You have long cherished making a trip to the UK and the time for the trip has finally arrived!However, there is a small lingering doubt. What if something goes wrong and you fall short of money? Given the uncertain times we live in, it’s prudent for Indians travelling to UK, be it for business or personal travel, to have a travel insurance policy in place. This is important to get financial coverage as protection against any medical emergency, physical loss or damage of goods and belongings.Generally, a UK travel insurance policy covers the following:

1. Medical expenditure: It is well-known that quality medical care is expensive, especially in the UK. Thus, it’s vital to have the necessary insurance cover in place that would safeguard you against unwanted exigencies. Insurance companies generally offer monetary assistance for emergency medical outlay incurred abroad in UK due toa sudden illness, injury or death by way of convenient cashless option. Other medical related expenditures that a good travel insurance plan covers are as follows:
   1. Daily medical allowance towards hospitalization: Insurance companies also provide daily allowance to meet expenses, if the insured has to be hospitalized for more than two continuous days.This can be due to a severe injury or sudden illness contracted while on a trip to the UK.
   2. Compassionate Cause: Being stuck all alone in a hospital for some time can be intimidating in a foreign country, even if you have access to the best doctors. But choosing the right travel insurance can help out in this case. How? In the event of the insured being hospitalized for a extended period of more than 7 continuous days, the insurer will pay for the travel fare of a close relative to visit and take care of the insured.
   3. Accident cover: No one can ever predict when or where accidents might happen. Fortunately, insurers provide protection against death or loss of limbs or disability due to a serious accident in UK.The insurer will also bear the cost of transferring the mortal remains to your home country, in case of death.
2. Interruption and delay: A trip abroad can often bring with it unforeseen delays. As it is, one has to endure travelling through different time zones, often catch connecting flights, changing flights and travel over long durations. Added to the difficulties is the monetary burden of paying for the intermittent stay in case of a delayed or postponed flight beyond its scheduled departure time. Often, one may fall sick even before boarding the flight. To meet all these uncertain situations, its best to be well equipped with a travel insurance which would reimburse the costs.So, theadditional expenditure incurred by the insured in case the trip is postponed or delayed by over 12 hours, would be borne by the insurance company.
3. Other situationsfor whichan insurance company provides coverage:
   1. Passport loss: This is a very tough situation for the insured to land in, because in a foreign country, your passport is your biggest identity. Insurers would reimburse the actual cost of procuring a duplicate or fresh passport in case of loss of the original.
   2. Liability in individual capacity: There is cover in case the insured is subject to a legal suit for inadvertently having damaged the interests of a third party by way of injury, death, health conditions or property.
   3. Allowance towards extraordinary situation: When you are travelling to the UK, you must be prepared for all kinds of emergencies. This is the reason why you need a travel insurance policy where the insurer will provide allowance in case of a hijack incident, or financial emergency due to theft or robbery.The amount will be limited to the sum assured.
   4. Extended hotel accommodation: If you are recovering from a medical emergency and need to extend your hotel stay in the UK, the insurer will pay for it.
4. Baggage loss or delay:This is a common problem faced by long distance travellers especially travelling to UK. One of the reasons is also that London airport traditionally has the busiest terminals globally and handles several million tourists in the airport each day. A travel insurance can be a big help in case of baggage loss or delayed arrival. Some insurance companies also pay the insured for the damaged goods inside the baggage. This is especially useful if one is carrying high value items. The amount disbursed upon claim would depend upon the valuation of the goods and the extent of damage suffered. In case of theft, the insurer would pay a fixed amount as compensation. In case of checked in baggage being obtained for a duration of more than 12 hours, the insurer would reimburse the insured for the costs incurred towards personal maintenance during the period like purchase of clothing, medication etc

A travel insurance policy is very useful to have, especially when undertaking a trip to the UK. With a suitable policy in place, one need not have to worry about medical emergencies and travel related issues. You can truly enjoy your dream vacation or have a stress-free business trip by allowing the insurance company to handle unanticipated situations.

However, do note that the insurer will not cover for self-inflicted injuries, cosmetic treatments that you seek abroad, pre-existing diseases, or consumption of intoxicating substances.