1. Home
2. Blogs

Perks of Buying Travel Insurance Online

• 
• 
• 
• 0
• 0

You had been meaning to purchase Dyson’s v11 absolute pro vacuum cleaner for quite some time now. Would you like to hop from one physical store to another in order to buy the vacuum cleaner model you had been eying for? Being a new-gen consumer, the first thing you would rather do is to browse through various online shopping portals, compare the prices, take a look at the machine’s features, the warranty period, the delivery date, terms and conditions related to sales, reviews posted online by different users, etc. It is convenient, time-saving and also cost-effective.

You have often heard your parents narrate how irksome, tedious and arduous it used to feel standing in a long queue at the railway ticket booking counters before the holiday seasons began every year. Something beyond imagination for people of our generation. You will check the availability of air/train tickets, buy them and pay for the same right from the comfort of your home. Being online is being smart!

Online shopping undoubtedly offers you a lot more options to choose from at very competitive prices. Hence, online shopping is a hit among today’s buyers. The same mindset is in operation when you set out to buy travel health insurance. When you plan for a trip abroad, you have so much to take care of before leaving for your perfect vacation—book flight tickets, get hotel reservations done, chalk out a perfect itinerary, shop for travel essentials, pack your bag and run a few other errands—you already have your plates full. Buying travel insurance online helps you save some time. Moreover, cheaper rates, availability of to-the-point information and other peripheral benefits make purchasing online travel insurance a better alternative.

Advantages of buying travel insurance online

How’s buying travel insurance online beneficial? Read on to find out how:

● No agent involved:

You can give middlemen a miss when you buy travel insurance online. You can now make an informed choice on your own just by visiting the insurer's websites. These websites are rich repositories of information in themselves. In case you need more clarity on travel insurance-related issues, you can always reach out to the concerned help desk. The online calculators can give you a fair idea of how much premium you need to pay in order to purchase an ideal travel insurance coverage.

● Enjoy convenience:

With all the other stuff going around—packing, shopping, etc—checking-off one box from your to-do list from the comfort of your home could be very useful. There’s absolutely no need to visit the office of the insurer in order to buy travel insurance plans anymore. Hence, you may save a considerable amount of time. In times of emergency, you can buy travel insurance in no time—select the travel insurance of your choice and make payments online. Speaking of payments, most insurers nowadays offer multiple modes of payment such as debit cards, credit cards, UPI, EMI, etc. You may select the one that’s easier for you.

● Attractive premiums are offered:

With the online availability of travel insurance, you have a whole gamut of plans at your disposal. Choose the plan that best suits your needs and budget both. Online travel insurance policies are often available at reasonable premiums as compared to offline travel insurance policies. That’s because you no longer pay commission to the agents or the middlemen. Moreover, the online process involves less administrative cost, which lets you pay an affordable premium for your travel insurance.

● Faster paperwork is done:

Offline purchase of travel insurance involves a lot of administrative requirements—filling out relevant forms, feeding that information manually into the system, calculating the premium, etc. Once these things are taken care of, your agent will then get in touch with you and inform you about the total cost of your travel insurance. You can do away with this lengthy process by merely purchasing your travel insurance online.

● Scope of comparison of different travel insurance policies offered by various insurance companies:

You can compare a number of travel insurance policies of different insurers online on your own and make an informed choice. Alternatively, a number of websites are available that offer a comprehensive comparative study of the different travel insurance policies offered by different insurance companies. In case you come up with a lot of queries, you can always reach out to the help desk.

● Provides a faster claim settlement process:

Claim settlement could easily take up a lot of time when opted offline. As it involves middlemen, the offline claim settlement process often seems lengthy and annoying. Online purchase of travel insurance, on the other hand, is simpler and faster. In case there’s a delay it could be probably because of a clause—such as a lock-in period—or an exemption under the policy. If you are travelling abroad and need to opt for cashless hospitalisation, you can contact your insurer instantly and your insurer will make arrangements for cashless settlement. In case of reimbursement, you need to file a claim once you come back from your trip. It’s a simple process that merely requires you to keep all the necessary documents handy. Most insurance companies settle online travel insurance claims within 30 days.

● Evaluation of different travel insurance plans offered by various insurers:

When you set out to buy travel insurance online, you can always visit the insurer’s website or a website that provides a comparative study of different plans. There you can check out the different opinions and experiences that other buyers of the producthaveshared. These reviews are often useful and may help you zero in on a particular travel insurance plan.

● Environment friendly:

Purchasing offline travel insurance would require you to travel to the offices of different insurance companies. When you buy travel insurance online, you end up saving quite an amount of fuel. Also, the offline process needs a lot of paperwork which is not the case when you shop for a travel insurance plan online. A soft copy of your travel insurance is just as good as a hard copy of the same. Hence you save all these resources and leave a lower carbon footprint.

Conclusion

Many countries have made international travel insurance compulsory in order to approve tourist visas. Almost 25 countries in Europe alone require valid international travel insurance—also known as the Schengen travel insurance plans—before you visit the countries. Non-EU visitors, including Indians, need to buy international travel insurance in order to get their visas approved. Most of these European countries require you to buy a plan that has a minimum coverage of EUR 30,000. When a large amount of money is involved, you would want to do your own research before choosing appropriate travel insurance online.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

RELATED ARTICLES

Planning a Luxury Vacation? Don’t forget to First Buy Travel Insurance Online

Buy Travel Insurance Online with the Help of These Reliable Tips

Going on a Family Trip? Stay Covered with HDFC ERGO Travel Insurance

---

• 
• 
• 
•