Indians lack evacuation cover: Kumar
Insurance doesn’t cover the costs of evacuation in case of emergency for Indians, whereas in case of foreigners, it is taken care of. Akshay Kumar, President, ATOAI sheds light on insurance rules in foreign nations.
Natural
disasters don’t come with prior warning, while most of the times,
Nothing has come our way from insurance companies that can serve our clients effectively during the emergency situations
they lead to massive sufferings for people in the region, especially tourism industry. The utmost priority in such circumstances is to evacuate people from the spot of natural disaster. Here, Akshay Kumar, President, ATOAI, says that lack of evacuation cover for Indians poses a great difficulty.
“Our members at the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) accord top priority to safety of all our guests. Our guests don’t come to our camps, or use our services without adequate insurance cover, just to be prepared for even unforeseen circumstances. However, a typical insurance cover doesn’t cover the costs of evacuation in case of emergency for India,” said Kumar. “In case of foreigners, insurance covers emergency evac- uation. We have spoken to a lot of insurance companies and deliberated on extension of insurance cover in cases of evacuation that result due to unforeseen circumstances. Unfortunately, nothing has come our way so far that could equip us to serve our clients effectively even during the emergency situations,” he added. Going forward, ATOAI is keen to brainstorm on the said aspect with relevant stakeholders in the insurance industry and policy makers, so that the interests of Indian tourists are safeguarded.