Useful information about insurance for a Schengen visa in 2021: insurance requirements, the amount of insurance coverage required, processing time and cost.
An insurance policy is needed not only in order to obtain the coveted Schengen visa, although this item is present in the list of mandatory document requirements for all visa centers. In European countries , medicine costs a lot for non-residents. To hope that nothing happens during the trip. Plus, buying insurance online today is as easy as one-two-three. One: entered the dates of the trip, two: added passport details, three: paid and printed out the policy . We will tell you about the main subtleties that you should know before buying.
Oftentimes, insurance does not need to be shown when crossing the border. It would seem that “by default” it is clear to the customs officer that without her a visa would simply not have been issued. But not everything is so simple. During the next trip to old Europe, some especially forgetful tourists with “multishengens” can simply ignore the issue of purchasing a policy. But if the customs officer decides to demand insurance, but there is none, the trip will end at passport control.
Standard
Usually, travelers leaving to admire the Bavarian castles or bask on the beaches of the Cote d’Azur are quite satisfied with the Schengen gold standard: the minimum amount of coverage is 30,000 EUR , a corridor of 15 days from the date of return in case of unforeseen circumstances and a basic set of services, which includes transportation to the hospital. medical appointments and treatment, repatriation of remains (God forbid, of course), as well as emergency dentistry.
Additional options
The situation is different with active tourists who are going to engage in extreme sports. Most often it is mountain skiing, snowboarding, surfing. In this case, the policy must include the relevant items. If you wish, you can also insure against the loss of luggage / documents, cancellation, theft of personal belongings, as well as other minor and major troubles. Of course, you will have to pay more than for the basic contract, but in return you get a “ghostly” feeling of security. More: insurance for skiers and divers .
Where and how much
Dozens of companies offer insurance to travel to the Schengen countries. The most obvious way is to buy a policy online on the office’s website or use an aggregator portal that will compare prices from different insurers, and help you find the most profitable option. Also in the visa centers there are always representatives of firms actively promoting their services to everyone who applies for a visa.
The cost of a standard contract for a weekly trip with coverage of 35,000 EUR will be 7 – 9 USD. For each additional point, another 3 – 5 USD will be charged. You will have to pay about the same amount if the tourist is planning an active vacation.
Insured event – procedure
Each insurer works with an assistance company that performs intermediary functions. It is through her that all stakeholders interact. As a rule, the telephone number of the assistance is indicated in the policy in a conspicuous place. If an insured event occurs, you need to call it and then follow all the instructions. Employees will explain in detail what steps to take in each specific situation, where to go, the procedure for settlements (sometimes you have to pay out of pocket and keep all the documents – they will compensate for the costs later). Usually, the costs of telephone calls are also reimbursed – this is included in the standard conditions of the insurance contract.
Non-obvious subtleties
Not all European countries – EU members are part of the Schengen area. Therefore, if the route includes, for example, Andorra , Spain and France , then Andorra must be indicated in the insurance separately. This is not a Schengen country. The same is the case with Bulgaria , Great Britain , Cyprus , Romania and Croatia . Bosnia and Herzegovina , Serbia , Montenegro have not yet joined either the EU or the Schengen agreement. But despite the fact that you can enter these states without a visa, it still does not hurt to issue a policy.
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