Medical insurance for traveling abroad

To prevent unforeseen situations from spoiling your trip and legal proceedings from stealing hours of your long-awaited vacation, be sure to get travel insurance. We will tell you in which situations a traveler's policy will help and how it all works.

Which insurance to choose for a traveler

Travel insurance is a type of insurance that allows you to protect yourself in unforeseen situations during a trip: receive medical assistance in case of illness or injury, reimburse expenses for flight delays, loss or damage to luggage.

For travel within Russia, you have two options:

• travel with a standard compulsory medical insurance (OMS) policy — here you risk spending hours of your vacation waiting in lines at local clinics. Plus, additional risks like flight delays are not covered;
• buy a traveler's policy for Russia from an insurance company and expand it by adding necessary services, for example, insuring luggage.

If you are going abroad, get VZR insurance (for those traveling abroad). With it, you will receive emergency medical care, for example, if you fall ill or are injured in an accident. Please note: treatment under the basic VZR plan is provided in a limited scope, but the policy can be expanded with additional options for special cases (like pregnancy) and compensation for flight delays, luggage, and document insurance can be added to the base.

How travel insurance works

Before purchasing medical insurance for traveling abroad, you need to determine your needs and choose the appropriate type of insurance. Insurance types vary in terms of protection and cost. For example, you can choose a policy that covers only medical expenses, or a comprehensive insurance that includes medical assistance, payments for loss or damage to luggage, flight delays, and takes into account other problems that may arise during your trip.

Once the appropriate insurance is chosen, you fill out an insurance application. This can be done online on the insurance company's website. The application specifies personal data, the insurance validity period, and details of your trip, such as the countries you will visit. As soon as the application is processed, you will receive a policy indicating the insurance terms, cost, and contact information of the insurance company.

If you encounter an unforeseen situation during your trip, the course of action is as follows: contact the insurance company, explain the problem, and request assistance — they will tell you where to go and what to do. The bill for services will be sent to the insurance company.

What tourist insurance covers

Depending on the terms, insurance can cover both medical expenses and other costs.

• Basic insurance will reimburse expenses for medical care, treatment, and hospitalization in case of illness or accident during your trip.
• Insurance can be extended. If a flight is canceled or delayed for several hours due to vehicle damage or weather conditions, such insurance compensates for the wait: this includes accommodation, food, and transportation expenses. For example, with Euroins, this amount is up to 50 euros.

In addition, this option allows you to get a refund for tickets if something disrupted your plans: the trip was canceled, you had to return earlier, or, conversely, stay abroad longer. Typically, insured events include: 

• health problems, including hospitalization not only of the insured person but also of immediate family members; 
• property damage (real estate or vehicle); 
• conscription for military service. 

This insurance will help you get a refund up to the full cost of the trip — actual expenses incurred for travel documents will be paid.

• Travel insurance abroad helps those who worry about the flight itself stay calm. If an insured person experiences an accident resulting in injury or disability, compensation can be received. The insurance is valid from the moment of pre-flight screening until exiting the airport at the destination. 

In addition to the passenger's health, this option also insures their luggage: in case of loss of personal belongings during the flight, a passenger with Rosbank insurance, for example, will be compensated 500 dollars.

When a traveler's medical insurance will work

A medical policy will cover the following treatment expenses:

• emergency medical care if you suddenly fall ill or are injured during your trip;
• hospitalization, if necessary;
• doctor's visit and prescribed medications that will be needed during the trip;
• evacuation and transportation — in other words, your trip to the hospital will be compensated.

It is important to consider that insurance terms and the set of included services may differ depending on its type and the insurance company. Before purchasing, carefully study the terms and limitations.

As for the notorious COVID-19, many countries have long lifted COVID restrictions for both locals and tourists. Airlines assure that the risk of infection on board an airplane is minimal. However, such a possibility cannot be ruled out during a trip, for example, on a bus or other transport in the city of arrival. Catching coronavirus on vacation abroad is far from a pleasant situation, so adding COVID-19 protection to your main policy would not be superfluous.

The "Lump-sum payment for COVID-19" option from AlfaStrakhovanie, for example, compensates the passenger 0.2% for each day of sick leave upon detection of the virus: the full policy amount is 15,000 dollars or 300,000 rubles if traveling within the Russian Federation. The insurance period is no more than 60 days per single insured event and no more than 120 days total for one insured person.

Be careful and don't neglect your health: be sure to take a first-aid kit with you on your trip to quickly provide yourself with assistance at the first signs of illness.

Where and how to buy travel insurance

– "Refund of a non-refundable ticket"

The "Kupi.com. Refund" option helps make even a non-refundable ticket refundable. This service is suitable for you if, according to the fare conditions, the ticket is non-refundable or refundable with a penalty, if you fly more than once a year, and if there are more than 48 hours left before the flight.

If you cancel your trip, we refund the refundable portion in money, and the remainder in points. The latter can be up to 90%. You must notify us of your desire to cancel the trip no later than 48 hours before departure by writing to support chat.

The option will not work if you miss your flight: by that time, the service will no longer be valid. Furthermore, compensation is not provided in force majeure situations, such as airline bankruptcy, war, natural disaster, environmental and other catastrophes, strikes, revolutions, coups, riots, acts of terrorism or vandalism at departure and destination points.

– Get up to 10,000 rubles

We guarantee compensation for costs in case of flight delay, change, or cancellation. 

• For flight delays, we will accrue 1,000 rubles for the first four hours of waiting + 1,000 rubles for each subsequent hour.
• For flight cancellations one day before departure or later, we will compensate each passenger up to 10,000 rubles for one ticket in the booking. 

The payment is a one-time payment per booking, regardless of the number of delays and cancellations in a single booking. To receive compensation, submit a request through your Personal Account on the website or in the mobile application no later than 30 days from the departure date.

What to do to ensure the insurance company pays everything

A situation where you purchased insurance specifically for traveling abroad and relied on the policy, but the insurance company suddenly didn't pay for services, is not pleasant. Therefore, find out in advance what constitutes an insured event and follow a specific procedure when making a claim.

In advance:

• save your insurance policy on your phone — this way you won't forget it and can quickly find the necessary contact in an emergency;
• make sure your SIM card works in roaming, or buy a local one — to quickly contact the insurance company;
• study what is covered by the policy and what is not.

If you need help:

• call the phone number indicated in your insurance policy. Tell the operator your policy number, contact phone number, and location, and describe the problem. If medical assistance is required, they will provide you with the hospital address and send a guarantee letter — this document confirms that treatment expenses will be paid. If necessary, they will call an ambulance or a doctor to your location. Sometimes the operator needs time to make a decision — in that case, they will call you back later. Do not go to the hospital yourself; wait for the insurer;
• make sure the hospital has received the guarantee letter. Do not pay yourself if the letter has not arrived — call the insurance company again;
• coordinate all your actions with the insurance company: inform the company if you have been prescribed additional treatment, issued medications, offered hospitalization, or need to come for another appointment. 

Don't skimp on insurance: it's better to buy a policy and not use it than to travel "light" and, by Murphy's Law, encounter trouble.