Travel Insurance | Importance of Travel Insurance | Singapore

Insurance | Travel Insurance

Excited about travelling abroad, reluctant about Travel Insurance?

Watch out! You may be caught off guard!

Travel without ‘Travel Insurance’ while travelling to a foreign land exposes you to several potential risks like personal accident, ailment, hospitalization, theft or loss of baggage or documents, flight cancellation or delays etc. Wouldn’t you like to provide yourself with a safety net by availing travel insurance? If you tell yourself, “Nothing will happen to me.” Hopefully “Nothing” but if “Something” happens then who will take care of you in a foreign land? So, don’t think twice about buying travel insurance in Singapore, in fact, buy it along with your tickets. But before that, assess yourself, if you are going to have multiple trips in a year. If yes, then know about Single & Annual Insurance.

What is the difference between Single & Annual Travel Insurance?  

The single trip insurance covers you for a single trip, say if you are travelling to Singapore, your single cover will originate as well as terminate in Singapore. Annual Travel Insurance covers you for all trips starting and ending in Singapore in a year. Each trip generally should be for less than 180 days.

If you plan to travel frequently across destinations, annual insurance would work well for you. Firstly, you will save yourself from the hassle of buying insurance for each trip, and making a saving on the cover.

Does travel frequency impact on the cost of Insurance?

As the name suggests, annual insurance covers your trips for the entire year irrespective of the number of trips and to as many destinations. Here you can choose from 30, 45, 60 and 90 days as the duration of your trip. In other words, this is one plan that saves money for the frequent travelers. It is also convenient as you have to pay a premium just once and be secured for an entire year for your travel.

Is it expensive?

The premiums are competitive and coverage is comprehensive. You are covered for any unforeseen situation arising in a foreign land like accident, illness, loss of baggage or documents etc. Buying travel insurance is not at all expensive, considering the ‘peace of mind’ it provides in a foreign country. Companies provide insurance with different riders and caveats; you must read the blue-print thoroughly.

Can I compare premiums? 

Almost all insurance companies provide travel insurance which is comparatively a simple product. You can easily buy it online as almost all policies cover personal accident, medical and travel inconvenience. Just in case you plan to dwell into adventure sports like scuba diving or rent a car, these would be treated as additional features and would be priced accordingly. You need to spell and study features of the policy properly so that you are not in for a surprise. You can compare policies on web-aggregators sites, for a quick look, click here…

Can I buy Travel Insurance after landing?

You can’t do this. You should buy travel insurance before commencement of the journey. If you buy travel insurance after your trip commences and you make a claim, it will not be honored. You should buy your travel insurance after you’ve booked your tickets as travel insurance also protects you from trip cancellation.

What are inclusions vis-à-vis exclusions?

Normally coverage would be for checked-in baggage loss or delay, loss of crucial documents like passports, personal accidents, unique facilities like worldwide cashless hospitalization and unexpected medical and non-medical facilities etc. But if you injure yourself while doing some adventure sport, it won’t be covered, unless your policy covers it. It is very important to go through the blue-print of the policy for inclusions and exclusions.

What are the Do’s & Don’t for travel insurance?

Do’s – Just go for it!

Don’t fall trap for misconceptions like nothing could go wrong, so I don’t need insurance, my normal health or life insurance policy is enough, Airlines offer covers for a delayed or cancelled flight, where is the need to compare premiums, all policies provide similar coverage and to top it all,  Claim is a pain.

How can I make a claim?

First & foremost, inform your policy provider about the incidence, share all relevant documents like bills, invoices, receipts or any other documents. Share all the communication you have with the hospital or other authorities, banks (loss of Credit cards etc.) for better understanding of claim. It is your duty to inform insurer on time, and make your case clear with the provider.

Is travel insurance mandatory?

Though it is not mandatory, however, proof of travel insurance is fast becoming a norm with immigration officers frequently asking to see insurance-related documents at the time of issuing the visa.

Be responsible towards yourself!

Be responsible toward the country you are travelling!!