Travel insurance for India

No. Travel insurance is not on India's list of entry or e-Visa requirements. The e-Visa portal asks for a passport, a photo, a return or onward ticket and enough money for the stay; insurance is not mentioned. The one health document the Bureau of Immigration does require is a yellow fever vaccination certificate, and only if you arrive from or transit through a country on its yellow fever list (without it you can be quarantined for up to six days).

Not required is not the same as not needed. Governments that advise their own travellers, such as the UK Foreign Office, tell them to check before going that they have insurance for local treatment and unexpected medical evacuation. India's private hospitals are good and expect to be paid; mountain rescue is limited; road accidents are common. A policy is what turns those risks into a phone call instead of a bill.

Read the wording of your policy, not the brochure. These are the lines that matter most for India.

Above about 3,000 m the Himalaya is beautiful and unforgiving: altitude sickness, sudden storms, landslides and rock falls happen in every season. The UK Foreign Office notes that there are no commercial mountain rescue services above 3,000 m, and that in some border areas only the Indian Air Force can fly rescues, with no obligation to do so and only during working hours.

That is why a policy for a Ladakh or high-Himalaya trip needs explicit cover for altitude, rescue and helicopter evacuation, and why the decision to evacuate rests with the insurer, not with you. The CDC is clear on this point: medical evacuation happens at the insurance company's discretion, typically when several more days in hospital or specialised treatment are expected.

Leave your route with your accommodation, travel with a reputable local guide, and keep the assistance number written on paper as well as in your phone: in the mountains there is often no signal.

In big cities, private hospital chains have international patient desks and work to a high standard. They also expect payment: the CDC advises being ready to pay at the time of treatment and claim back later, unless your insurer has arranged direct payment with the hospital.

The order that saves the most trouble:

• Life at risk: call 112 for an ambulance first. Paperwork comes later.
• Stable, but you need a doctor or a hospital: call your insurer's assistance line before you go, or as soon as you are referred. They can name a partner hospital, confirm what is covered and sometimes guarantee payment. The UK Foreign Office also advises contacting the insurer quickly once you are referred to a medical facility.
• Ask whether pre-authorisation is needed before an admission or a procedure. Without it a claim can be cut or refused.

Pharmacies are widely available; the FCDO notes that most medicines that need a prescription at home need one in India too.

Every policy has its own deadlines and forms. The steps below apply almost everywhere.

No brand recommendations here: the right policy is the one whose wording answers yes to what your trip needs.