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What is Deductible in Travel Insurance?
If you are a frequent traveller, having a travel insurance policy. is strongly recommended as it protects you financially against risks of lost baggage, lost passport, medical emergencies, etc., while you are traveling abroad. But the cost of travel insurance can sometimes be a deterrent for people planning to buy these policies. In such cases, opting for deductibles can help lower the cost of a travel insurance policy significantly. If you want to know more about it, read on further.
What is Deductible in Travel Insurance?
Deductible in travel insurance is the portion of expenses that you pay out of your own pocket before your travel insurance policy begins paying the balance amount of the claim.
It is a sort of cost-sharing agreement with your insurer wherein you take the responsibility of paying some of the damages yourself before using the policy. Since the liability of the insurer goes down in such cases, the premium amount decreases as well.
For example, the deductible limit in your travel insurance policy is Rs 5,000 and you incur eligible expenses of Rs 45,000. Now, while filing the claim for recovering Rs 45,000, you would be required to pay for the first Rs 5,000 from your own pocket, and then your insurer would pay the balance amount of Rs 40,000.
Deductibles can be both fixed and voluntary. Fixed deductibles essentially refer to the compulsory expenses (as determined by the insurer) that you would have to bear. Filing a claim without the knowledge of fixed deductibles in your policy can result in the claim getting rejected due to the non-payment of your share of expenses.
Voluntary deductibles, meanwhile, refer to the expenses that you choose to pay voluntarily over and above the fixed deductibles to reduce your premium amount further.
List of Deductible in Travel insurance
The list of deductibles can vary from insurer to insurer. However, there are some common deductibles that can be found in most travel insurance policies, though the limit may differ. Given below, as an example, is the list of compulsory deductibles in the SBI General travel insurance policy:
| Coverage name | Deductible |
|---|---|
| Medical expenses including evacuation and repatriation | USD 100 |
| Loss of Passport | 5% of claim amount |
| Golfer’s Hole-In-One | 5% of claim amount |
| Home Burglary Insurance | 5% of claim amount |
| Loss of Checked Baggage | 5% of claim amount |
| Trip Cancellation | 5% of claim amount |
| Trip Curtailment | 5% of claim amount |
| Missed Connection | 5% of claim amount |
| Delay of Checked Baggage | First 12 hours |
| Hijack Cover | First 24 hours |
| Trip Delay | First 12 hours |
| Hospitalisation daily allowance | First one day |
| Personal liability | USD 100 |
So next time when you buy a travel insurance policy, make sure to enquire about the compulsory deductibles in the policy for hassle-free claim settlement. Also, check the voluntary deductibles limit to assess the scope of reducing the premium amount of your policy.
Disclaimer: The above information is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale.
