Every year thousands of Muslims travel to holy lands for Hajj, Umrah, and Ziarat. What worries many pilgrims are emergencies which may happen in a foreign land, and this is valid stress because so much can go wrong during travelling. From losing passports and important documents to medical emergencies, any type of crisis or unforeseen mishap can happen, so it makes sense to have a substitute plan in place. A pilgrim’s spiritual journey should be stress-free from all worldly affairs.
As the times and needs are changing, companies are working aggressively to develop new policies and products to ease the concerns of pilgrims. It is recommended that all the pilgrims take necessary precautions while travelling for their religious expeditions, as the crowds there are huge, and it is common for health emergencies to occur.
Regarding the importance of having comprehensive cover during the pilgrimage, we spoke to Mr. Akif Zia Malik, HOD Corporate Business Solutions, TPL Insurance, about their insurance policy, he said, “While we are in Pakistan, we have family members, friends, or relatives to help us financially in case of any mishaps or unforeseen circumstances but travelling can quickly become challenging in this regard. TPL Insurance focuses on making travel insurance easy and accessible, so our customers are covered, be it for hospitalization, loss of baggage, loss of passport or other travel-related issues. It costs minimal compared to the total cost of the trip but gives 100% peace of mind.”
Travel insurance policies typically provide coverage such as the financial security of the policyholder, whether their trip is 15, 30, or 45 days long. Since this is a specialized product, it not only secures the loss of cash and checked-in baggage but also ensures emergency medical expenses and hospitalization, covering travellers in different types of unfortunate circumstances such as the pilgrim being critically injured or in the event of their death. Shariah Compliant coverages are also available with Takaful options. The premiums can be as low as PKR 200 for 15 days of worry-free travel.
