There is a growing trend of non-US travellers purchasing US-based travel insurance of plans with low or zero co-pays or deductibles, more policy choices and ease of filing medical treatment claims and claims for lost luggage, flight delays and other travel mishaps.
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – Indians are travelling abroad in record numbers – over 1.4 million Indians travelled from India to the United States in 2018, up over 7 percent from 2017 [Source: US Travel.org]. Silicon Valley-based travel insurance company, VisitorsCoverage, reported a 172 percent increase in Indians searching for and comparing travel insurance policies on their site from Q1 2018 to Q1 2019. These comparison shoppers overwhelmingly purchased short-term visitors insurance, while also purchasing long-term visa, student, visiting parents insurance and immigrant travel medical insurance. India is VisitorsCoverage’s largest global market – half of these searches were generated by returning customers.
“Visitors to the US are realizing the cost savings, coverage advantages and convenience of purchasing US-based travel insurance,” says Rajeev Shrivastava, CEO and founder of VisitorsCoverage, an insurtech company that provides online comparisons of hundreds of travel insurance policies.
There is a growing trend of non-US travellers purchasing US-based travel insurance of plans with low or zero co-pays or deductibles, more policy choices and ease of filing medical treatment claims and claims for lost luggage, flight delays and other travel mishaps.
“Not only do more US-based providers recognize and accept US-based insurance,” Shrivastava continues, “but non-US policies are generally reimbursement-based, travellers with India-based insurance may be required to pay out-of-pocket medical costs at the time of treatment. Filing a claim for reimbursement in India following the return home could be complicated, frustrating and lengthy as a result of different time zones and countries.”
The United States does not provide universal medical coverage. Unprepared travellers who do not purchase travel medical insurance and become ill, sustain serious injury or a catastrophic medical incident in the US risk incurring financial liability that can easily run over 6.9 million INR, as the US also has one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world. Should a traveller require medical air transport back to India costs could easily double or triple for medical repatriation.
VisitorsCoverage partners with top-rated travel insurance administrators and underwriters, giving peace of mind to unlucky travellers who actually have to file a claim for medical treatment or loss. Many of their policies offer coverage beyond medical and trip insurance including insurance for visiting parents and relatives and border entry denial.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
