Finding and choosing the right international health insurance is definitely not the coolest thing, but it’s certainly one of the most important aspects. There are now a large number of good providers with various plans and prices.
When choosing the right international health insurance, it’s best to do your research in advance and, if necessary, exchange ideas with others on forums. It’s not just about the price, but above all about finding the right coverage for your individual trip.
For example, if you are a citizen of an EU country, you generally don’t need additional insurance when traveling to European countries, as the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) provides coverage in the event of an emergency.
The first question might be, what type of trip are you’re planning to do. For example, is it a vacation, a long-term trip around the world, work and travel, or even emigration?
The length of your trip is also quite important. For trips of around two months, inexpensive contracts are often sufficient. For longer stays, you often need a plan that’s valid for up to one or five years. It’s also important to consider whether you can extend this contract.
Here, you should compare what’s included in your health insurance. Some benefits, wich are quite important?
The price depends on several factors, including:
When it comes to the deductible, you should make sure that you pay as little as possible, or ideally none at all.
You should pay attention to which countries your insurance covers. For example, the USA and Canada are often not covered because treatment costs there are extremely high.
It’s important not only to look for the cheapest price, but also to get the best coverage for your money. Especially when it comes to health, you should never cut corners. It’s important to get an insurance policy with good benefits at a fair price.
If you’re traveling for no longer than three months, you can make it easy for yourself and just purchase an additional travel health insurance. If your trip lasts a year or longer, you should purchase an insurance. If you’re from Germany, you should cancel your German health insurance during your round-the-world trip (we imagine it will be the same in other countries). It’s useless on a trip like this, and without an employer, you’d have to cover the entire costs yourself.
You can take out insurance at any time before your trip, and it must cover the entire duration of your trip. The trip, and therefore the insurance, begins upon departure and ends upon entry. Many providers no longer allow you to take out insurance once you’re already traveling. However, there are now some that explicitly state that you can also take out health insurance while traveling.
Since you are always a private patient, you pay your doctor or hospital bill upfront and initially out of your own pocket. You will receive your bill from the doctor, pharmacy or hospital with the listed costs of your treatment. You can then easily submit this bill to your insurance company online, via app or by email.
Afterward, you’ll need to be patient, as the reimbursement and reimbursement of your costs can take several weeks.
Important: The bill you receive from the doctor, hospital or pharmacy should ideally always list your name, the treating physician, the name of the illness, the treatment period and the services provided.
Many providers are now very flexible when it comes to paying premiums. They offer monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual payment options. We always recommend paying annually. Annual payments are usually cheaper, as you don’t have to pay any installment surcharges.
There are now a lot of good providers for international health insurance. It also depends on your country. If you’re from Germany, for example, check out the insurance packages from ADAC, Care Concept or Young Travellers. In our opinion, these four international health insurance policies are the best.
Please note: We run this travel blog, website and social media accounts independently. We are merely providing tips and would like to point you to some insurance products. We are not insurance experts and have researched all information to the best of our knowledge and summarized it in this article.
