Fortunately, travel insurance is rarely needed for vacations, but it is always worth having one. Which tariff is the best?
It often doesn’t cost much, but can protect holidaymakers from high costs: foreign health insurance is advisable for many people. According to Stiftung Warentest, very good annual rates are available for less than eight euros per person. For young families, it is available for under 19 euros.
In total, the experts evaluated 93 tariffs for individuals and families, including foreign health insurance policies from Axa, Münchner Verein, ADAC, Huk-Coburg and HanseMerkur. The overall result: only twelve failed to achieve a very good or good rating. The test winner, the travel health insurance tariff RD from Ergo, even received the dream grade of 0.6. The tariff is available for 12.90 euros per year per person and 29.90 euros per family.
According to Finanztest, it is remarkable that there are five tariffs for individuals with the best rating, which cost less than ten euros per year. For families, there are two very well-rated tariffs, which cost less than 24 euros per year for everyone. They are often worthwhile for a minimum of three travelers and sometimes even for couples.
The cheapest of the very good individual tariffs was the Axa SingleTravel for 7.92 euros per year (grade 1.3). Also cheap: the AR tariff from Debeka (grade 1.2) for 8 euros and the 501 tariff from Münchener Verein (grade 1.2) for 8.40 euros. The Debeka tariff is also available for seniors without the usual price surcharge. For young families, the 502 tariff from Münchener Verein is the cheapest of the very good policies. Annual cost: 18.60 euros (grade 1.2).
Annual policies are generally valid for any number of trips per year, according to consumer advice centers. However, a maximum travel duration per trip, often six to eight weeks, may not be exceeded.
You should always have international health insurance if you go on holiday abroad. Although you will receive benefits from your statutory German health insurance within the European Union, in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, as well as in countries with which Germany has a social security agreement, the protection is usually less comprehensive than within the country.
This is because health insurance only reimburses as much as residents of the holiday destination would receive from the local health insurance company. And an amount of up to 5 percent is often deducted from the reimbursement for increased administrative costs. Private treatments – whether at the doctor’s or in the hospital – are not reimbursed at all.
The same applies to return transport. According to “Finanztip”, such an ambulance flight within Europe can cost several tens of thousands of euros. If you have to be flown back from Asia or Australia, you could be charged up to 130,000 euros.
Even those with private insurance should check before going on holiday whether they are adequately protected. Not every tariff covers longer periods of time. If you travel outside of Europe, your insurance cover often expires after just one to three months. As with statutory health insurance, return transport is often not covered.
