| Anyone traveling abroad cannot do without health insurance Traveling abroad in the minds of our fellow citizens is usually associated with purchasing a tourist voucher and tickets, receiving an invitation or waiting for a visa. A health insurance policy, purchased primarily as an add-on to a tour package, does not often become a subject of special concern for those crossing the border. Meanwhile, the risk of getting sick while on vacation or on a business trip is the most common among the risks associated with travel. And the cost of medical services in the host country may not be affordable for a traveler who planned his expenses without taking into account emergency situations associated with a sudden illness.
How much does health cost?
Health insurance is mandatory when visiting almost all countries in the world. Purchasing a policy is a necessary condition for obtaining a visa. Each country establishes the minimum amount of required insurance coverage and the list of risks to be included in the insurance policy. The price of medical care in each country is thus directly reflected in the price of the policy purchased by the guest. Russian insurers, as a rule, divide foreign countries into two main territories, within which there is relative uniformity in prices for insurance medicine. One territory - all countries of the world, except for the countries of North and South America, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Libya. Here, the minimum amount of required insurance coverage is 15 thousand dollars. Another territory is all of the countries listed above, except Libya, for which the insurance amount starts from 30 thousand dollars, sometimes reaching 100 thousand.
In addition to the price of medical care within a certain territory, the cost of insurance purchased by a traveler is also affected by the duration of his stay abroad. The longer the policy period, the lower the insured cost of each day of stay in the country. So, if health insurance is purchased for a year, then each day during this year will cost the policyholder approximately half as much as a day in a two-week policy.
The pricing rules described above apply, however, only to the minimum set of risks covered by the insurance policy. These risks correspond to a minimum set of services provided to the policyholder. This is payment for treatment, transportation, evacuation to homeland or repatriation. In addition to this minimum package, Russian companies offer clients policies that include an expanded list of services, for example, payment for a visit to a close relative in an emergency, dental services, and also (which is usually included in an expensive business package) assistance in searching for luggage and legal assistance .
When purchasing a policy other than the minimum standard, you should inquire about the system of discounts and allowances applied by each insurance company. Benefits are usually provided by insurers to regular customers or groups. Premiums are established for insurance of older people, as well as for risks associated with professional or amateur sports. In the latter case, the size of the premium will increase depending on what sport the client prefers, increasing from inexpensive golf to expensive martial arts.
Venue
According to the RESO-Garantiya company, up to 90% of all health insurance policies for people traveling abroad are sold by this insurer through travel agencies. If we take into account that the majority of Russians go abroad precisely as tourists, then such a system of sales of their products by insurance companies is completely justified.
Travel companies, especially small ones, usually offer insurance policies with minimal coverage and a standard set of services. If the client’s requests go beyond the standard package, then he should contact the insurer himself. This is also worth doing for those who, without claiming an expanded range of services, are going to save money. The savings achieved, however, will not be too large, but still. Travel companies sell insurance policies as part of a package on the basis of commission or commission agreements with insurers. In addition to the commissions due under these contracts, travel agents earn from the difference in the cost of health insurance policies sold. Typically, the prices of such policies are calculated by travel companies based on an amount of about $1 per day. The tariffs of the insurers themselves are often 1.5-2 times lower. A visit to the insurance company yourself will save the budget-conscious traveler a few dollars.
Those who travel abroad not on a tour package from a travel company, but on their own - by private invitation or on a business trip, should also contact the insurer directly, because purchasing a medical policy is a necessary condition for obtaining a visa. True, in this case we are not necessarily talking about a visit directly to the office of the insurance company: at the buildings of the consular services of the countries most visited by Russians, as a rule, there are insurance agents on duty, ready to issue the necessary policy on the spot.
Large insurers also offer corporate insurance programs for employees of enterprises and universities that send employees or students to work, study and vacation abroad.
User instructions
Russian insurance companies that sell health insurance policies valid in different countries, of course, do not have a huge network of representatives around the world. This is not necessary. Both Russian and foreign insurers resort to the services of service companies to serve the interests of their policyholders. When purchasing a policy at a travel agency or at an insurer's office, the first thing you should pay attention to is the partner of the domestic company. If it is well-known, has a central office in one of the major international centers and has an extensive network, then this is a guarantee of proper service, even if its Russian partner is a small insurance company.
