TRAVEL Health Insurance

A Complete Guide to Travel Insurance

It’s fun to plan for a trip. We look forward to new adventures, relaxing, and everything else that comes with being on a vacation. But, there’s always the possibility of something going wrong. That’s why travel health insurance is so important.

Food poisoning or a rolled ankle during a hike can ruin any vacation. And medical bills can quickly become really expensive. A single day in the hospital in the USA can cost over €1,000, and a medical return transport from Greece can cost almost €18,000. Therefore, it’s a good idea to consider getting travel health insurance.

Good travel insurance costs less than €10 per year. And you can get insurance in less than 5 minutes online! This guide on travel insurance has all the information you need!

Table of Contents:

1. Why should I get travel health insurance?
2. What’s Covered
3. What’s Not Covered
4. Cost of Travel Insurance
5. What To Pay Attention To
   • Travel Duration
   • Scope
   • Reimbursement
   • Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
   • Transportation
6. BEST Travel Health Insurance Company
7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why should I get travel health insurance?

You should get travel insurance because medical care in another country can cost hundreds, or even thousands, of euros. And you never know when you might need medical care! Travel insurance that covers transporting you home and medical expenses is crucial. And good travel insurance will cover you globally!

Furthermore, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is not an alternative to travel insurance. First, you only have the EHIC if you are insured through the public (state) healthcare system in your home country. And it is only valid in Member States of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. The EHIC does not cover everything that travel insurance covers. For example, the EHIC will not pay for your transportation home if you fall seriously ill or suffer a serious accident. For this, you would need travel insurance.

2. What’s Covered

Good travel insurance includes worldwide protection and cover medical treatments, medical aids, and transportation costs. However, the type of treatments, medical aids and transportation costs depends on which travel insurance company you choose. In addition, a good travel insurance company will cover your children up to age 21.

3. What’s Not Covered

Make sure you check what exactly your travel insurance covers. For example, your travel insurance might not automatically cover adventure sports, winter sports and other “dangerous activities” as part of the standard premium. Therefore, you may need to pay extra for this type of coverage. Some travel insurance companies do not cover all pre-existing medical conditions. Lastly, not all travel insurance companies continue to cover medical costs after you’re back in your home country.

4. How Much It Costs

Travel insurance is not very expensive! In fact, with Getsafe you can get really good travel insurance for €10 per year.

5. What To Pay Attention To

Duration

Pay attention to how long your travel health insurance is valid. Most travel insurance companies cover 56 consecutive days of travel. However, some insurance companies will only cover up to 42 consecutive days of travel. How often you travel per year does not matter – the days are not added together.

Scope

It is important that your travel insurance is valid in the country where you are traveling. Some travel insurance companies include worldwide protection while others only cover certain regions. In addition, a good travel insurance will cover both personal and business travel.

Reimbursement

Your travel insurance company should fully reimburse all necessary medical services. A good travel insurance company will reimburse you for medically required treatments including inpatient and outpatient care, operations that cannot be postponed, pain-relieving dental treatments and unexpected pregnancy complications.

Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

If you are traveling with a pre-existing medical condition then you should check beforehand if your travel health insurance will cover treatments for the condition. Good travel insurance companies usually don’t exclude pre-existing medical conditions. The specifics, however, really depends on which travel insurance company you choose. Therefore, make sure you ask your travel insurance company what it will cover.

If you are suffering from a chronic illness then you should ask your insurance company if it will pay if your condition worsens while on vacation. It can also help to get a doctor’s certificate that says you’re suitable for traveling before you go on vacation. This can be helpful to avoid disputes with your insurance company.

Lastly, make sure that the insurance company does not limit its services to only “acute” or “unpredictable” diseases or limit your protection with unclear descriptions.

Transportation

Your insurance should cover medical return transportation to your place of residence if it is medically reasonable – not only if it is absolutely necessary. For example, if the medical care is better in your place of residence then your insurance company should pay for your transportation to come home. A good travel health insurance company will also pay for the costs for the return journey of minors if you are unable to care for them due to the illness or accident.

6. BEST Travel Insurance Company

The best travel health insurance company for anyone living in Germany is Getsafe.

An overview of what Getsafe travel health insurance covers:

7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

More Information for Expats

If you’re moving to Germany then you need to get German health insurance. Travel health insurance isn’t sufficient! Germany has private health insurance and public health insurance.

Our articles, “PUBLIC HEALTH Insurance in Germany,” and “PRIVATE HEALTH Insurance in Germany,” have all the information you need!

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