Issuers of currency cards are generally affiliated with the insurance companies to provide insurance coverage on currency cards.
Sudarshan Motwani, founder of BookMyForex, said, “The insurance coverage in most of the forex card protects the holder against card loss and its misuse and often comes in handy in crisis situations.” He said, “Most of the banks’ currency cards also provide insurance coverage in the event of accidental death, loss of luggage and personal documents, hijacking, lack of a coherent international flight and lost card liability insurance.”
The following are the different types of supplementary insurance coverage that are mostly gathered along with the currency card.
Coverage of lost card liability insurance
This coverage is against counterfeit / fraudulent / phishing / online transactions and loss of currency cards. The insurance coverage is generally between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh. Fraud or theft that occurs at ATMs abroad is also covered, but one must check whether ATM withdrawal in the event of the lost or stolen card is covered by the policy.
For example, a forex card issued by Axis Bank according to its website covers lost / stolen / counterfeit cards up to Rs 1.5 lakh. ATM withdrawal in case of lost or stolen card is not covered by the policy. Similarly, ICICI Bank’s currency cards do not cover PIN-based transactions (ATM, telephone).
Som pr. HDFC Bank’s website provides insurance against unauthorized transactions on the currency card.
“An FIR is mandatory for ATM attacks and robberies. There is a certain duration where one has to report his loss to claim the sum insured,” Motwani said.
2. Personal coverage of the air accident
If you die in a plane crash on a scheduled airline (ie regular domestic or international airlines) as defined in the policy terms and conditions, the nominee will receive the insurance claim. Insurance benefit is available to holders of the forex cards that provide this facility. Even if you have several currency cards, the personal claim for an air accident is only paid on one card.
Motwani said: “Pilots, armed forces, police, flight crews are not covered while on duty. They are only covered for a trip that is not part of his / her professional duties.”
Loss of travel documents (passports, visas, tickets)
Forex cards can insure you against loss of passports and travel documents. Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar.com said, “The expenses incurred by the forex cardholder are covered to obtain double passport / personal documents during his / her flights. Typically, the expenses of the emergency need to be settled. By the traveler and later settled by the insurance company. ”
4. Lack of connection between international air travel 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, you may claim the cost of purchasing a new ticket through insurance on the forex card. However, in order to claim the amount of the ticket for the second connecting flight, you should have boarded the first international flight.
Let’s say you fly from Delhi to London via Dubai. Your flight from Delhi to Dubai is delayed, which resulted in you losing your connecting flight to London from Dubai. To claim insurance for lost connecting flight to London, board the first flight from Delhi to Dubai.
5. Hijacking
If you travel abroad via an international airline and the flight is hijacked, in such a situation you can claim compensation using the insurance on the currency card. However, the insurance company only compensates if you are not released before the captains within 12 hours.
6. Delay of receipt or checked baggage
You will also be reimbursed for expenses incurred for emergency purchases of basic items in case of delay in receiving luggage for more than 12 hours from the scheduled time of arrival at the destination. This insurance is only available for baggage checked in by an international airline for an international flight.
Remember that loss of luggage is not covered. this is covered by travel insurance.
What a cardholder should do
While frequent flyers need to be aware of and also be able to use the free insurance policies offered by currency cards, they also need to know that these may not be sufficient while traveling abroad.
Shetty said that without travel insurance, it would be unwise to step into a foreign country where you are not likely to have a support base to fall back on during emergencies. While currency cards offer certain types of coverage, you may not get coverage for a health insurance through a comprehensive free insurance policy. “Health coverage is extremely important when traveling to countries like the United States, where health care is disproportionately expensive. Therefore, it may not be enough to simply depend on a comprehensive free insurance policy with limited coverage.”
It is recommended to get an independent comprehensive travel insurance if you want greater insurance coverage while traveling abroad