Time to read fine print

This ain’t about the she’s-got-a-ticket-to-ride-but-she-don’t-care genre. Let Beatlemania and the 60s tackle that lot. Today, she better be sure of the ticket she buys before boarding that airplane.

Many a crash, drunk and sleepy pilots, technical snags and grounding episodes in the recent past now act in concert as a wake-up call for the air traveler. She must take care too by reading the fine print across available insurance covers — either from insurance companies or credit card issuers, or for that matter, the airline itself, which sadly doesn't quite cover insurance.

First, let’s zoom in on what airlines have on offer once you buy that ticket. Behind the ticket, in microscopic font, you’ll come across certain terms and conditions, which may prod you to believe that your flight insurance is well taken care of. Well, that’s just a ‘condition of carriage’, a regulation all airlines have to adhere to.

“The condition of carriage outlines the rights of a passenger, rather than his insurability,” says Hitesh Patel, executive vice-president, Kingfisher Airlines. The clause covers death if the plane crashes. That’s all. And on domestic routes, on account of death, the sum assured varies between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 8 lakh ranging from kids to adults. It's pretty much the same for international carriers. “You have to buy insurance separately. We just go by the condition of carriage,” echoes Nisha Maharaja, regional manager, Indian subcontinent, American Airlines.

Credit card companies divvy up the coverage amounts depending on the quality of card you possess. So for basic cardholders, the coverage will be far lesser than for the platinum or super-premium frat. Usually, for air accidents leading to death, the assured sums vary from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore. “We cover up to Rs 1 crore for our Platinum cardholders but only if the air ticket is purchased through the credit card. Otherwise, we cover up to Rs 40 lakh on the same,” says Amit Datta, VP-marketing, American Express. However, if you hold a free credit card, (ie if you are not paying the annual charges on it) it does not cover insurance anymore.

All that noise about death is sheer compensation. But you don’t fly to die, do you? En route point A to B, hazards abound in the garb of risks and they all need to be covered. Accidents may cause dismemberment, partial or permanent, there could be an emergency medical evacuation, flight delays and misses, loss of tickets and the list goes on. In such cases, general insurance companies toss up airline travel covers, which fan an umbrella over both life and death-both domestically and in the international circuit.

For domestic air travel, most insurance majors look into accidental death and permanent disability, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation — if the traveler dies in transit and the coffin needs to be brought to his/her hometown. Accommodation charges owing to flight delays, compensation for missed flights, loss of ticket, loss and disfiguration of baggage, besides a host of real covers are add-ons. That is, you’ve got to pay more for bundling. And if you thought food poisoning on board was covered, think again. Your best bet — sue the airline over sushi!

Foreign travel insurance covers are slightly more comprehensive. Apart from all the domestic fixtures, including the add-ons, hospitalisation, delay of checked baggage, loss of passport, legal liability during overseas travel and hijack covers dot the skyline. “

Foreign travel insurance is quite exhaustive and even includes emergency cash advance if you’ve lost your credit card,” points out a Bajaj Allianz official. In overseas travel, the risks weigh more on the medical and emergency side, and therefore, the costs show a northward skew. But stale food will continue to pale you. We recommend you sue the airline over sushi once again.