Saturday, April 26, 2008

Travel Guide for Dummies

A] Travel Insurance- Significance
Health care costs in India are much less when compared to developed countries like the USA, Japan and Europe. In most of these countries medical care is not subsidized by the government, and medical bills can easily exceed thousands of dollars which patients have to pay by themselves. Most people in these countries have some form of health insurance, however these insurance policies are not available to visitors. So, to ensure that you have sufficient peace of mind during your overseas trip, travel insurance becomes a necessity as it covers you for accidents or sickness which happens unexpectedly and unintentionally while you are traveling abroad.
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Once your trip is confirmed, you can go ahead with the purchase of a travel insurance plan. You can select the coverage start date to coincide with the date of departure from your home country. Please keep in mind the time difference, since all the plans offered are according to east-coast (EST) times.

Its advisable to carry the policy when you are traveling. This would make it handy, just incase there is a need to claim.

B] Coverage under the plan

A comprehensive travel insurance plan covers for your trip, your property, your health and your life. i.e trip cancellation, trip delay, missed connection, terrorism, checked baggage loss, checked baggage delay, medical emergency, accidental death and dismemberment. Along with medical coverage, a travel insurance policy also covers for baggage loss, baggage delay, loss of passport etc. This policy does not cover planned Medical Expenses / Treatment overseas. Some of the travel insurance plans provide cover for personal liability (indemnifies against legal liability arising in your personal capacity during the stay abroad) and financial emergency (replace funds lost by the insured as a result of robbery or theft whilst overseas).
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In the event of checked baggage delay beyond 12 hours, the policy covers cost of emergency purchase of replacement items and in the case of total loss of checked baggage, there is a reimbursement of the total loss of checked baggage whilst in the custody of the carrier, excluding jewellery, cash etc.
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In case of loss of passport, the policy covers the necessary expenses incurred to facilitate the process of getting duplicate passport or a fresh passport. The maximum amount reimbursable per bag is 50% of the Sum Insured and the maximum value per article contained in any bag is 10% the Sum Insured. It does not cover valuables, perishables and consumables.

The Insurance Cover commences on the day specified in the Policy Schedule or the time you board the conveyance to leave for onward overseas journey or the Contracted Departure Date as per the policy, whichever is later.


C] Claims made under the plan

In case of any emergency, wherein you might need immediate medical care or assistance, you may call upon the TPA of the insurance company. Their contact details would be mentioned on the health/travel safe card provided with the policy. Just incase if you cannot call, TPA can be contacted by anyone within 48 hours, giving the details about the insured. Pls find each company’s TPA number and a list of cashless hospital on http://www.insurancemall.in/.

When claim arise, call the TPA-help line number, incase of health cashless claim, go to the nearest cashless hospital (the insurers representative would settle the claim directly with the hospital), incase of reimburse health claim (you will have to pay the hospital bill and get it reimbursed by your insurer), fill in the claim form and submit it with other documents required.

Claims are settled in 30 days that is within a month after the completion of treatment. In the event of death, they can be settled after the repatriation of the person’s remains / burial.

D] Documents to be submitted for claims made under the plan

The original bills, vouchers and complete claim forms must be submitted along with all claims.1) Bills/ Prescriptions/vouchers/ reports/ discharge summary must contain the name of the person treated, the type of illness, details of the individual items of medical treatment, the dates of treatment, Prescriptions must clearly show the medicines prescribed, the price and the receipt stamp of the pharmacy. 2) For reimbursement of the extra costs of transporting the mortal remains to the Republic of India or of the costs of burial abroad, an official death certificate and a physician's statement giving the cause of death needs to be submitted.3) For reimbursement of extra expenses of transportation of Insured Person to the Republic of India, a medical statement indicating the cause of illness and the necessity of the transportation from a qualified doctor needs to be submitted.
4) In case of loss of baggage, Original document of policy, Airline Tickets, Receipt for the lost baggage if unavailable supply any other document which could assist, in giving proof of value, Original of all written reports from carrier, Copies of correspondence with the airline and a satisfactory proof of value for article above USD 100, needs to be submitted.5) For personal liability, proof of judicial decision rendered by a court of law, needs to be submitted.6) For personal Accident, bills/ vouchers/ reports/ discharge summary, Death Certificate, First Information Report, Post Mortem Report Legal Heir Certificate and such other documents as applicable.Also, any other document(s) that the Company requires from the Insured Person to process the claim needs to be submitted to the insurance company.


E] Choice of Travel Insurance and its Renewal

You can either choose a Single Trip or Multiple Trip policy. If you choose a Single Trip policy, the cover will be valid for the duration of the trip, from 7 days to 180 days. And if you choose a Multiple Trip policy, the cover will be valid for one year from the start date of the policy. The maximum duration per trip under this option can be either 30 days or 45 days.

If you have bought the policy from www.insurancemall.in, you can extend your Overseas Travel Insurance Policy online or you can also request the extension in writing while your original policy is still current. Please note that the total journey must not exceed 18 months
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F] Travelling safe after purchase of a travel insurance policy

a) Purchase the right priced and right featured travel insurance policy on http://www.insurancemall.in/.
b) Ensure you leave a copy of your passport, airline tickets and other travel documents with someone in case of an emergency.
c) Make sure you have the necessary visas for the countries you are visiting.
d) Never leave luggage unattended! Not only can your luggage be stolen but it could also be tampered with without your knowledge.
e) No one wants to spend their holidays in hospital so remember to get any necessary vaccinations before you depart.
f) When staying in hotels (even fancy ones), place all your valuables in the main safe deposit box.
g) Only carry limited amounts of traveller’s cheques and cash with you each day.

G] Easy , Simple & Safe purchase on http://www.insurancemall.in/

Hundreds, if not thousands of companies provide insurance of different kinds, ranging from very basic “emergency” policies to those with extensive and in-depth coverage. The length of coverage, premium, deductible payable, number of people covered, area of coverage (local, country-wide or global) also may vary from one provider to another.

www.insurancemall.in, is a specialised insurance vendor who have sophisticated interface on the Web, which allow visitors to view brochures, compare policies and even buy the policies directly using a credit card. The site provides extensive listing of policies and has an “insurance comparison” tool that takes the user go through a set of questions before suggesting suitable policies that can be bought directly using a credit card..

When you purchase travel insurance online on www.insurancemall.in, you will immediately receive a confirmatory email with details of the insurance. It is prudent to print this and to keep as a backup. You will also receive an insurance policy within 3-4 business days. This policy will have your name, policy number, insurance company's contact information such as the toll-free telephone number and the address where claims should be submitted.

H] Best Buy on http://www.insurancemall.in/

The website currently offers 99 per cent of the complete Personal Lines range making it one of the most comprehensive website across the world. The success of http://www.insurancemall.in/, reinforces the vision of industry watchers who predict the future of distribution in cost-effective modern channels. The power of internet is spreading across India. India is poised to set new global benchmarks in innovative customer service in Insurance. It is estimated that about 20 million homes will have access to broad band net connection by 2010. (Source: www.irda.org). With M-Commerce booming, 1 in every 5 people has a mobile and 1 in every 10 people have access to internet. This is not only an opportunity for Marketers but it’s a whole new ball game for people like you and me, We have access to the most latest, updated and happening news in the country. There’s a wonderful e-shopping experience awaiting you at http://www.insurancemall.in/.

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