Pack the policy: Understand travel insurance cover, exclusions and claim conditions

From emergency treatment and flight delays to lost baggage and adventure sports, travellers need to check policy limits, exclusions and conditions before departure

Planning a trip involves a series of enjoyable decisions on where to go, how to get there and what destinations to cover. Insurance, however, is quite the opposite. It involves planning for anything that could go wrong and calculating the financial consequences. While no traveller sets out expecting to make a claim, the right cover can protect both the journey and the money invested in it when plans go awry.

The scale of outbound travel makes the right cover all the more important to consider. According to the ministry of tourism, 30.89 million Indian nationals travelled abroad in 2024, an increase of 10.79 per cent over 2023. So, is choosing a policy just a final formality before departure? Not really. Sometimes, it could protect you against a medical emergency overseas; a cancelled flight or lost baggage can bring unexpected expenses, sometimes far beyond what a traveller would ordinarily budget for. But for that to materialise, it is important to understand the coverage and the exclusions properly. A policy bought in haste, simply to complete a checklist, may leave important risks unaddressed.