International travel includes exposure to different health systems and regulations from your home country. While existing medical insurance continues to protect your healthcare needs in domestic regions, international travel health insurance also keeps you protected in foreign regions. Thus, being aware of these two forms of medical cover can help you make the best choice for international trips.
Scope and Limitations of Domestic Medical Insurance
Standard health insurance policies provide financial protection for the country in which the policy
is issued. Some of the primary aspects of domestic medical cover are as follows:
● Coverage tied to the policyholder’s home country
● Defined hospital networks
● Procedures for reimbursement based on local billing systems
These features are suitable for routine and emergency medical needs domestically. However, these health insurance policies may not be applicable to international travel and residing in foreign regions.
Risks Associated with Healthcare Abroad
Medical care in a foreign jurisdiction may differ from domestic systems. For example, the Schengen region mandates individuals from non-European countries to have health insurance along with a valid visa. Moreover, travel insurance for Schengen visas should also have a minimum coverage of €30,000.
To meet the above needs, insurers like HDFC ERGO’s travel insurance plans offer you curated policies for the Schengen region with 24*7 in-house claim assistance. Having reliable travel insurance is also necessary for the following reasons:
● Wide Hospital Networks: Health insurance plans often rely on integrated networks of hospitals for billing as well as direct payment arrangements. This is where international travel insurance gives you financial protection for healthcare needs in foreign regions.
● Administrative Complexity: Hospitalisation and medication documents can be different from those in the home country. This mismatch may create barriers for coordination between medical facilities and insurers.
Purpose of Travel Health Insurance
Travel insurance comes under the category of short-term insurance designed to meet your specific healthcare needs abroad. These policies are designed to provide you with additional protection tailored to your international journeys.
The main objectives of travel health insurance include:
● Helps you get financial protection for emergency medical treatment received abroad
● Offers you methods to arrange or assist with overseas care
● Addressing contingencies related to travel that are outside the scope of your standard health insurance.
Additional Travel-related Protections
With medical travel insurance, you can get some non-medical benefits as well with your chosen policies. Some of them include
● Compensation for trip cancellation or interruption
● Reimbursement for lost or delayed baggage
● Coverage for travel delays or missed connections
Domestic vs. International Travel Health Policies
Here’s a quick look at the difference between your standard and travel health insurance:
Feature Standard medical insurance Travel health insurance
Geographic scope Limited to your home country Specifically international travel
Emergency treatment abroad Limited or excluded Included subject to policy terms
Evacuation coverage Typically not included Many insurers include
Travel-related disruption cover Not included Available
Scenarios that Define the Need for Travel Health Insurance
There are some situations where you may need travel medical insurance, some of them include:
● Acute illness requiring urgent care
● A need for medically supervised transport to an appropriate treatment facility
● Travel disruptions that result from health-related situations
Things to Consider Before Purchasing Travel Health Insurance
While reading your travel medical insurance, you’ll read terms like sum insured, sub-limits, evacuation, cashless hospitals and more. Each of the following terms plays a significant role in defining your travel insurance value:
Medical Coverage
Medical coverage is the sum insured value of your international travel insurance. The limits may vary depending on the currency and healthcare costs. To assess your medical travel insurance scope, evaluate the healthcare charges and related facilities in your chosen foreign country.
Emergency Evacuation
Read the policy wording of your travel insurance to get clarity about in which situations evaluation can be approved. This condition can be limited to the nearest medical facility or repatriation to your home country.
List of Network Hospitals
Read the list of network cashless hospitals of the insurer and cross-check the findings with your travel destination. Access to cashless hospitals helps you get essential medical cover paid by the insurer directly to the healthcare unit.
Travel Related Protection
Besides health, you’ll also have to ensure a few more factors for a smoother trip. For example, protection from flight cancellation and baggage loss or delay helps you get compensation for emergency expenses.
Having comprehensive health insurance gives you financial protection from healthcare costs in your home country. In order to get the same protection for international trips, you’ve to separately purchase travel health insurance, and its duration may extend to a maximum of
360 days.
Travel insurance also protects you from financial losses caused by trip or flight cancellation, missed flight connections, as well as baggage delays or loss.
