The Why and How of Travel Insurance: My Best Practices

Do we travellers need travel insurance? Is it worth paying that insurance premium every time we go on a business trip or holiday? Well, in my personal experience, it definitely helps. In fact, I advocate having a travel insurance plan for all your trips. I am sure you might have a lot of questions regarding buying an insurance plan for your travels and that is precisely the idea behind this article. This article aims at breaking down the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of the travel insurance ecosystem while providing you with a list of best practices based on my personal travel experience. Hopefully, through this article you don’t have to lose your passport, miss your flight or face an emergency to learn about the benefits of having a good travel insurance.



Why do you need Travel Insurance?

1) To Leave your Headaches Behind

Like most insurance plans, the idea of travel insurance is to cover your backside in case of any trouble or emergency. Such an emergency may or may not happen, but having a travel insurance plan will solve most of your worries in case an unforeseen event takes place. Such an event could be theft, flight cancellation, lost baggage, loss of passport, natural calamity, medical emergency or even death as a worst case scenario. Having a travel insurance plan could provide you with a helping hand and/or financial assistance.

2) To Mitigate the Risks of Flight Cancellations

Long flight delays or even cancellations are not within our control. But, this might lead to missing connecting flights, losing out on hotel bookings and causing financial turmoil. We all go on holidays to relax and have a good time. Financial headaches are the last thing we want to deal with during our holiday. The right travel insurance plan compensates financially for such events and thereby returning some peace of mind in tough situations.

3) To Handle Medical Emergency

No one wishes to fall sick or meet with an accident during our holiday trips, but such events do take place from time to time. In my travels, I have been bitten by a dog, cut my leg on a coral reef, been badly bitten by sand flies, fallen from a mountain, contracted mysterious fever, suffered umpteen bouts of stomach flu and many other instances where I had to seek urgent medical help. And this kind of medical help was way beyond the purview of my well stocked travel first aid kit. I have even known friends and fellow travellers who have suffered road accidents, been stung by jelly fish and some who found themselves at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Thankfully, all of them had a good travel insurance plan to bail them out.

A travel insurance plan with solid medical coverage is a no-brainer if you have any known medical conditions that might surface during your holiday.

4) To Help with Emergency Evacuation

You might be stuck on top of a mountain with a broken leg or be stuck at sea on a cruise ship or need urgent medical help that is available only in a different country. All of these situations call for emergency evacuation. Not all travel insurance plans cover this in depth, but depending on your destination, the type of activity that you intend to indulge in and some other parameters, you can take a call on including this in your insurance cover.

5) To Provide Help to your Family and Friends in case of your Accidental Death

Death is a mystery. We all know that. We hear of plane crashes, train or road accidents and many other terrible events. God forbid if something happens to you during your travels, your near and dear ones will definitely be worried. Travel insurance cannot give your life back, but it can give some peace to your family and friends by transporting your final remains from the place of death to your home city/country. And depending on your insurance plan and cover, your dependants might also receive a financial settlement in a manner similar to having a term life insurance plan.

How to Choose your Travel Insurance Plan

Now that you have decided to buy a travel insurance plan, choosing one is definitely a big headache. There are so many insurance service providers out there with each one offering so many features and functionalities that we tend to get utterly confused. Add to it the financial and legal jargon and the so called fine print and we have a travel planner’s worst nightmare. It is easiest to choose the cheapest service provider, but it might not be the most prudent choice. The below best practices will certainly help you nail the travel insurance plan that best suits your trip’s needs in a matter of a few minutes.

1) Find out if the Insurance Provider services your Destination Country

This might sound like a lame best practice, but it is something that I would check properly and not take for granted. I learnt it the hard way. There are many countries where mainstream insurance players do not have coverage. I do not know why this happens, but it most certainly does. For example, while buying the insurance for my holiday to Iran, I found out that only 2 of the 30 travel insurance service providers from India provide coverage there. And neither of them were the companies that I usually opt for.

2) Citizenship versus International

Certain insurance players only service citizens of the country while others service the citizens of the world. Let me explain with an example. In India, certain insurance players are allowed by law to provide insurance plans to Indian citizens only. A foreign national cannot come and buy himself an insurance policy from a domestic insurance service provider. However, these insurance players provide coverage across many countries.

3) Yet to Travel or Already Traveling

Again, a complicated rule that is applicable in some countries. Some insurance service providers cover people only if their trip has not begun as yet and do not cover trips that are already in progress. Depending on your requirement, choose wisely.

