Travel insurance

What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance is short-term cover for the risks of a specific trip or a set of trips in a year. Its core is emergency medical cover abroad: hospital treatment, evacuation and repatriation if the traveller falls ill or is injured. Around that core, policies add cover for trip cancellation or interruption, flight delay, loss or delay of checked baggage, loss of passport, personal liability and personal accident.

In India, travel insurance is sold by general insurers and standalone health insurers, and IRDAI reports it alongside health and personal accident business. It comes in four main forms: single-trip overseas, annual multi-trip, student cover for long study stays, and domestic travel cover.

How travel insurance works

• Medical cover and assistance. The insurer works with an overseas assistance company that arranges hospital admission and guarantees payment. Cashless settlement abroad depends on contacting the assistance helpline before or at admission. Without that call, the traveller often pays and claims reimbursement later.
• Sum insured in foreign currency. Overseas policies are written in US dollars or euros. Higher sums insured are needed for the United States and Canada because of treatment costs there.
• Visa requirements. Schengen visa rules require travel medical insurance valid across the Schengen area for the whole stay, with minimum cover of €30,000 for emergency treatment and repatriation. Some other countries and many universities set their own minimums.
• Pre-existing conditions. Most policies exclude treatment of pre-existing diseases, or cover only a life-threatening emergency arising from one, with a sub-limit. Declaring conditions correctly at purchase is essential.
• Age and duration. Premium rises sharply with age, and senior travellers may face lower limits or medical questionnaires.
• Taxes. The September 2025 GST exemption applied to individual life and individual health policies. Insurer notices indicate that stand-alone and group travel policies were not treated as exempt, so GST has generally continued to apply. Check the tax line on the quote.

Key numbers

Per the IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25:

Private general insurers wrote about 84 per cent of overseas travel premium. The large number of domestic lives under relatively few policies points to group covers bought by platforms and travel companies for their customers. Railway passengers booking e-tickets can also opt for low-cost accident cover through IRCTC, which IRDAI reports under personal accident.

What travel insurance means for distribution

• It is an embedded product. Most policies are bought inside a booking journey: airline and online travel agency sites, visa facilitation centres, foreign exchange counters, banks issuing forex cards, and education consultants for students. Partnerships with these platforms decide market share more than branch sales do.
• The point of sale is short. A traveller decides in seconds. Clear display of the medical sum insured, the pre-existing disease rule and the helpline number does more for claim experience than a long brochure.
• Students are a high-value segment. Study-abroad cover runs for a year or more, with higher premium, and is often required by universities. Education loan providers and overseas admission consultants are effective channels, but the adviser must check that the policy meets the university's specific requirements.
• Annual multi-trip suits frequent flyers. Corporate travellers and frequent visitors to family abroad save money with an annual policy. Few channels actively offer it, which leaves an easy upgrade.
• Claims are won by the helpline. Customer complaints in travel insurance usually trace back to a traveller who did not call the assistance partner, or who did not keep receipts and reports. A short pre-departure message with the helpline number and claim checklist is a cheap and effective service step.
• Group domestic cover needs disclosure. Opt-out or default-ticked travel cover in booking flows attracts regulatory and consumer scrutiny. The customer should actively choose the cover and see its price.