps and be prepared to go for your international journey worry-free.

• Visit the Niva Bupa website and click Travel Insurance in the header.
• On that page, input your destination countries, departure and return dates, and phone number.
• You will be shown destination-specific plans once you click to view plans.
• There, you can select your needs, such as whether you are going alone or with family, whether it is an independent trip or a corporate visit; there are also plans for students and senior citizens.
• Review and select the appropriate plans, change the sum insured to the amount you want to insure your trip, and choose any add-ons.
• Click on “Next” after this and fill out the relevant information along with the medical declaration to purchase the plan of your choice.
• Once the payment is complete, the policy will be emailed to you.

Although buying international travel insurance is one thing, what would you do if your trip gets extended and you need to spend longer abroad after your policy expires?

You can just extend your travel insurance for international travel coverage if it fulfills the conditions put up by your insurer. These conditions are usually if the extension is due to an emergency and if the insurer offers an extension of the policy period. If you submit the required documents, this can be done up to a day before the previous policy ends.

Note: Please refer to the policy document for specific details and exceptions.