4) Choose an Appropriate Financial Coverage

Most travel insurance companies provide a wide range of financial coverage. Some call it bronze, silver, gold or platinum, while others are transparent and put the actual $$$ sums next to the coverage value. It is important to choose the right coverage as an increasing cover increases your insurance premium. My standard practice is to start with the basic plan and bump my financial cover up if I say ‘YES to the following:

a) If I am traveling to an expensive country. Expensive countries mean expensive healthcare, expensive hotels, expensive flights and expensive other things.

b) If I am traveling with an existing medical condition. An existing medical condition might need urgent medical assistance during your holiday.

c) If your financial liabilities towards the trip is high. Business class tickets, 5 star hotel rooms and/or expensive tours, especially if non-refundable call for a higher insurance coverage as you will stand to lose the most in case of an unforeseen circumstance.

d) If you foresee any emergency evacuation. It could be the weather, your health or simply your gut feeling.

One can always opt for the highest insurance coverage for peace of mind. But, it might not be an option if you are budget conscious.

5) Round the Clock Customer Service in the Language of your Choice

This is a requirement that most travellers take for granted, but this is one area where I have faced the most hurdles. In times of dire need, the last thing you want is to come across a customer service representative who doesn’t seem to speak your language of choice. It has happened to me quite a few times and it has left me fuming and scratching my head in frustration. Personally, I prefer an insurance provider who offers 24x7 customer support, 365 days a year and in English language wherever I go.

6) Adventure Travel or High Risk Activities

As a thumb rule, standard travel insurance plans do not cover any high risk activities such as scuba diving, sky diving, mountain climbing, rock climbing, snow boarding, racing, sailing or the likes. If you think you will be indulging in an adventure or a high risk activity, it is best to mention that to your insurance service provider and opt for a separate insurance plan. This will definitely cost you more, but you will offer you peace of mind. After all, it is not worth the headache of legally jostling with an insurance company over your claim. If your insurance company does not provide such plans, opt for ones that specialize in high risk insurance plans.

Final Words

Hopefully, you are a self acclaimed travel insurance expert by now. Go on and enjoy peace of mind while going on your next holiday by leveraging these best practices. And, if you think, you have a few pointers in choosing that perfect travel insurance plan, please do share it with me and all the readers.

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10 Currency Exchange Best Practices for all International Travelers

Lots of international travelers find managing currencies a pain. Some even find it mind boggling. In my travels, I see many people make classic currency conversion mistakes and hence lose out on their hard earned money. I have seen many get cheated too. Traveling and exploring places is something that all of us should experience and I believe that petty problems such as getting visas or managing foreign exchange should not come in the way.



To solve all your currency exchange, currency conversion or foreign exchange problems for your international travels, I have laid out 10 simple and personally tried and tested best practices that you can leverage during your future leisure or business trips. I am pretty sure that after following these best practices, your foreign exchange and international currency issues will be history.

1) Keep it simple – Don’t convert into too many currencies

In my travels, I have seen people buy a lot of US Dollars, Euros or Pounds while travelling to countries that have a different currency. This is essentially a stupid idea. I say this because, we lose 3.5% as currency conversion charge for every single conversion we make. The more the conversions, the more we tend to lose. Add to it, the local taxes and bank/exchange fees and you face a hefty loss.

Let me explain this with an example: Say, I am traveling to Thailand or Turkey, 2 popular destinations for Indians. Say, I want to convert 100 Indian National Rupees. If you convert them straight to Thai Baht or Turkish Lira, it is a single currency conversion. Hence, you lose only 3.5 INR, which means, you receive Thai Baht or Turkish Lira worth 96.5 Indian Rupees. This is a straightforward and sensible option. Now, let’s assume that you are converting 100 Rupees into US Dollars first, you get US Dollars worth 96.5 Rupees after deducting the currency conversion charge. Now, you arrive in Bangkok or Istanbul and convert those US Dollars into Thai Baht or Turkish Lira, you end up getting currency worth 93 rupees after deducting another 3.5% as currency conversion charge. I am assuming that you get the drift.

I prefer to take universal foreign currency like US Dollars only for the following: visa fees, emergency funds, countries where ATMs don’t accept international ATM cards and for transactions where I will end up paying directly in US Dollars. For everything else, I prefer converting directly to the local currency.

2) Leverage your international Debit/ATM card

For some weird reason, I see a lot of Indians not leverage their international debit/ATM cards issued by the banks in India. They still opt for hard cash. I somehow don’t see a lot of sense in this, as carrying too much cash on person always ends up compromising personal safety. Using your debit/ATM card gives you the flexibility to withdraw as and when required. Of course, you do lose out on a small amount that the bank charges as international handling fees. These fees vary from as low as 150 rupees to 500 rupees per transaction. And then, there is the 3.5% currency conversion charge that is universal and is applied even to foreign exchange offices.