If the need to use the services provided for by the insurance policy nevertheless arises, the time that the service company will spend to make a decision on a specific case can play a significant role. If the policyholder does not speak a foreign language, it will be difficult for him to communicate with his agent or receive qualified advice. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that the service company abroad has an accessible Russian-language dispatch service. Russian companies have such representative offices in a limited number of countries, but most dispatchers speak their native language and English.
To obtain medical services if necessary, you must contact the service center. As a rule, the cost of the call to the dispatcher is reimbursed by the insurer. In case of an emergency, a different sequence of actions is often possible: the policyholder can immediately seek help from a medical institution, and then notify the service company. The permissible delay period is determined by the terms of the insurance contract, and only clients of the world's largest service companies, whose name is known in medical institutions, can contact any clinic directly without first calling the dispatcher.
If the policyholder contacts a service company, payment of insurance compensation is made by bank transfer between this company and the medical institution. However, often Russian clients, who are not properly informed about the accepted procedure, especially when purchasing a policy from a travel agency, pay for treatment on their own, counting on insurance compensation upon returning to their homeland. However, this practice was used in most Russian insurance companies ten years ago. It continues to this day, although now the vast majority of payments are made by bank transfer. If the client nevertheless paid for his treatment on his own, then he has the right to count on reimbursement of his expenses. To do this, he must present to the insurance company a policy, an application and the originals of all documents, certificates and invoices confirming both the fact of the provision of medical services and their objective necessity, and the payment made.
What is possible, what is not
The range of risks covered by a medical insurance policy for traveling abroad is limited. You should not count on the fact that insurance will cover all troubles associated with your health: the list of circumstances that do not apply to insured events is very extensive. It includes exacerbation of chronic ailments, dental diseases not related to emergency care, prosthetics, plastic surgery, trips abroad for the express purpose of receiving treatment, and refusal of the insured to evacuate to their homeland.
The insurer is not obliged to compensate the policyholder for expenses associated with the consequences of consuming alcohol-containing substances. Accidents associated with driving while intoxicated are also not covered by insurance. If the traveler self-medicated or used unconventional methods of treatment not officially recognized by medicine, then he himself bears the costs of restoring lost health. As is the case when his illness is caused by the effects of solar radiation. You can, of course, go to a psychoanalyst, but you still have to pay for these visits yourself.
Cost and terms of service of health insurance policies Insurance company Minimum insurance coverage*, dollars per day with an insured amount of 15 thousand 30 thousand 50 thousand Group discounts Service partner companies Russian-speaking dispatch services | Military insurance company | 0.55 0.6 0.7 | 10-20 | International SOS, Interpartner Assistance, Kaliptus MAC | Moscow, Munich, Antalya, Mauritius | | Hephaestus | 0.54 0.71 0.89 | 10-15 | International Partner Assistance | Moscow, Munich, St. Petersburg | | Guta-Insurance | 0.62 0.72 0.75 | 10-20 | Elvia, Europ Assistance | Eat | | Ingosstrakh | - | 5-15 | Remed, Global Voyager Assistance | Moscow. In countries of mass exodus: Cyprus, Bulgaria, Türkiye, etc. | | NASTA | 0.6 1.00 1.20 | 5-20 | Elvia, Mapfre, Remed | Eat | | Progress-Garant | 0.49 0.68 0.76 | 20 | Europ Assistance, TIM Assistance | Eat | | RESO-Garantiya | 0.54 0.71 0.89 | 10-25 | Coris | Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris | | ROSNO | 0.54 0.73 1.16 | Up to 25 | Global Voyager Assistance, Europ Assistance, International SOS, Kaliptus MAC | Moscow and the most popular countries among Russian tourists | | Uralsib | 0.35 0.54 0.61 | Eat | International SOS, Europ Assistance | Eat |
*Trip duration - one month Igor POLISCHUK
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