What insurance is needed for a Schengen visa

When traveling abroad, you need to worry about reliable insurance, and especially for those EU countries that have joined the Schengen area. It is impossible to get a visa to these countries without insurance that meets certain requirements. Also, its presence is checked at the border directly at the entrance.

Also, many countries do not provide free medical care, especially for tourists, and treatment in a hospital can cost you a large amount, which can be tens or hundreds of thousands of euros, because European countries are famous for developed medicine and at the same time very high prices for it. It is much more profitable to pay initially a small amount for insurance than in an unpleasant situation to say goodbye to tens of thousands of dollars.

Therefore, to ignore the requirement to issue a travel insurance policy before traveling to the EU countries will not work.

Do they accept an electronic policy for a visa when checking at the border

An electronic insurance policy issued via the Internet is the same legally significant document as a paper policy obtained in the office. Therefore, now they are accepted without any questions both when submitting documents to the consulate for a visa and when checking at the border.

Why you should get insurance

In addition to the fact that without insurance in the EU countries simply do not get, if you have an insurance policy, health problems, including treatment for injuries, are solved easier and faster, and not at your expense. When an insured event occurs, you only need to contact the insurer by phone or in any other way, and tell about the situation. Further, the operators independently coordinate your actions. Depending on the chosen insurance and the options connected in it, you can cover one or another part of the damage.

Usually, each basic insurance policy includes:

• primary examination of a doctor;
• treatment in an outpatient clinic or hospital;
• provision of medicines;
• provision of emergency medical care;
• in case of death – the return of the body to its homeland.

If desired, you can make changes to the basic insurance: increase the amount of payment or add some options. You can, for example, insure the loss of luggage, causing harm to third parties while driving, getting injured while playing active sports, and even include travel insurance, which will allow you to compensate for the loss of ticket prices and hotel reservations if the trip was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances (see for more information, what is travel insurance).

However, if you are planning a trip to Europe on a voucher, it is important to know that often travel agencies include medical insurance in its cost, but it covers only a small part of the damage and in many cases does not work, so it is recommended to issue additional insurance with the options you need.

Features of tourist health insurance for a trip to the Schengen area

• The minimum amount of policy coverage must be at least 30,000 euros.
• When accepting documents for a visa, an original and a copy of the insurance policy are required. If there is an electronic policy, its printout is accepted as well as the original. If you received insurance, and you were refused a visa, then the insurer is obliged to return the money.
• If you often travel to the Schengen countries, it is more profitable to get insurance immediately for a long period, for example, for a year.
• Basic insurance for a Schengen visa for two weeks costs an average of 700-1200 rubles. It turns out that one day costs about 50-85 rubles, which is very inexpensive. But if you connect additional options, its cost can increase up to 2 times.
• Insurance applies to all EU countries that have joined the Schengen area. Therefore, when applying for / searching for insurance, you can specify both one country of visit and simply select "Schengen Countries".

Also remember that you may be denied payment of the insurance amount or free assistance in such cases:

• Expired;
• At the time of the injury, you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs (if the appropriate option is not enabled);
• In violation of the laws of the country;
• In case of injury during active sports (if the corresponding option is not enabled);
• In case of exacerbation of chronic diseases (if the corresponding option is not enabled).

How and where to get insurance in the Schengen area

There are two options for obtaining insurance for a Schengen visa: in the office and via the Internet. The second option is faster and more convenient. To insure, you need to enter personal data and pay a certain amount in a convenient way for you. The registration procedure takes no more than 20 minutes and does not require additional sessions and checks. As a result, you receive your insurance policy in electronic form by mail, and its printout is valid and accepted at the border and for visa processing in the same way as insurance on the form.

You can compare the cost of a travel policy using the search form from the insurance cost comparison service Cherehapa. It compares and displays the cost from different companies, and allows you to immediately issue an electronic policy online*:

You can also compare prices through these sites:

• ☂ Travel insurance on VisitorsCoverage
• ☂ Travel insurance on Insubuy