Student Travel Insurance- Should you buy from India?
It is a common dilemma for the students travelling abroad to buy insurance through their university or take a policy from India before travelling. This certainly is an important decision as university offering policies which cost lakhs and have designed for all international students. Their policy is a comprehensive policy covering all kind of medical needs and will undoubtedly be easier to put to use whenever it would be required. On the other hand, the policies offered in India also have decent cover with some additional benefits which might not be available in the policies offered by universities. We are highlighting some aspects need to be considered while you are deciding Insurance cover for child who’s travelling for further studies and they are as follows:
Cost - The difference in cost of buying insurance from India and buying from university is huge especially for students travelling USA. The pricing is in thousand for buying from India as compared to that cost lakhs should you subscribe from the university.
Coverages - The policies offered by Indian insurance companies have a very comprehensive coverage which includes Accidental, Medical hospitalization, OPD , dental( limits attached) and many more which are matching to cover available by university and there are many other features which aren’t part of Insurance offered by the university.
Coverage beyond Medical - Many coverages offered by Indian companies beyond medical covers can come very handy in many situations which aren’t offered by the university. Covers like loss of passport, bail bond, Sponsor Protection, Study interruption, Compassionate visit (round trip) and many more which are part policy without any extra charges.
Coverage all over world - The policy offered by the university mostly extends covers locally i.e. within the city or the state the university is in, however, the policy offered in India has cover not only in the country they would studying but also for other countries they might visit during the year.
We have listed some of the features that are important to be factored in while taking a decision to choose the option best for your child. The above policies are cashless and only in case of Hospitalization less than 24 hours it is on reimbursement basis. The universities insist on buying cover that they are offering but you can apply for waiver as the policies offered by Indian companies have international partners who have designed policies as per the requirements for international student. The most viable option could be take lower level of cover offered by the university and take a cover from India too which can give covers missing in the policy offered by the university.