This article is written by Apoorva Yadav, a student of JGLS, Sonepat.

Planning a holiday, can be as hectic as working from 9 to 5 in a Government office. One might think that a suitcase,  passport, tickets are all that’s needed but what happens if you lose your luggage at the airport? Or if one of the travelling member has a serious medical condition? Or if there is an emergency at home and you need to cancel the rest of your trip and head back home? Would you be willing to let go of all the money that was used in booking the expensive hotels and services? I guess no. This is where your Travel Insurance company steps in, starts its work and take care of all kinds of contingencies which might occur during a domestic or international tour or holiday be it loss of document or medical emergency or even cheating by travel agents.

What exactly is a travel insurance and why does one need an insurance while travelling? It is basically a type of insurance which covers up medical expenses and lost luggage and other such losses that one might incur while travelling nationally or internationally. The insurance not only helps you with a lot of losses but some countries like Cuba will not let you in unless you have a travel insurance. Also, there is a sense of security and one’s family members are also at relief knowing that if something goes wrong, it would be covered by someone else. It gives a person more freedom while travelling. Even though a travel insurance does not keep one healthy or safe and the place where you might be planning your vacation might be safe and the risk level might be very low but sometimes there are instances where the losses are so huge that a person becomes broke and goes into debt for years.

Now there are various types of travel insurances in the market with different policies and which cover different losses. Buying a travel insurance can be one of the most tricky and confusing part of a holiday planning. But before going to buy a travel insurance one must keep in mind the kind of trip a person is planning to make. Is it a solo trip or a family trip? The place and duration of the trip and the previous medical condition of each and every member who is travelling with you. These aspects should be kept in mind since they play a crucial role in deciding the type on travel insurance one must chose.

So what exactly should one look for while buying a travel insurance? Following is a list of things that are necessary and one must look for before buying a travel insurance:-

Emergency medical expenses: The first and foremost thing is the emergency medical expenses that one might face during travelling. One should make sure that the travel insurance provides cover towards the costs for medical and surgical treatments that you went through during your trip. An exception that is usually there in this policy is that if your treatment is not that urgent and can wait until you finish your trip and head home then that would not be covered under this policy.

Personal Liability: This condition covers the expenses and costs that one is liable to pay to someone else during travel due to accidental bodily injury or if the property of the other person is damaged by the traveler.

Lost baggage: If your baggage is lost or destroyed or damaged during travelling then the expenses would be covered under the policy. You would be expected to list all the items and valuables that are lost/damaged/destroyed within a limited period of time. If the same happens in an airport then a written report is to be brought by the airlines and submitted to the insurance company.

Cancellation or Missed departure: This service comes in use when either one has to cancel his trip or cut it short due to circumstances. In such a case, the insurance covers the expenses of travel and accommodation whose money has been paid and is not refundable. In case a flight/train/boat is missed due to circumstances that are acceptable by the insurance company, then the expenses and accommodation or the extra time is also covered under such policies.

Delay/ Travel abandonment: If the travel plan is delayed or cancelled due to conditions like bad weather or other circumstances then the policy will reimburse the expenses. Now one should check the circumstances that are accepted by the company before getting overwhelmed and buying the insurance.

Money/Cash: Under this condition, if one looses or damages money or if a cheque or prepaid ticket is damaged or lost or stolen, then the insurance company is liable to cover the expenses. In case of theft, a local police report should be given as a proof.

Loss of Passport: This policy provides cover of expenses for additional accommodation and travel in case one looses passport till the time a new passport is issued.

Injuries during Sports: This section covers expenses that take place if one gets injured while playing a sport. The important thing to keep in mind here is that there are only a few sports that the policies cover. So one should look up the types of sports and activities that are covered by the policy.

Now we would look towards some of the things that are to be kept in mind while buying a travel insurance. These things play a major role and if not kept in mind, one could undergo huge losses.

Trip Duration: One should definitely look up the number of days for which the insurance is issued. There are some travel insurances that covers you only for a week or so and some that go on for one. Therefore one should keep in mind the duration of the travel insurance with respect to their own duration of the trip.

Excluded Destinations: There are a few countries or places that are not covered under certain travel insurances.

Pre-existing conditions: It is imperative that one is fair regarding the matter of any prior medical condition that one has. Despite the fact that it can be enticing to keep them calm to help push the expenses down or to accept that in the light of the fact one hasn’t had any issues lately but it is necessary to uncover the medical history because if the insurance company does not know about the fact that one is a heart patient and then later on during travel that same person has a heart attack, then the company will not pay for the expenses incurred because it has no prior history.

