Since travel has become an integral part of human civilization in recent years, so are the risks associated with travel. An individual never knows the difficulties or risks involved in visiting the foreign land. The risks may be due to medical conditions, protests, civil war, natural calamites like tsunami or hurricanes or earthquakes.
So before embarking on trip, it is very important to buy a sound travel insurance policy.
It is also very important to read the policy documents about the policy which is being offered and try to under all the technical terms involved.
Here we will list some common frequently asked questions pertaining to travel insurance.
Question: Is it necessary to buy travel insurance?
Answer: Yes, it is necessary to buy travel insurance before you travel. Secondly, to obtain a visa for some countries, overseas travel insurance is compulsory. Even some cases, where it is not compulsory, but buying good travel insurance becomes necessary while travelling on business or holiday or for education or for research. The cost of medical treatment in the country of travel may be high or the risks and accidents associated with travel may occur. To safeguard the interests of the traveler and to keep his financial conditions in check, it is very important to buy good travel insurance before going on a trip.
Question: Is a medical check-up necessary before the policy is purchased?
Answer: Many of the insurance providers do not cover pre-existing diseases or ailments. So it is always necessary to check up with the agent or insurance provider about medical tests required and the reports that are required to be submitted at the time of purchase of the policy. Please ensure the medical reports are updated.
Question: Is it necessary to get prior approval of the insurance provider before proceeding with medical treatment should the necessary arises?
Answer: It is very important to read the policy documents to be aware if such situation arises. Prior approval would be required in most cases though there could be exceptions depending on the emergency involved.
Question: Can the period of travel insurance be extended?
Answer: Please read the policy documents at the time of purchase of the policy. Some policies, especially overseas travel insurance policies do give extensions once or twice.
Question: Who is a Third Party Administrator or TPA?
A Third Party Administrator is the felicitator between the policy holder and the policy provider. It is the one who offers claims services on behalf of the insurer. So it is always necessary to have contacts numbers and all other details of the third party provider for this will be the sole point of contact when some unforeseen circumstances are met during the course of travel.
Question: Can refund be claimed if the trip is cut short?
Answer: In case of such scenarios, it is always very important to preserve the documents and proofs which are self explanatory. The insurance companies do give refund after deducting some administrative costs incurred on the policy. But it’s also very important to read policy documents for such claims.
