Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, campaigning Thursday in Mumbai’s Sindhi Colony, announced that a Congress government will raise welfare pensions by ₹5,000 monthly and hike travel-related medical coverage in the annual budget starting 2026-27.
But the BJP’s Maharashtra president Ashish Shelar countered from Dadar-Elphinstone on April 2: “No opposition can promise ₹15 lakh health cashless cards without slashing defence pensions, which fund 60% of hospital costs.” Shelar cited RBI’s March 2026 data showing pension outlays rose 18% in FY26 alone.
Under the INDIA bloc plan, travel insurance riders will pay up to ₹50 lakh for international trips and ₹10 lakh for domestic trips starting FY27. The current cap is ₹20 lakh across both brackets. “For a family of four flying to Bali on 15 August 2026, that’s an extra ₹1.2 lakh cover,” said Mumbai-based insurer Max Bupa’s regional head Priya Shah on Friday.
The BJP instead offered Metro Rail extensions: Pune’s ₹7,800 crore project (MoU signed 12 March 2026) and Ahmedabad’s ₹5,400 crore link (letter of award dated 29 February) will start trials on 14 August 2026 and 2 January 2027 respectively.
Travel insurance jumps to the front because global flight cancellations hit a five-year high in Q1 2026, per IATA filings. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International saw 284 delays longer than six hours in March 2026—each delay costs airlines ₹35 lakh in payouts.
And Star Health Insurance began marketing a ₹2 lakh ‘Pandemic Delay’ rider on 1 April 2026 after WHO’s March 2026 risk update flagged new sub-variants in SEA routes. Policy uptake jumped 34% in Mumbai’s Santacruz suburbs where stranded passengers filed 623 claims in March, up from 178 in June 2025.
For pilgrims, the new covers double the accidental death payout to ₹20 lakh if the policy is bought seven days before travel, effective 10 April 2026. For example, a ₹1,249 premium policy from Religare covers ₹20 lakh death plus ₹5 lakh medical for ₹17 lakh trips.
Travel agents in Delhi’s Khan Market block booked 40% more policies after the BJP and Congress clash over Metro announcements. “We saw 1,200 retail trips on 31 March after Congress flagged a ₹5,000 pension bonus—applications poured in,” said Khan Market travel agent Arjun Seth, who imports Niva Bupa policies for ₹699 each.
But the budget math remains murky. Congress’ proposed pension hike costs ₹78,000 crore versus a ₹32,000 crore tourism revival fund announced by the NDA government on 28 February 2026. In contrast, the tourism fund allocated ₹14,500 crore to reimburse travel insurance policyholders whose trips were canceled due to visa denials in 2025.
Delayed commissions stalk the sector: On 20 March 2026, the All India Association of Travel Agents (AIATA) complained to IRDAI that HDFC Ergo still owes ₹12 crore in commissions for 42,000 policies issued between October and December 2025.
And Mumbai’s Phoenix Marketcity saw 37 cancelled flights on 29 March 2026—Star Health processed 94 claims that day alone, highest in FY26. Each claim averaged ₹1,310, taking 48 hours to settle due to failed reimbursement payouts from lenders like Bank of Baroda.
Still, insurers are banking on niche covers. Bharti AXA launched a ₹1 lakh ‘Pet Evacuation’ add-on on 1 April 2026 after Air India carried 5,400 Unaccompanied Minor pets in Q4 2025 versus 3,200 in FY24.
The gap between pledges and wallets widens daily. Congress’ ₹15 lakh health card will cost ₹2,400 per family annually, while current travel policies average ₹1,250 for domestic and ₹3,800 for international covers. The manifesto omits co-pay clauses, leaving financiers in a bind.
Wednesday closed with a market shock: Max Life slashed travel insurance commissions by 22% across retail channels starting 4 April 2026, citing “adverse claims ratios” of 112% in Q4 2025.
