Compassionate visit expense is an important feature offered by group travel insurance. If while travelling, the insured gets hospitalized after an accident or illness, any of their family members can travel to stay with him/her at the hospital. The insurer will cover travelling expenses incurred by a family member.
However, a group travel insurer will cover compassionate visit expenses only if the hospitalized insured is alone in a hospital and the number of days in a hospital exceeds the limit specified by the group travel insurance company beforehand. Also, the insurer shall cover only close family members, like parents, spouses, in-laws, etc.
Here is the process that needs to be followed to claim the compassionate visit expense under the group travel insurance policy –
The policyholder is required to file the claim with
the Claim Department as mentioned in its group travel insurance policy document. You can send your documents by email or fax and file your claim immediately once you are back in India. The claim will be settled by the group travel insurer within seven days (or as defined by the group travel insurance company) of having received all the necessary documents.
All the documents related to the claim must be sent as soon as possible within a month of returning to India or the expiry of the policy, whichever is earlier.
Some of the documents that need to be submitted to process the claim are-
- Duly filed and signed claim form
- Overseas doctor certificate specifically stating the necessity of having an attendant
- Passport and Visa copy of attendant with an overseas entry stamp and exit stamp from India
- NEFT form and pre-printed cancelled cheques to prove that the claimant has a bank account in the Indian Bank
- Invoices and bills for supporting the claim amount
- Copy of ticket itinerary
In case your group travel insurance has a deductible limit, you must pay a certain claim amount before the insurer kicks in. In case the group travel insurer accepts the compassionate visit claim, payment will be made only in Indian Rupees.
Note: The above list of documents is only indicative. Please contact your group travel insurer or read the policy document for more information.
Case
As J.L IT had its head office in London, many employees had to make an official trip abroad for official purposes. As travelling was a common trend, the company purchased group travel insurance for all its employees.
Last year, Rahul Saran, one of its senior software engineers went to London on an official tour. However, the cab which he took from the airport to his hotel collided with a truck coming from the other side. Luckily, passersby took Rahul and the driver to a nearby hospital. The initial medical reports of Rahul showed grave head injuries which needed to be operated upon. The hospital staff informed J.L IT with the help of the documents available in his luggage.
As J.L IT had a group travel insurance with it, the company informed the insurer who later contacted its London office to initiate the claim process.
Here in India, when Rahul’s father came to know about his accident, he travelled to London to be at his side in the hospital. After staying hospitalised for 20 days, Rahul was discharged.
Here, the group travel insurance company asked for documents like a medical prescription, doctor’s bill, etc.; and after scrutinizing them, settled the claim amount.
The group travel insurer also helped in covering travel expenses incurred by Rahul’s father. The group travel insurance had a special clause which covered compassionate visit expenses. If the insured is hospitalized, his/her family member can visit him, and the insurer will cover their travelling expenses.
In this case, Rahul’s father travelled to visit him who was alone at the hospital. Rahul knew about this cover in his group travel insurance policy, and therefore, he mailed all the documents related to travelling with his father to the group travel insurer. Some of the documents submitted by Rahul were –
- Duly filled claim form
- Overseas doctor certificate stating the necessity of having an attendant
- A copy of the ticket, etc.
The group travel insurer carefully analysed all the documents and settled the claim under compassionate visit cover.
