Middle-east-bound travellers struggle to buy travel insurance

Indian travellers planning to fly to the countries in the war-affected Middle Eastern region are finding it tough to buy travel insurance policies since the United States-Israel-Iran hostilities broke out on February 28.

War and war-like situations are standard exclusions in travel insurance policies. That is, losses directly attributable to wars, whether declared or not, are usually not covered, but active policies can pay for, say, hospitalisation not linked to the conflicts.

However, insurance brokers say several insurers have, in recent days, declined requests to issue fresh policies to travellers intending to visit the Middle East. "Many insurers are now refusing to issue new travel insurance policies to travellers headed to the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, among others, in view of the war-linked risks. Only a few insurers are still willing to sell fresh policies," says chartered accountant Mayank Gosar, a Mumbai-based insurance consultant.


Insurers took this call soon after Israel and the US launched an offensive against Iran on February 28, which triggered retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region, say insurance intermediaries. Flights to and from the Middle East are facing disruptions, as airport operations continue to be affected. "Withdrawing coverages from conflict-affected zones is a standard practice in travel insurance. Many insurance companies have now blacklisted the impacted zones," says Meet Kapadia, Business Head, Travel Insurance, Policybazaar.com.

Those intending to travel to Europe, which is not directly impacted, and to transit through the Gulf region will have to ascertain the applicability of their coverage at the time of purchase. "Travel insurance covers will be applicable for destinations countries in such cases, but will not cover any event impacted directly or indirectly due to act of aggression or war," adds Kapadia.

Travel insurance policies, even after they are issued, do not cover trip cancellations, interruptions, evacuations, or injuries resulting from wars or invasions. However, if a traveller has to be hospitalised due to illness, the travel policy will cover the expenses.

The cover will remain in force for exigencies such as illnesses, accidents, airline strikes, technical issues, weather disruptions and natural calamities. "The exclusion only comes into play when a disruption is directly caused by large-scale hostilities like war, invasion or rebellion events that are beyond the normal scope of travel contingencies," he adds.