How To Pick Travel Insurance For Students Going Abroad?

Travel is one of the most joyous activities but even a carefully planned trip prove headache with unforeseen circumstances. This is where travel insurance pitches in to make your trip memorable and enjoyable for you and your family. The importance of travel insurance can be heightened for students considering their malleability and inexperience to deal with arising problems.

Student Travel Insurance

There are difference packages of travel insurance, specifically designed for students, to cover their risks and ensure smooth stay. These plans are customized to suit the duration of the stay and match the requirements of students.

The travel insurance plans are cost-effective and available at nearly 1/3^rd cost, if you buy them from the country of your visit. Most of the universities abroad require mandatory insurance cover for students; hence, it is a good idea to get yourself insured before stepping out of your country. Usually, the policy tenure in travel insurance coincides with the duration of your stay however, if you want to avail an extension, hassle-free automated online extension is also possible in a digital signature format. Here, one of the biggest advantages of travel insurances is that they do not require any medical check-up and cover your health with 24-hour cashless emergency services. Insurers have global tie-ups with international health groups for covering all medical emergencies

What does it covers?

Most of the student policies cover you against the following risks:

1. Medical expenses and accident coverage: Travel insurance policies cover individuals against the medical and hospitalization expenses with cashless hospitalization facility. However, it is important to inform insurers beforehand to avail this facility. Otherwise, you can get the bills reimbursed.

Apart from this, in case of accidental death or disability, the coverage amount (sum assured) will be paid to you. In addition to this, expenses involved in medical evacuation for accidents, repatriation of mortal remains and dental treatment will be covered. Since these plans are specially designed for students, medical expenses for inter-collegiate sports injuries are also covered. Also, if student is more prone to mental and nervous disorders due to changed environment and study pressures, treatment for mental and nervous disorders are covered under the plan.

2. Personal Possessions: Under this facility, the insurers cover you against loss of baggage and passport by reimbursing the cost of obtaining a duplicate passport and baggage.

3. Personal liability: This feature of travel insurance packages covers the ‘third-party’ liability. Here, compensation will be paid for the individual or property affected by your actions (death, accident or injury). However, no cover will be provided for voluntary damage.

4. Study interruption and bail bond: In case of your inability to complete study on medical grounds, you would be reimbursed with the remaining part of current semester fee. Apart from this, in case, you are arrested or detained by police or any other judicial authority under a bailable offence, the bail amount will be reimbursed.

5. Coverage for parents’ visit: If your close family is required to visit you when you are under medical supervision, two-way travelling and accommodation expenses will be re-imbursed by the insurer. Under this, some insurers also reimburse your travel cost, if you are required to visit India due to hospitalization of any of the close family members.   

6. Special coverage for women students is provided in form of coverage against pregnancy, medical-care expenses, childcare expenses and hospitalization of child.

Comparison of Different Travel Insurances

It is always a great idea to go online and take a comparative analysis of the plans available to find out the most and cost-effective one. For 30 years old individual, travelling to America on 1-year study program, here are the options available.

Claim Procedure

• Original ticket and boarding pass or a copy of your passport need to be submitted with every claim form.

• To avail cashless hospitalization benefits, you are required to inform the insurer or Third Party Administrator (TPA) of your insurance company in advance. In case, it is not possible to inform in advance, it is desirable to inform as soon as possible.

• Reimbursement of all claims is done in Indian rupees and is converted into foreign currency, at the exchange rate specified by RBI, on the date of the bill.

Common Problems

Usually, students are not able to avail the available cashless facilities as they are not able to inform beforehand in case of medical emergencies and thus complain of not getting the opportunity.

The time taken for tedious process of procedures for settlement of claims can also be found commonly in complaints filed by students. In most of these cases, bills have to be couriered to the insurers’ office, back in India, after which re-imbursement takes place, that too in Indian rupees.

There is also a two-time exchange rate effect, borne by students. Firstly, a student has to pay the bills by converting Indian rupees into foreign currency and then converting the claim settlement money into foreign currency, which has been done in Indian rupees.  Here, to add to the students’ woes, some insurer re-imburse the amount only when the student finally returns to India. This leaves many students in a lurch for the interim period of their stay, which is difficult to cope up with.

Conclusion

Irrespective of the problems faced by students, it is advisable to always get yourself covered against the emergencies while flying abroad, to make your study trip a valuable experience rather than a way to add mental woes and being struck in financial imbalances.