Fundamental Mistakes People Make While Selecting Travel Insurance

There are many myths when it comes to buying travel insurance that are doing the rounds. As is always the case with myths, they are spread far and wide by word of mouth by people who do not have a complete understanding of the subject at hand. These misconceptions have no basis whatsoever. When people give in to these myths and don’t buy travel insurance, they end up with much distress and regret when something untoward happens during their travel. Here, I aim to bust three of the big travel insurance myths, dear reader.

Myth: Health/Life insurance policies provide adequate coverage while on a trip and so travel insurance is unnecessary.

Fact: Health and life insurance policies provided by domestic insurers may not cover your healthcare needs in all countries and places. Some companies may offer healthcare policies for which claims can be availed internationally. Please read the policy documents carefully to discern the scope of your healthcare policy. Travel insurance policies leave no room for error and cover all possible eventualities and risks while you are travelling.

Myth: Airlines will always take care of flight delays/cancellation.

Fact: There is no 100% guarantee. It depends to a large extent on the airline, your frequent flyer status and other factors. You may end up incurring significant financial setbacks in the event of a cancelled flight or delay. When you buy travel insurance policies, they protect you from any unexpected changes in flight schedule and cancellation, ensuring that you don’t have to pay out of your pocket.

Myth: You can wait till the last minute to buy travel insurance.

Fact: Please book your travel insurance as soon as you confirm your travel plans. In the event of any untoward incident preventing you from going on your trip, you will incur heavy financial losses when it comes to the cancellation of flights, boarding and other arrangements that have been made towards the trip. If you had put off buying travel insurance to the last minute, there would be no scope for reimbursement of these losses. Travel insurance when bought as soon as travel planning is done will cover your financial losses during such events.

So, next time you are booking your flight for your journey, please don’t think twice about buying travel insurance. There is much to be gained and nothing to be lost. HDFC ERGO offers some of the best travel insurance policies for your entire family at attractive premiums. Choose HDFC ERGO, choose peace of mind while you travel!