To really reap the benefits of travel insurance, we need to know about the policy and the process to claim for travel insurance. Make sure to compare between insurance providers before subscribe to one.
From my own experiences, I will elaborate a little bit of how I claimed my travel insurance.
Policy of travel insurance
To make it easy, let’s split the insurance policy into two headings, Medical Benefits and Travel Inconvenience benefits. Whenever I travel to a place which I think will risk my health and well-being, I will weigh more on medical benefit, “hospital allowance” to be specific. Where else, if I think there is a very low risk to my health and well being, I will stress more on the “travel delay” clause.
Medical Benefits
When I traveled along the Silk road from Kabul, Afghanistan towards Europe, I was concerned about my safety, given that I will travel by land and some hitch-hiking along the way. For that, I bought a travel insurance from a general insurance provider such as Etiqa travel insurance by Etiqa. Usually, general insurance provider sell their travel insurance with more medical benefits than the travel inconvenience.
In this case:
- Etiqa and AXA cover RM350 hospital allowance for every 24 hours
- RM300/day by MH Insure or Tune protect (Airlines based travel insurances).
Travel Inconvenience
But when I traveled to New Zealand, where I think, my safety and well-being is at the least concerns, I opted for MH Insure which covers more on travel inconveniences(this was 2013, better deal).
In the event of a flight delay (updated 2019):
- Mh Insure covers RM300 for every 5 consecutive hours.
- Etiqa covers RM 100 for first 2 hours and RM250 for
every 6 consecutive hours thereafter. - AXA covers RM200 for first 6 hours delay and RM300 for every 6 consecutive hours thereafter.
*Comparison are made using the VIP/Premium/Platinum policy. There will be slight different in price between insurance companies.
Making Claim
When my flight was delayed for about 20 hours, I loss about RM 800 for a new connecting flight and few hundreds ringgit on accommodation. The claim can only be made after I completed my trip. In case of flight delay, the documents needed by the insurance company are :
- Boarding pass, or flight ticket which stated the scheduled departure time
- Passport copy
- An official letter from the airline company that stating about the specific flight delay.
- More supporting documents are listed in claim forms according to policy providers. (Make sure to read thoroughly the required supporting documents, so that claiming process go smoothly)
Additional proof are anything that shows the sign or notice of flight delay like a snap of flight information board showing the delay.
Send all the documents along with filled form to the email address given by the claim department of the insurance company. I sent both soft copy and hard copy just to be sure.(this was in 2013, nowadays, claim are easier by filling online forms)
Travel Insurance as an Investment
Depending on companies, usually claimers will get the money reimbursement within 2 weeks to 4 weeks. I got RM 1200 for my case. Not a full RM 2000 from 22 hours delay, and RM800 new connecting flight, but it was worth it.
So next time when you travel, don’t forget to think twice before saying NO to travel insurance. Even if you travel with an Airasia flight, you can still opt for MH Insure if you want or vice versa. But give some thought on insurance, and prepare for a rainy day. Nobody knows.
If you plan to buy a basic policy which only covers medical expenses overseas, you won’t need one if you already have medical insurance. They usually covers you overseas up to 3 months. (Recheck with your policy provider).
