Why take out travel insurance abroad? How and where to buy, arrange it? What it is? You will find answers to these and other questions in our article.
What is international travel insurance
Travel insurance is a document that a traveler must complete before going abroad. He guarantees reimbursement of the cost of treatment, transportation home, in the event of accidents, illness or other unforeseen circumstances. By law, insurance is voluntary, but every tourist knows that it is impossible to obtain a visa document without a travel insurance policy.
Types of travel insurance policies
It should be noted that the insurance covers the costs only in those insured events for which it was issued. Consequently, insurance policies differ from each other and are divided into several types:
- Travel cancellation insurance. This insurance document comes into force if the trip was canceled due to a number of unforeseen circumstances. Then the amount of the damage caused is repaid.
- Luggage insurance means reimbursement of the cost of luggage and things that were in it when stolen or damaged during the trip.
- Accident insurance, when the cost of treatment or transportation of the injured person is reimbursed.
- A green card is a special type of insurance document, issued by motorists, provides compensation for damage to road transport and other incidents that occur with the insured car.
- Sports insurance. It is issued by motorists, divers, climbers and other people whose activities are associated with the risk of being injured.
- Medical insurance. It is issued without fail for traveling abroad. Provides examination, treatment on the territory of a foreign state in case of health problems during the validity of the document.
Travel insurance covers only those cases that are covered by it. Often this is an examination, inpatient or outpatient treatment on the territory of a foreign state, transportation to the homeland. It should be emphasized that the insurance document does not apply to accidents that occurred with the insured person during his voluntary participation in hostilities, mass riots, during alcohol or drug intoxication or attempted suicide.
How to buy travel insurance
Insurance can be obtained online or by direct contact with the insurance company. Let's consider each case.
Buy an insurance policy online
The most convenient way to get an insurance policy is to order it online. The insured will spend a minimum of time and effort, and will receive the necessary document in a short time. To issue this type of insurance document, you must fill out a questionnaire on the website of the insurance company, in which you need to specify information about the trip and the insured person.
Trip data:
- insurance product: standard or economy
- country of visit
- activities during the period of validity of the policy: active rest, winter active rest, extreme rest, occupational risk, sports
- insurance period
- full days of insurance
- insurance coverage
Information about the insured person:
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- contact phone number and email address
By filling in the fields, the system will calculate the cost of the insurance document, after which the required amount is paid using a bank card or by other means (if any). After payment, an insurance policy is sent to the email address, which contains full information about the type of insurance, cases of damage compensation. There is also a contact phone number for communication in case of emergency.
Buy a policy at the office of an insurance company
In this case, the registration of the insurance document takes place at the office of the insurance company. You must have an internal or foreign passport, as well as an identification number. The service employee receives information from the insured person about the country and the purpose of the visit, the number of days of stay, after which he advises a suitable package of services, calculates the price of insurance. The whole process takes no more than five minutes, a fairly convenient option for issuing an insurance document.
Travel insurance cost
The following factors will affect the cost of a health insurance document:
- host country
- type and type of insurance
- number of days of stay in the country
To travel from Russia to the CIS, Egypt or Turkey, you need to draw up a medical insurance document that would cover the cost of 15 thousand euros. In this case, the cost of emergency medical care, dental treatment (not exceeding 100 euros) is covered, and the use of medical equipment is paid. In some cases, transportation of the injured person to the country of nationality is paid if the amount of transportation does not exceed 5 thousand euros. Registration of a travel document for a day of stay in a foreign country is $ 1, with active rest - $ 1.5 per day. To travel to all countries of the world, except for the United States of America, New Zealand, Canada and Australia, you need to issue a medical insurance document with a coverage amount of 30 thousand euros. The insurance covers the occurrence of such unforeseen events as illness, injury, etc. Similarly with countries, the coverage of 15 thousand euros includes medical care, dental treatment, transportation to the place of treatment or diagnosis. The cost of paperwork for a regular tourist vacation is $ 1.2, for an active vacation - $ 1.6.
In order to cover expenses in any part of the world, it is worth issuing a medical insurance document that covers the cost of 50 thousand euros. The list of medical services is similar, except that the transportation of the victim is carried out at a cost of up to 10 thousand euros.
The most complete range of medical care is provided upon the execution of an insurance document covering the cost of 100 thousand euros. The package of services is expanding, this also includes the evacuation of children, early return from a tourist trip, legal assistance on the territory of a foreign state. The amount for an insurance document per day of travel for a regular tourist visit to the country will be $ 2, when visiting the country for the purpose of outdoor activities - $ 3. It is necessary to take into account the fact that the cost of the insurance document increases for persons who have reached the age of 65 years. The cost of insurance per day increases by 2 times for the age of the traveler from 65 to 75 years old, and increases 3 times at the age of 75 years. The recalculation of the insured value of the document is also carried out for children and pregnant women.
Countries that do not require travel insurance
A number of countries do not require medical insurance to enter. These include:
- United Arab Emirates
- Egypt
- Turkey
- Thailand
- Insurance is not required when traveling to Canada and Australia, however, in this case, the Embassy has the right to refuse to obtain a visa document.
In case of refusal from insurance, the tourist himself is responsible for life and health, and, accordingly, the possible treatment will have to be paid in full.Therefore, travel agencies are usually advised to take out a policy that covers the minimum cost of treatment.
Medical insurance for travel to the countries of the European Union
The European Union has special requirements for medical insurance policy. The following conditions must be met:
- insurance coverage of 30 thousand euros
- validity of the insurance document throughout the European Union
- validity of the insurance document for the entire period of the trip
- Some countries have an additional requirement for an insurance document. For example, to enter Denmark and Germany, the insurance period must exceed the number of days of stay by two weeks, otherwise there is a risk of refusal in the visa document
In order to correctly issue insurance to the country of entry, you must familiarize yourself with the document requirements described on the Embassy's website. The most complete and correct information can be obtained from official sources.
Happy travel!
