International vacations can be exciting thrilling and full of new experiences. Most people plan such vacations well in advance and await the day they finally leave with their bags to explore new horizons. However, sometimes, things don’t go as per plan. What if a family member falls ill and needs hospitalization? What happens to all the money you have spent on flight and hotel bookings? Does it all go to waste? Not if you have an international travel insurance plan. In this article, we will talk about how travel insurance can benefit you if a family member needs hospitalization just before an international trip.
An international travel insurance plan offers protection from medical emergencies like illness, hospitalization, surgical procedures, etc., and non-medical expenses like loss of baggage, passport, other belongings, flight cancellation by the airline, loss of passport, etc. With the right travel insurance plan, you can plan your vacation without worrying about any last-minute cancellations.
Trip Cancellation
While there are many reasons, illness and health issues are the top reasons for trip cancellations in the world. If you have to suddenly cancel your foreign trip, then the international travel insurance policy will help reduce the financial impact of the cancellation. Most insurance companies offer coverage for trip cancellation if an immediate family member gets hospitalized. The coverage includes non-refundable bookings too.
Trip Curtailment
What if your family member fell ill after you reached your destination country? Sometimes, the change in weather, food, water, and air quality can have a severe impact on some people’s health and even result in hospitalization. In such cases, you might have to cut short your trip and return to India. If you have an international travel insurance policy, then the insurer will reimburse unused pre-booked expenses of the trip. However, the insurer might approve or deny the claim based on the severity of the incident.
Compassionate visit
Not all insurers offer this benefit. If you are a frequent traveler and fall sick in an international country but unable to return to India, then the insurer will cover the costs of travel, accommodation, and other essential costs for a family member to come and visit you in the foreign country. This is known as a compassionate visit.
Escorting a minor child
If an adult is traveling with a child and falls ill requiring hospitalization, then the child cannot return back to India alone. In such cases, the insurer will cover the costs of travel of an immediate family member to visit you and escort the minor child back home.
Important things to know about travel insurance
- Understand how the insurer defines family. Usually, family means spouse, children, parents, siblings, and in-laws
- For the travel insurance claim to be approved, you will be required to submit hospitalization bills to the insurer
- Go through the inclusions and exclusions of the policy and the fine print
Summing Up
Medical emergencies can come unannounced. While you might have a medical insurance policy to manage the costs associated with the treatment, the travel insurer will ensure that all expenses made for the trip are reimbursed to you. However, these policies might have certain terms and conditions.
Therefore, before you buy, make sure that you go through all the features and compare travel insurance providers to find the perfect insurance plan for your needs. If you are travelling for work and have a business travel insurance plan, then make sure that you understand the trip cancellation and curtailment terms. Good Luck!
