While the pandemic has brought the travel and tourism industry to a standstill since last year, the rapid ongoing vaccination drive is reviving hopes of a demand recovery in the sector. With travel soon expected to be back on the cards, it is wise to consider opting for travel insurance. Some benefits that travel insurance provides include cover for medical treatment costs, personal accident, loss of baggage, trip cancellation or delay, loss of passport etc. Considering the numerous benefits it provides, buying travel insurance before traveling can protect you from many major risks. However, before buying a travel insurance, we must first look at the types of travel insurance available in India:
Types of travel insurance in India
Domestic Travel Insurance
This travel insurance covers you from personal and medical liabilities during domestic travels. It is very beneficial for high frequency travelers who make multiple journeys within India.
International Travel Insurance
This type of travel insurance provides you cover for international trips. Apart from medical and personal covers, some international travel insurances also provide cover for deportation, hijack and visa rejection.
Corporate Travel Insurance
Corporate travel insurance is provided by companies to their employees who need to undertake domestic or overseas business trips.
Student Travel Insurance
This travel insurance policy is intended for students who travel to study overseas. It provides personal and medical covers for the student, such as medical treatments, loss of passport, disruption of studies etc. It is mandatory for international students in several countries such as the US, the UK and Canada.
Senior Citizen Travel Insurance
These travel insurances are intended for senior citizens i.e., those aged above 60 years. It usually has a higher premium than standard travel insurance plans.
Family Travel Insurance
This type of travel insurance is best for family trips, as it provides medical and personal coverage to the entire family. This results in a lower premium than buying travel insurance for each family member individually.
Group Travel Insurance
This travel insurance is intended for a group travelling together, and can help get a significantly lower premium than buying individual travel insurance for each group member.
Single/Multi-trip insurance
Single trip travel insurance is intended for single trip journeys, while multi-trip insurance is intended for multiple trips. Multi-trip insurance can reduce travel insurance costs significantly for frequent travelers, while single trip insurance is ideal for occasional, sporadic travelers.
Now that we know the different types of travel insurance, we must also know the best companies that provide travel insurance. Buying travel insurance from the top companies can reduce chances of claim rejection, provide increased coverage and better customer service.
To help you choose the right travel insurance company, here’s our list of the top 10 travel insurance companies in India:
1. Care Health Insurance
Founded in 2012 by Religare Enterprises, Care Health Insurance provides some of the most comprehensive travel insurance plans in India. It provides coverage of hospitalization expenses, in-patient and out-patient care, dental treatment etc. and doesn’t require medical checkup across all its plans. A unique feature of Care’s travel insurance plans is that it also provides coverage for pre-existing ailments, which is not provided by most travel insurance companies. Its Gold & Platinum travel insurance plans also cover loss of baggage and passport, trip delay or cancellation, personal liability and personal accident, making it one of the best all-inclusive travel insurances in India.
2. Reliance General Insurance
Reliance General Insurance is a private sector general insurance company, fully owned by Reliance Capital and founded in 2000. It covers total loss of baggage and passport, trip delay/cancellation and medical expenses in all its travel insurance plans. It also covers disclosed pre-existing medical ailments, and has a cashless hospitalization network worldwide. It is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, and a reliable provider of travel insurance.
3. Bharti AXA General Insurance
Bharti AXA General Insurance is a joint venture between Bharti Group and AXA Group, a multinational insurance company from France. It has a worldwide presence, and all its travel insurance plans include coverage for medical expenses, compassionate visits from family in case of hospitalization, personal accident cover and loss of baggage and passport. It covers pre-existing medical ailments, excluding cosmetic surgery. Its premium plans also provide additional benefits such as home fire and burglary insurance for the duration of your travels, which make it a great option for buying travel insurance.
4. HDFC ERGO Health Insurance
Founded in 2002 as a joint venture between HDFC and ERGO International, HDFC ERGO Health is one of the leading travel insurance providers in India. With its takeover of Apollo Munich, HDFC ERGO boasts of its extensive hospital network and provides cashless treatment facility to its policyholders. It covers emergency medical expenses, personal accident and liability, loss of baggage and personal documents, and flight delays. Additionally, it also provides a hospital daily cash allowance, and provides emergency financial assistance in case of theft or robbery. These extra features that it provides make it one of the top travel insurance companies in India.
5. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
Founded in 2001, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv and Allianz SE, a financial services company from Germany. Its travel insurance plans provide coverage from medical expenses, trip cancellation and delay, loss of baggage and passport, home burglary and personal accident. A unique feature of Bajaj Allianz’s travel insurance is that they offer 12 add-ons and optional covers, which allow you to augment and customize your travel insurance policy.
6. ICICI Lombard General Insurance
ICICI Lombard was founded in 2001 as a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Fairfax Financials from Canada. Its travel insurance has various types of coverages such as hospitalization expenses, in-patient and out-patient care, trip delays and cancellations, and loss of baggage. It also provides daily hospital cash allowance, and is one of the reliable travel insurance companies in India.
7. SBI General Insurance
The insurance arm of SBI, the largest public sector bank in India, SBI General Insurance is one of the most trusted and accessible insurance providers in the country. Its travel insurance for business/holidays covers injuries, illnesses and medical treatments during travel, and provides 24/7 travel support to its policyholders. It also covers personal accident and liabilities, loss of baggage and passport, trip delays and cancellations, and provides affordable and beneficial travel insurance plans to its customers.
8. TATA AIG General Insurance
A joint venture between Tata group and American International group, TATA AIG is one of the fastest-growing private sector insurance providers in India. It covers baggage loss, medical expenses, trip delays and cancellations, home burglary, personal accident and personal liability, which add extra value to its travel insurance plans. Its student travel insurance covers 2-way compassionate visits, which make it stand out from other insurance providers.
9. Aditya Birla Capital
Founded in 2007, Aditya Birla Capital is a fast-growing private sector provider of financial and insurance services. Its travel insurance includes coverage for medical expenses, baggage and passport loss, trip delay/cancellation and personal accidents. It provides affordable and all-inclusive travel insurance plans to meet all its customer’s needs.
10. Star Health Insurance
Star Health Insurance is an Indian private insurance company, operating since 2006. Its travel insurance provides many coverages such as emergency medical expenses, personal accident and liability, loss of baggage and trip delay/cancellation. It offers plans for individual, corporate and student travel, and is a rising player in the travel insurance industry.
To conclude, this is our list of the top 10 travel insurance companies in India. When buying travel insurance, it is very important to choose the best company to buy insurance from, as it determines the quality of the service it will provide and the comprehensiveness of the coverages it’ll offer. We hope you found this article helpful. If you liked this article, please share and comment below.