Travel insurance or global health insurance - What should you opt for?

Posted on: Sep 15, 2021 | | Written by:

Travel insurance or global health insurance - What should you opt for?

Published on September 14, 2021. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Buying an insurance plan can be a tricky job. If you're travelling abroad, insurance agents may offer both an international travel insurance plan and an international health insurance plan. However, they both have their similarities and differences and you must choose wisely.

What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance is designed to cover for limited duration trips, such as vacations or business trips. They provide coverage for all travel-related issues like

Luggage loss
Flight and hotel cancellations which are non-refundable in most cases
Flight delays
Medical emergencies
Loss of personal baggage, passport etc.

Duration:Travel insurance policies usually don’t last for more than six months. You can ask your insurance agent to get you insured for only the fixed number of days that you will be travelling. If you are a frequent traveller, you can also get an annual insurance policy. But the coverage will still be limited to the certain number of days when you will be travelling.

Cost: Lastly, your travel insurance plan and the overall cost depends on the time period of your trip, the coverage you choose and more such factors.

What is international health insurance?

International health insurance (or expat health insurance) is designed to cover medical expenses of people inhabiting a foreign country. It covers a number of medical expenses:

Cost of inpatient treatments like hospitalization, ICU, surgery, diagnostic procedures.
Cost of outpatient treatments like physician or psychiatrist visits, emergency rooms etc.
Mental health care
Prescribed medications
Maternity care
Dental care
Pre-existing health conditions like diabetes, heart diseases etc.

International health insurance plans mostly provide all the benefits that a health insurance plan in your home country would. The only difference is that it gives coverage on an international scale.

Duration: Unlike travel insurance policies, these don't provide coverage for a limited number of days. They provide coverage for as long as you're living outside of your home country. You can always get your expat health insurance extended by a month, quarterly, half yearly or annually.

Cost: The cost of your international health insurance policy depends on what kind of coverage you choose to have. Most insurers have a basic plan which covers inpatient and outpatient treatments, pharmacy bills, emergency room costs etc. However, if you wish to add maternity care, dental care and other such coverage into your plan, the cost might go up.

Differences in covers

Here is a look at the differences in coverage of travel insurance and international health insurance.

Coverage provided	International travel insurance	International health insurance
Emergency medical services	Yes	Yes
In-patient medical treatment (non-emergency)	No	Yes
Out-patient medical treatment (non-emergency)	No	Yes
Prescribed medication (pharmacy bills)	Yes	Yes
Maternity care	No	Yes
Newborn care	No	Yes
Dental emergency	Yes	Yes
Mental health care	No	Yes
Rehabilitation	No	Yes
Repatriation	Yes	Yes
Medical evacuation (If you fall sick outside of your home country and need to be transferred back to your country)	Yes	Yes
Cancer treatment	No	Yes
Pre-existing health conditions that might make you sick	No	Yes
Eyecare	No	Yes
Trip cancellation	Yes	No
Flight cancellation	Yes	No
Hotel cancellation	Yes	No
Flight delay	Yes	No
Loss of belongings	Yes	No
Personal liability (If you cause damage to another person or their property, while on a trip)	Yes	No

To put it in a nutshell, international travel insurance plans mainly cover for trip related issues and health emergencies are only an add-on. International health insurance plans cover all health-related expenses that can help you get access to the best healthcare services in places away from your home. However, their drawback is that they don't offer luggage loss, flight cancellation or personal liability insurance.

Which type of travel insurance should you opt for?

Now that you know the areas that international travel insurance and international health insurance plans cover, you can choose one depending on your needs. It is usually advisable to opt for travel insurance if you're going on a holiday or a business trip abroad for a period of less than 6 months. But if you're going abroad for a period of more than 6 months, having an international health insurance plan might be a better idea! Where to get your desired insurance plan? You can look at the different options available at HDFC ERGO - a platform that offers reliable and versatile insurance plans at an affordable rate.

Conclusion

Being insured while travelling abroad is necessary. Whether you're travelling for a vacation or going abroad to study — buy a travel insurance plan or an international health insurance plan to get the desired coverage.

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

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