If you enjoy travelling or have a job that requires you to make frequent trips to different countries, you probably are well-versed with various cultures, cuisines and may even know a couple of foreign languages. And there is very little that can actually hold back someone who loves travelling. Take the pandemic, for example; no sooner were the vaccines introduced than the foreign borders started welcoming foreign visitors – with stringent safety COVID-19 protocols in place, of course!

But despite all of the precautions and planning, a trip cannot always go the way intended. This is why you will always need a health insurance plan that will offer you adequate coverage when you are travelling to another country. You may already be familiar enough with medical insurance that takes care of your medical emergencies or hospitalisation bills within India; however, have you thought about how it can be possible to tackle the expenses of getting medical treatment abroad?

What is the Global/Worldwide Cover?

A global/worldwide cover in your health insurance plan offers coverage for medical treatment that you choose to get abroad. Hence, if you are diagnosed with a disease, ailment or condition in India but opt for medical treatment and healthcare services in another country, these costs will be covered by the global cover. The global health insurance coverage ensures that you can avail of quality healthcare facilities in another country and do not have to foot expensive bills that you may incur as a result of this.

Features of a Global Health Insurance Cover

Choosing the best international health insurance in India can be a tough choice, considering that the cost of getting medical treatment abroad needs adequate health insurance coverage. There can be several problems arising from the lack of sufficient global health insurance coverage, which can either lead you to spend a lot of money from your own pocket or settle for mediocre healthcare services. Since both the situations are equally unappealing, here’s a look at what a typical health insurance plan with a worldwide cover should offer:

• Adequate coverage – The purpose of having a global health insurance cover is to ensure that you do not have to compromise on getting access to good or even private healthcare facilities or hospitalisation when abroad. Hence, consider an affordable health insurance plan that offers sufficient coverage.

• Pre-existing diseases cover – If you have previously suffered from chronic illnesses, diabetes or a heart condition, ensure that your global health insurance coverage can secure you against the high costs of emergency treatment in a foreign country if the need arises.

• Medical evacuation coverage – The cost of transportation by ambulance or a rescue helicopter, in case of a severe accident, can be quite expensive when you are in another country due to the currency exchange rates. Therefore, your health plan with a global cover should be able to take care of these costs.

• Repatriation or Evacuation – Travelling to and from a foreign country to India for a series of medical procedures can be as expensive as the medical treatment itself. However, if your global health cover secures these costs, then the necessary travel between the two countries can be covered under the plan

• Emergency room charges – A global health cover should be comprehensive enough to cover a range of medical situations, subject to certain exclusions. However, if there is a sudden emergency while you’re travelling abroad, the cost of medical emergency care should be covered in your policy.

• OPD charges – When abroad on a short holiday or trip, you may suffer an accidental but minor injury at some point. In this case, hospitalisation may not be necessary. But even the smallest procedure or the visiting charges in foreign hospitals can be costly. Therefore, your policy should be able to cover that.

• Diagnostics – Running diagnostic tests for a second medical opinion or other medical purposes can get very expensive. If you are being treated in a country that offers advanced and hi-tech medical equipment, you should be aware that the costs of these tests can be unexpectedly high. Therefore, check if your global health insurance coverage can cover the costs of these tests.

• Other medical requirements – The global cover you choose for your health insurance plan should have some provisions for maternity benefit or dental benefit coverage needs or even access to mental healthcare services. When choosing a worldwide cover with your health insurance plan, be sure to look into these details and explore the coverage in depth.

How to Choose Global Health Insurance in India?

When choosing the best medical insurance policy for yourself, always ensure that your health insurance plan has a provision for covering overseas treatment. Or you can also avail of the Tata AIG Worldwide Cover on your health insurance plan if you want to be able to cover the cost of medical treatment in a foreign country. Since an international health insurance plan can get quite expensive, the addition of this simple cover can ensure that you can avail yourself of medical treatments both inside and outside of India.

With this cover, you need not worry about the rising expenses of medical care and hospitalisation if you are diagnosed with an ailment or condition in India but choose to receive medical care abroad.

However, these few points you will need to keep in mind when choosing an affordable health insurance plan that offers a global cover. 

• Ensure that your global health insurance cover offers cashless benefits where your insurance company can settle the bills with the hospital. The Tata AIG Global Cover offers reimbursement for medical facilities availed; however, the cashless benefit may be considered in some cases.

• You can also get health insurance tax benefits with your global health insurance plan. Under Section 80D, you can claim a deduction of up to ₹25,000 if you are below the age of 60 years.

• Most of the major expenses in global healthcare come from inpatient and daycare hospitalisation. Our Global Cover ensures that you are covered for these huge expenses if you have to be hospitalised during your treatment.

• You can avail of the cumulative bonus on your health insurance global cover if you do not file any claims. Hence, when there is a need for you to utilise the worldwide cover, the basic sum insured of the global cover, along with the cumulative bonus of up to a maximum of 100% of the coverage, can be used.

• Look out for a hassle-free claim settlement process from your insurance provider. Even though you will have received treatment abroad, back home, we will ensure that our quick and convenient online claim settlement process will help you out.

With this basic but essential checklist, you should be able to find a suitable health insurance plan that enables you to add a global cover.

Conclusion
International medical insurance can be very expensive, but if you compare health insurance plans, you will be able to find the right amount of health coverage at affordable rates. Moreover, the Worldwide Cover add-on in your health insurance policy ensures that while you can avail of healthcare facilities inside India, you can also opt for medical care in another country if needed.

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