To avoid hefty bank fees, I avail the following travel hacks:
a) Find your bank’s partner in the country where you are visiting and end up using their ATM: This typically leads to better exchange rates and lower bank charges

b) Instead of many small transactions, I withdraw sizable amounts, but not very heavy amounts. This reduces the percentage of my overall loss.

3) Use your Credit Card for big ticket transactions

For heavy spends and international shopping, I prefer to use my international credit card. First, they always give me a better rate and second, they have always given me the comfort factor during online or retail frauds, which are quite commonplace in many countries. And, I don’t have to fret over carrying too much cash on my person.

4) Never Exchange at the Airport

Again, a classic mistake committed by both rookie and experienced travellers. Even though everyone knows that airports provide the worst exchange rates, they still end up exchanging their money at airports. This is fine, if you do not wish to carry that small currency at the end of your trip to your home country. But, it is not at all alright to exchange large wads of cash at these counters.

This is what I recommend:

a) Convert only that amount that you desperately need (this could be for your visa fees, taxi fare or till you reach a bank or ATM in the city)

2) If you prefer cash, convert all of your money inside the city. This will always give you better exchange rates than the airport, but you will need to keep aside some time for this.

3) Even better, use your debit/ATM/credit cards. That way, you can completely avoid foreign exchange counters.

5) Use XE Currency Converter to know latest currency conversions

1 US Dollar is equal to 22,302 Vietnamese Dong. 1 USD is equal to 10,000 Indonesian Rupee. 1 Euro is equal to 35,000 Irani Rial. 1 Indian Rupee is equal to 100 Jordanian Dinar. Sometimes, currency conversions can confuse even the best of mathematical minds. I pride myself in my mathematical strength, but sometimes, I end up scratching my head too. Which is why, I love to use the XE Currency Converter (available on both Android and iOS). This XE currency converter allows me to convert 10 currencies the way I want it or the way I like it. All I need is a data connection on my phone or a wi-fi connection at my hotel or home to download the latest forex rates. XE has been a big life saver many times during my travels.

6) Never count your money in public

For someone who grew up in small Indian towns, I was always taught not to count my money in public. I take this practice into my travels, but I have seen travelers who struggle because they don’t do that. When you count your wads of cash in public, you can become an easy mark for anti social elements and this compromises safety and can lead to bad situations.

Having said that, I do recommend that you count your money properly when you exchange at banks or currency exchange offices. It only takes an extra minute to do so.

7) Opt for Forex Friendly Debit Cards or Travel Cards

In India, many banks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank offer pre-loaded forex cards that you can use to withdraw in many popular currencies such as US Dollar, Euro, Pound, Singapore Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, etc. Transactions made using this forex card does not attract any bank charges. All you have to do is buy this card from your bank for a fixed price and you can keep topping up as required.

Do note that for countries that have currencies different from the ones offered on your forex card, it might not be useful and you might have to opt for the traditional route of cash or debit/ATM or credit cards.

8) Opt for Low Fee Travel Friendly Debit/ATM/Credit Cards

Internationally, there are many banks that offer traveler friendly Debit/ATM/Credit cards. These cards enjoy a wider bank network across the world, charge very low or sometimes even nil international transaction charges and end up giving you the best exchange rate. Generally, these cards attract an annual maintenance fee or you need to keep a higher account balance. If I were you, I would check with my bank and see if they offer anything along those lines.

9) Stay away from the Black Market

Us travelers seem to love black markets for better conversion rates. This is alright if it is your home city and you have excellent contacts. However, this might not be an intelligent option in an alien land. You might end up receiving counterfeit notes, you might be cheated in other ways or worse, you might get caught in some trouble. Stay away from the black market if you can. Or hope that your stars are shining bright above your head.

10) US Dollar is the safest foreign currency to carry

The greenback or the US Dollar is possibly the strongest travel currency. Whether you are in the developed part of the world, the developing or the really poor countries, there is always huge demand and hence great value for money for the US Dollar. It is not always the case with say Euro, Pound, Australian Dollar, Singapore Dollar, Canadian Dollar or any of those other popular and strong currencies. Personally, I always prefer to carry US Dollars with me for emergency funds, visa fees, in countries where my ATM card doesn’t work or where I intend to purchase something in US Dollars.

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