Financial PlanHealth Insurance

Can health Insurance be claimed during international travel?

Either business or vacation, international trips are always fascinating for most people. They are the opportunity to learn new things about a foreign land. However, traveling to another country comes with responsibility. Even with the usual safety precautions, unfortunate things like sudden illness or accidents may happen. International travelers need to be prepared for such cases.

Why health insurances are must while traveling abroad?

When the climatic conditions greatly differ from native land, the chance of suffering from terrible conditions like heat-stroke or hypothermia increase greatly. There are many cases of the people falling sick due to changing the weather.

Moreover, Pre-existing condition like cardiovascular diseases can be notorious due to a sudden change in the environment.

Lastly, unfortunate events like accidents or assaults can also happen, especially in countries where the rate of such incidents is high.

At this time of medical emergencies, arranging money for hospitalisation can be expensive especially when the currency of the country is costly than domestic currency. The best way to avoid this is health insurance or mediclaim policy.

Why Health Insurances are useful?

People buy health insurance policies to prevent financial losses during medical emergencies. however, there are so many confusions when it comes to claiming them during international travel. This article is written to clear these confusions and enlighten people about using their mediclaim insurance on foreign land.

Also Read: 5 Benefits of Critical Illness Health Insurance Plan

Let’s start with the first question, can health insurance be claimed during international travel?

The answer to this question lies in the health insurance policy document. Some mediclaim or health insurances provide coverage for medical expenses on foreign soil when it is mentioned clearly in a policy document. Reading the policy document carefully is important to ensure whether the insurance covers accidents  or illnesses during international travel.

On can simply call the insurance provider if the policy document is difficult to understand and ask the following questions:

  • In case of any illness or injury, will my mediclaim insurance cover me?
  • Does my health insurance policy provide coverage for my pre-existing medical complications?
  • Will I have to pay for the hospital charges from my own pocket and then claim for reimbursement?

If the insurance company provides critical illness insurance coverage or coverage, if accidents happens during international travel, then the problem is solved. But if it does not, an international travel insurance policy can be a big help.

Also Read: Everything You Need to Know About Critical Illness Cover Health Insurance Plans

International Travel Insurance:

This is one amazing insurance product that provides coverage for medical emergencies and loss of property during international travel. The important thing to pay attention to is the nature of claim settlement whether it is reimbursement or cashless transaction on spot.

Overseas Health Insurance:

To overcome the limitation of travel insurances, one can go for the option of overseas health insurance. In simple words, they are the insurance policies that cover physical injuries caused by sickness or accidents on foreign land. Unlike travel insurances, some overseas health insurance provides coverage for hospitalisation due to pre-existing illnesses.

The most amazing thing about them is their claim settlement as they are settled on the spot. The insurance companies providing overseas health insurance have healthcare service network to support their policyholders during medical emergencies abroad. The claim settlement process for such policies are also simplified by the insurance companies and explained at the time of purchase. People who are willing to buy health insurance online can also opt for benefits like cashless transactions while buying overseas health insurance.

Vikas Agarwal
the authorVikas Agarwal
Vikas Agarwal is an IIT-Varanasi graduate in Chemical Engineering. He is the Founder and CEO of Finaacle.com - an investment advisory website. He is a Business Development Professional but a Value Investor at heart. He writes articles on Finaacle, which focus on simplifying the art of investing and the causes of human misjudgment when it comes to investing. He also shares his experiences as an investor and lessons from some of the greatest investors of all time.

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