Traveling is much more than just visiting a new place. It gives you a break from the monotonous routine and allows you to rejuvenate your mind and body. Also, with rising awareness, the purchase of travel insurance in India has witnessed a steady increase over the years.
However, there are certain mistakes that you must avoid while buying a travel insurance plan:
- Inadequate research
This is one of the fundamental mistakes made by most people while buying a travel insurance. It is important to compare various offerings before zeroing on a policy. Travel plans differ in terms of coverage offered, inclusions and exclusions.
Therefore, it’s essential to research the various types of policies available before opting for one. You can compare multiple policies online through aggregator portals and choose the one that best aligns with your needs.
- Not buying sufficient coverage
One of the biggest mistakes people do is to misjudge their coverage requirements. Since a higher coverage requires a higher premium, some people tend to buy plans that provide just the bare minimum cover such as loss of baggage and belongings.
However, make sure your domestic travel insurance plan offers comprehensive coverage against all the possible incidents that you may encounter during your trip, including medical contingencies, delay in flights, emergency evacuation, etc.
- Hiding medical information
People often conceal information related to health while purchasing travel insurance. However, it can lead to claim rejection. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, you need to reveal it to your insurer. Also, in case you have purchased the insurance policy before the diagnosis of the condition, you should inform your insurer about the same.
Revealing these details may raise the premium but save you from the possibility of policy rejection on the grounds of concealing information.
- Being unaware of the policy exclusions
More than knowing the policy inclusions, it’s important to know the exclusions. These are events or situations where a policy doesn’t offer you coverage. For instance, if you travel in a prohibited area and suffer damages, your policy will not offer you coverage.
Similarly, if you engage in activities which can result in accidents, your insurer can deny your claim. Hence, it’s essential for you to go through policy wordings and make sure you are well aware of the exclusions.
- Ignoring financial jargons
Reading the terms and conditions of a travel insurance policy can be a tedious exercise. However, no matter how tiresome and time-consuming it is, it’s essential to do so with utmost care and attention and understand the financial jargons.
You should be aware of the meaning and implications of all the technical and legal jargons of the document. For instance, your travel insurance might be applicable only on holiday trips and not business trips. In such a scenario, you might be denied coverage for any contingency faced during a business trip.
- Not being careful while doing the paperwork
There have been many instances where despite being eligible for the coverage, the insured could not recover the claims, due to wrong or incomplete documentation. Insurance paperwork is not difficult but requires attention.
Even a minor mistake related to your identity or otherwise can lead to disproval of your claim. Also, when you buy travel insurance, all the relevant documents and receipts of the policy should be kept together along with an electronic copy for the same.
- Ignoring claims process
When you buy a travel insurance policy, it’s essential to know the claims process. After all, initiating claims when required is a crucial aspect of a policy. Therefore, make sure you know how to do so, online as well as offline.
Most travel insurers have a dedicated claims settlement team and an integrated process which you need to follow. Know every step of the process and the documents required to make a claim.
If you are looking for travel insurance plans at a low premium, you can consider Pocket Insurancefrom Bajaj Finserv. It provides several plans and covers for trekking, pilgrimage, and road trip cover among others.