Alcohol and Narcotics:  Even though the policy says that it would cover the expenses if one is liable to pay someone for a bodily injury or damage of an object but if the same is done while being intoxicated then it would not be applicable and your travel insurance would not cover such expenses.

Medical travel insurance and trip cancellation insurance are not the same: Trip scratch-off and travel wellbeing protection are two unmistakable administrations, Trip undoing spreads prepaid and non-refundable costs if ones arrangements are intruded on or crossed out. The five principle sorts of protection are for the most part sold in a combo of sorts. If  one is needed, then it should be requested and asked whether there are motivators to move up to all or simply some. A thorough bundle spreads trip retraction and intrusion, clearing, medicinal and things, even flight protection.

Now since we’ve covered the terms and conditions, the last thing that comes is how to make a claim. If you make a claim, it is a very common thing that the travel insurance company no matter how good, will either avoid paying or will pay as less as possible. In order to ensure that you do get paid your claim, one should make sure you have all your receipts, necessary forms, and proper documentation because these documents will do nothing but help you make your claim quick.

The whole process might seem very complicated and baffling but there is nothing perplexing in it. In fact one can get a travel insurance online too. Therefore one does have to worry about going to the band and standing in the long line for hours and filling hundreds of forms and completing numerous formalities. The four best travel insurance companies according to www.reviews.com are-

• HTH Travel Insurance

HTH Travel Insurance reliably offered the absolute most moderate travel protection approaches of the considerable number of organizations. In case you’re going with others, their arrangements turn out to be considerably more reasonable, with uncommon rates being accessible to gatherings of five or more individuals voyaging together. HTH Travel Insurance additionally gives probably the most adaptable plans around by empowering you to choose your scope limits and your deductibles. On the off chance that you choose you needn’t bother with outing insurance scope, there’s additionally the choice to buy restorative just travel protection, which covers any crisis medicinal treatment you need while you’re out of the nation. Couple of other travel protection suppliers offer this kind of approach, so in the event that it sound speaking to you, you may need to investigate HTH Travel Insurance’s wide determination of arrangements.

• WorldNomads.com

WorldNomads.com is another travel insurance supplier that offered some exceptionally reasonable rates. In spite of the fact that their scope breaking points may not be as high as those of some different organizations, despite everything they give some strong excursion assurance and crisis medicinal and dental scope with the majority of their arrangements. Also, WorldNomads.com offers a portion of the best experience sports scope you’ll discover, settling on them an awesome decision on the off chance that you anticipate taking part in any of these higher-hazard exercises amid your excursion. The best news is that WorldNomads.com’s rates are significantly more settled than those you’ll discover with different organizations, so it doesn’t make a difference how far or to what extent you plan to be gone on the grounds that you pay the same expense whichever way

• CSA Travel Protection

CSA Travel Protection additionally scores a spot on the rundown of shabby travel insurance agencies. They offer two diverse travel protection approaches to browse, both of which incorporate scope for outing dropping and intrusion, trek and things postponements, and crisis restorative and dental consideration. The Custom Luxe arrangement even gives rental auto protection at no extra cost. You can likewise buy discretionary Cancel for Any Reason scope with either arrange. Getting a quote from CSA Travel Protection is brisk and easy to do, so its justified regardless of your while to look at what they bring to the table you and your voyaging mates.

• Allianz

Allianz finishes the rundown of the least expensive travel protection suppliers, performing superior to anything normal. You can choose between single-outing and yearly scope relying upon how regularly you travel. On the off chance that you anticipate taking a few treks through the span of the year, a yearly arrangement could help you spare much more in light of the fact that it covers a boundless measure of excursions taken inside of a 12-month period. Another extraordinary thing about Allianz travel protection is that their arrangements aren’t as prohibitive as a few others in the business. They let you protect trips that cost up to $100,000 and there is no age restrict on their restorative scope, something which is generally unordinary among travel protection suppliers.

Apart from these, there are travel insurances for pets as well that provides a person with the losses that take place with respect to ones pet whether it is a dog or guinea pig.

In the end I would like to conclude by saying that there is a quote by  J. R. R. Tolkien that says “not all those who wander are lost”, but in today’s world if you don’t have a travel insurance, you might just be lost.