Ideal Travel Insurance Policy for Schengen Visa
|If you are planning a trip to Europe, you must now be familiar with the term, Schengen Visa. With a Schengen Visa, you can travel to 26 countries in Europe. You can move freely from one country to another on just one visa, without having to apply for separate visas for different countries.
Traveling to Europe sounds all kinds of fun! But you must also think about the risks that come with traveling abroad. Europe is anyway a very expensive place to visit from India. Now imagine if you miss a flight or lose your passport or worst of all, lose your luggage. Would you be able to bear the costs? This is why it is imperative to have a good travel cover. We have put together some essential points that you must look for in travel insurance if you are planning to travel to a Schengen country.
1. Validity:
Ideally, a good Schengen visa travel insurance is one that covers the entire period of your transit in the Schengen region, i.e. up to 90 days within a 180 day period. The travel insurance must also be valid in all twenty-six countries and not just be accepted in a few.
2. Medical Cover:
The most important thing to look for, in travel insurance is medical cover. A change of weather, food, and culture may cause you to fall sick. In fact, food poisoning is common among tourists. Medical costs are extremely expensive abroad and can take a huge blow on your budget if not covered by your travel insurance. While looking for a medical cover, make sure it also provides personal accident insurance to rule out all possibilities of risk.
3. Baggage:
Delayed baggage is a common problem faced by most tourists. The chances of baggage lost and delayed are especially high in the case of long journeys and connecting flights. Look for travel insurance that covers these aspects. Most travel insurance provides you reimbursement for last minute purchases like clothes, toiletries, etc, if your luggage is delayed by more than 6 hours.
4. Passport and Visa Cover:
The most important documents that you carry on your travel are your passport and your visa. As a precaution, always take very good care of them. You do not want to be running from pillar to post in a foreign country trying to find them. However, if you do lose them, make sure you have travel insurance to back you up. Take travel insurance that reimburses the costs of duplicate documents.
5. Unexpected Circumstances:
Travelling can come with all sorts of unpleasant surprises. You can meet with an accident, you can fall sick, you may want to extend your trip, or you may need medical evacuation or urgent medical attention by a particular kind of doctor. All these unexpected circumstances can be covered by your insurance. Travel insurance plans also provide cover against death and return of mortal remains to cover all sorts of personal liabilities. Check your travel insurance for these benefits.
6. Type of Insurance:
Depending on the age of the traveler and the purpose of travel, you can choose between student travel insurance, senior citizen insurance, and multi-trip insurance, etc.