7 insurance covers you can get on your forex card while travelling abroad and cryptocurrency news
If you miss or fail to take a connecting international flight of an international airline due to delay in the arrival of another international flight, then you can claim the cost of buying a new ticket through insurance on the forex card.
The forex card has become one of the most reliable and safe options to carry money while travelling abroad. But did you know that a forex card also provides insurance cover? Most forex cards offer complimentary insurance cover to safeguard customers from theft, loss of the card or its fraudulent use.
Forex card issuers generally have tie-up with insurers to provide insurance coverage on forex cards.
Sudarshan Motwani, Founder, BookMyForex said, " The insurance coverage in most of the forex card protects the holder from the card loss and its misuse and often comes handy in times of emergencies." He said, "Most of the banks' forex cards also provide insurance cover in case of accidental death, loss of baggage and personal documents, plane hijacking, missing a connecting international flight and lost card liability insurance cover."
Following are the different types of complementary insurance covers that are mostly bundled along with the forex card.
1. Lost card liability insurance cover
This coverage is against counterfeit/skimming/phishing/online transactions and loss of forex card. The insurance cover is generally between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh. Frauds or thefts happening at ATMs abroad are also covered, however, one needs to check whether ATM withdrawal in case of the lost or stolen card is covered under the policy.
For instance, according to its website, a forex card issued by Axis Bank covers lost/stolen/counterfeit cards up to Rs 1.5 lakh. However, ATM withdrawal in case of lost or stolen card is not covered under the policy. Similarly, ICICI Bank's forex card does not cover PIN-based transactions (ATM, telephone).
As per the HDFC Bank website, you get insurance against unauthorised transactions on the forex card.
"An FIR is mandatory for ATM assault and robbery claim. There is a specific duration in which one has to report his loss to claim the insured amount," said Motwani.
2. Personal air accident cover
If you die in an aircraft accident on a schedule airline's (i.e., regular domestic or international air carriers), as defined under the policy terms and conditions, the nominee will get the insurance claim. Insurance benefit is available to holders of those forex cards that provide this facility. Also, even if you have multiple forex cards, the personal air accident claim would be payable on only one card.
Motwani said, "Pilots, armed forces, police, aircrew are not covered while on duty. They are covered only for a trip which is not a part of his/her professional duties."
3. Loss of travel documents (passport, visa, tickets)
Forex cards can insure you against loss of passport and travel documents. Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar.com said, "The expenses incurred by the forex cardholder is covered for obtaining duplicate passport/personal documents in the course of his/her air travel. Typically, the expenses related to the emergency need has to be settled by the traveller and are later settled by the insurance provider."
4. Missing connecting international flight during transit
If you miss or fail to take a connecting international flight of an international airline due to delay in the arrival of another international flight, then you can claim the cost of buying a new ticket through insurance on the forex card. However, to claim the ticket amount for the second connecting flight, you should have actually boarded the first international flight.
Let us say you are flying from Delhi to London via Dubai. Your flight from Delhi to Dubai gets delayed which led to you missing your connecting flight to London from Dubai. To claim insurance for missed connecting flight to London, you will have to board the the first flight from Delhi to Dubai.
5. Airplane hijacking
If you are travelling abroad via an international airline and the flight gets hijacked, then in such a situation, you can claim for compensation using the insurance on the forex card. However, the insurer will only compensate if you have not been released before 12 hours by the hijackers.
6. Delay in receipt of checked baggage
You will also get reimbursement for the expenses incurred for emergency purchase of basic essential items in the event of a delay in receiving baggage for more than 12 hours from the scheduled arrival time at the destination. This insurance is available only for baggage that has been checked-in by an international airline for an international flight.
Do keep in mind that loss of baggage is not covered; this is covered under travel insurance.
What a card holder should do
While frequent fliers should be aware of and can also use the complimentary insurance policies offered by forex cards, they should also know that these may not be sufficient while travelling abroad.
Shetty said that without travel insurance, it would be unwise to step into a foreign country where you are unlikely to have a support base to fall back on during emergencies. While forex cards offer certain forms of coverage, you may not get health insurance coverage through a bundled complimentary insurance policy. "A health cover is extremely important while travelling to countries like the United States where healthcare is prohibitively expensive. Therefore, it may not be enough to simply depend on bundled complimentary insurance with limited coverage."
It is advisable to get a standalone comprehensive travel insurance policy if you want greater insurance coverage while travelling abroad