Things To Keep Ready For Making A Non-Medical International Travel Insurance Claim
There are times when travellers face a lot of hardships because of disruption to their international trip.
There are times when travellers face a lot of hardships because of disruption to their international trip. This can range from cancelled flights and hotels to even loss of baggage and this can turn an international trip into a nightmare. The entire vacation can turn upside down when such events occur and even though this might seem to be small and not very serious like a medical treatment there are several things that one should follow. This is because claims for such events are possible under international travel policies and they will require details of several things that have to be kept handy.
Boarding Pass And Baggage Tags
A lot of problems that can arise with respect to baggage and whether this is lost or delayed will involve additional expenses and worry for the travellers. In this regard, it’s important that the boarding pass is kept properly by the traveller because this along with the baggage tags that are provided by the airline become an important item that the insurance company will demand. Especially for international travel, the boarding pass with the immigration stamp is the proof that the person has travelled and this is required at the time of making the claim. Similarly, if there is a problem with the baggage, then the baggage tags also become a detail that needs to be submitted at the time of the claim.
Communication With The Airline
There’s a high probability that many of the problems that have arisen in the trip are on account of the airline. This could be a delayed or a cancelled flight or it can also be loss or delay of baggage. In such a situation, it is important for the traveller to have communicated with the airline and informed them of the problem. In turn, the airline would also have tried to solve the problem in their own way. This will be clearly brought out by the communication between the two and hence, the record of this needs to be maintained because it is likely that the insurance company will call for these details to determine whether they are actually liable for the claim. This communication and the details provided by the airline are also proof that there has been a specific problem for the traveller.
Receipts Abroad
It’s likely that due to the disruption that has occurred, either with respect to the flights or the baggage, the traveller has had to incur additional expenses abroad. This could be with respect to charges on cancellation of hotels or missed connecting flights or even having to cancel local travel at the place of arrival. In addition, there might be a need to take a higher cost stay or it could even be a longer and more expensive commute. Such types of additional expenses can be claimed from the insurer but if this has to happen, then it is essential that all the receipts are preserved properly. This will ease the process of claim as the details can be mentioned properly.
Refund Amounts
In most cases, these kinds of claims are on reimbursement basis, which means that the traveller will be returned the extra money that they end up spending. Here it is also essential that the traveller has made efforts to get back some amounts or the entire amount from the hotels and other transport modes where it has been spent. There is a chance that some amount was refunded and hence, in this case it is only the net amount that would be claimed from the insurance company and not the full amount. The proof that the traveller has received a specific amount as refund is very important in this regard.
Arnav Pandya is founder of Moneyeduschool.