Extended Travel Insurance: All You Need To Know in Detail

If you are new to travel insurance, you should know that the policy only remains valid from the time you leave the immigration point in your home country up to the point you return back home. With the round-trip flight tickets already booked, the travel insurance policy has a fixed period for which it remains valid.But what if you want to extend your stay for some reason? What if the airline cancels your return flight or reschedules it? Will the travel insurance be extended too? Do you need to pay an additional premium for such extensions? Take a look-

Yes, it is possible to extend your travel insurance. There are two different reasons for which insurers in India allow such extensions. They are-

1. Emergency Extension

An emergency extension is when the reason for the extension is not related to you. This is generally in cases when the airline cancels or reschedules the flight due to any reason. In such cases, you are not required to pay any additional premium for policy extension. But it is recommended that you still get in touch with your insurer through email or phone to confirm the extension.Also, details about such extensions are already mentioned in the policy documents. So, do check the same to make sure that the policy you have purchased does offer this emergency extension option.

2. Planned Extension

A planned extension is when you voluntarily extend your stay for some reason. For the planned extension, the foreign travel insurance will not be automatically extended to cover the additional days for which you stay abroad. Such extensions are only possible if you inform about the same to your insurer, and the insurer agrees to extend the policy.Know that insurers generally only agree to such extensions when you have a valid reason. Also, you will have to pay additional premiums for the same. In case if you do not extend the policy, you will remain uncovered for the extra days you spend in a foreign country.Details about contacting the insurer and how to get planned extension are generally mentioned in the policy documents.

If you are yet to purchase travel insurance, do consider these aspects and get detailed information from the insurer. After purchasing, do go through the policy documents to avoid any discrepancies in the future.

The information contained herein is generic in nature and is meant for educational purposes only. Nothing here is to be construed as an investment or financial or taxation advice nor to be considered as an invitation or solicitation or advertisement for any financial product. Readers are advised to exercise discretion and should seek independent professional advice prior to making any investment decision in relation to any financial product. Aditya Birla Capital Group is not liable for any decision arising out of the use of this information.