Insurance for a child when traveling abroad is not mandatory for most countries, although for some states, the presence of an insurance policy for tourists is mandatory. However, it is still worth taking care of buying a travel policy, even if it is not mandatory. If the little traveler gets sick, the trip will turn into a real test for his parents. It will be difficult to find a good pediatrician, the language barrier will add difficulties, and besides, you will have to pay a lot for medical services, since foreign citizens, even small children, will not be served for free. Without insurance, even for a simple appointment without treatment for the purpose of consultation, you will have to pay from $ 50, and if you are injured and hospitalized, the amounts can reach tens of thousands of dollars. In many countries, even primary emergency care is provided for a fee. Therefore, to purchase insurance in advance for travel abroad for all children in the family is the right decision.
Most often, it is the preschool child who is exposed to diseases. But it is worth remembering that the price of the policy for children from 2 to 3 years, as a rule, is higher than the cost of insurance purchased for an adult. Babies are much more likely to get sick while traveling, so many insurance companies refuse to work with them because of the high risk of an insured event.
What kind of help can a child receive when an insured event occurs?
According to travel insurance, you can get high-quality and free medical care abroad in case of injury, a sharp deterioration in health, the occurrence of an accident. However, if there is a desire to conduct a routine examination or consult a doctor, the policy "will not help".
Having issued it, you can compensate for the payment of medicines and count on an appointment with a specialist, as well as outpatient or inpatient treatment, or treatment will be immediately provided to you free of charge. Some policies can provide a doctor's home visit, dental treatment in case of acute pain (but not routine treatment). Similar services are provided, for example, in Thailand, Montenegro and a number of other countries. Having an insurance policy in hand, the parents of a sick child can count on the following assistance: :
- Transportation, that is, the departure of an ambulance in case of dangerous situations (high fever, loss of consciousness, etc.). In some countries, such as Turkey and Egypt, an ambulance takes patients to the clinic, but in most countries patients must get to hospitals on their own, or pay for an ambulance out of pocket. Some insurance organizations prescribe in the policy compensation for transport costs upon return to Russia (using a taxi if receipts are preserved).
- Evacuation of the child home (to Russia) or to the nearest safe place when adults get into unforeseen situations (hospitalization, serious injury). In this case, the children are unattended and the Insurance Company undertakes to take care of their return to their homeland together with the accompanying person.
- Evacuation of the child to the nearest medical institution, where appropriate assistance can be provided. We are not talking about an "ambulance", but, for example, about evacuation by helicopter from mountainous or desert areas.
- Dental services. But you should know that as a rule, the limits on them do not exceed 100-300 dollars. This allows you to get help related to the removal of a diseased tooth or the installation of a temporary filling, an injury sustained in an accident. Therefore, most likely, only one appointment with a specialist will be free. Subsequent will have to pay extra.
When making a policy, you should pay special attention to the types of medical care that it covers, and carefully read all the conditions, including restrictions. After all, if you can risk your health during the trip and omit something in the contract in favor of lowering its price, then you definitely should not risk a child. The fact is that insurance companies very often like to set all sorts of restrictions, because of which the policy may not work in a particular situation, and hide them in the section with restrictions.
How and Where Is it better to insure?
Travel insurance can be obtained at the Office of a specialized organization, but it is much more convenient to order a policy online. Insurance portals provide online insurance services, while the policies obtained in this way are identical to those issued in the office.
Registration takes a few minutes, and additional commissions are not charged when using online insurance. Moreover, you can get favorable discounts. To apply for travel health insurance online, you must:
- Enter personal data in the fields selected for this purpose.
- Pay fees by bank card or money transfer.
- Get the policy and a memo on its use to the email address.
To issue a document without leaving home, it is not necessary to look for relevant services on the official websites of insurance companies. There are special services that make it possible to quickly compare the terms of cooperation offered by different organizations, and it is best to use them. Compare the cost of insurance from different companies, and choose the right one, you can use the search form:
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