Cover for foreign shores

Two new insurance policies are in place for students going abroad. Smita Tripathi surveys what's on offer

In two weeks, Swati Gupta, 23, is leaving for the US to pursue a masters degree at Carnegie Mellon.

Besides packing all the essentials like books, clothes and shoes, she has also packed an overseas student insurance policy from Tata AIG.

Says Gupta, "After one month, the school will provide me with an insurance policy but I need to protect myself in the interim since medical expenses in the US are very high."

Knowing how such issues are critical, Tata AIG and ICICI Lombard have recently introduced overseas student insurance policies for students in the 16 to 35 age group, who are enrolled and attending a full-time course at a registered educational institution outside India.

These policies differ from the regular overseas travel insurance policies, as they are available for anywhere between 30 days to a year. The travel insurance policies, on the other hand, are available for a maximum of six months.

Besides offering cover for regular items like medical, personal accident and loss of baggage, both Tata AIG's ScholarCare and ICICI Lombard's Globe Trotter policies offer cover for various other things.

They provide for your bail if you are locked behind bars and cover your educational expenses in case of death or permanent disablement of your sponsor.

In case of your death on foreign shores, they cover the expenses of transporting your remains to India.

A unique feature of these policies is the cover for compassionate visit. In case you are hospitalised for seven consecutive days, the insurance company will cover the cost of a round-trip economy class air ticket and accommodation expenses for an immediate family member to be with you. Similarly, if either of your parents is taken critically ill, you can visit them in India.

Tata AIG's ScholarCare policy offers three different plans "" classic, executive and premium. All plans provide medical cover between $50,000 to $200,000; baggage loss up to $1,000 and personal liability cover up to $100,000; study interruption up to $7,500; compassionate visit up to $7,000; bail bond up to $5,000 and sponsor protection up to $10,000.

The classic plan does not provide personal accident cover while the other two provide insurance cover up to $200,000 for personal accident.

Also, the classic plan can be bought for a minimum of 90 days. The premium for the Classic plan is much lower than the Executive and Premium plan.

Similarly, ICICI Lombard's Globe Trotter policy has two plans "" classic and elite. The classic policy only provides medical cover up to $250,000, dental treatment up to $250 and repatriation of remains up to $ 7,000.

The Elite policy besides these also provides bail bond up to $5,000; study interruption up to $7,500; baggage loss up to $1,000; personal liability up to $100,000; personal accident up to $25,000, sponsor protection up to $10,000 and compassionate visit up to $7,500.

Again the premium for the classic plan is much lower than the elite plan.

Both the Globe Trotter and the ScholarCare have two categories "" excluding the Americas and including the Americas.

The premium for the US and Canada is around 25 per cent higher in case of the Globe Trotter, and almost 40 per cent to 50 per cent higher in case of ScholarCare.

Tata AIG has tied up with Thomas Cook from where you can easily buy the policy. You are only required to fill a form and make the payment. The policy comes into effect from the day of departure.

Similarly, ICICI Lombard has tied up with various travel agents across the country who can issue you the policy online.

So with your insurance policy in place, studying abroad will take care of many of the issues that you hadn't even thought of.