Do You Need Travel Insurance?

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DO YOU NEED TRAVEL INSURANCE?

When it’s time to travel, hiring a travel insurance guarantees us with a series of coverages that, according to the kind of policy, can provide us with medical assistance and hospitalization for disease and accidents, repatriation, or reimbursement for cancellation or loss of baggage, among other things.

There are some people who think that a travel insurance is not mandatory when we are planning our trip. However, this is not the case. There are countries that require hiring a travel insurance with coverage for medical assistance and repatriation in order to enter their territory. Furthermore, each of these countries has a series of particular conditions.

In this article, we will explore the most popular destinations around the world that do require a travel insurance as a mandatory requirement for visiting them.

1. Travel insurance for Schengen Area

It is composed by Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Obtaining Schengen insurance allows us to get the visa to travel for these 26 countries for a maximum of 3 months in a 6-months period, without needing to do additional arrangements for each of them. On the other hand, in order to visit one of the five EU countries that do not belong to the Schengen area (Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Ireland and the UK), another visa is required for each of them.

The travel insurance that is required for entering the Schengen area has a few minimum requirements that need to be considered:

  • To cover repatriation expenses in case of emergency or emergency medical assistance, and emergency hospital assistance, with a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros.
  • To be valid for the entire duration of your stay inside the Schengen area.

There are 43 countries that do not belong to the European Union, including Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea, among others, whose citizens do not require a Schengen visa due to the agreements established with each of them. However, they will have their travel documentation examined, and they do have certain requirements, such as the travel insurance with the same conditions that are required for obtaining a Schengen visa.

2. Travel insurance for Cuba

In order to visit Cuba, it is mandatory to have travel insurance with a wide coverage of medical expenses, of repatriation, and of 24 hour assistance. The main incidents when travelling to Cuba are directly related to medical assistance for disease or accidents. On the other hand, the medical attention provided to tourists is independent from the one received by Cuban citizens and is offered in the system Servimed. In this system, payments are made by cash and the cost can be very high, especially in the case of emergencies and hospitalization.

3. Travel insurance for Russia and Belarus

First, it is mandatory to have a valid visa for the duration of the visit, indicating the number of entrances you will do to the country. For obtaining the visa, it is mandatory to have a medical insurance that can cover any contingency, including repatriation. The insurance company will provide you with a letter so that the Russian authorities can confirm that you have this coverage guaranteed in the country. In Russia, the quality of the medical service provided varies a lot according to the region and, given the case, it may be necessary to seek assistance in a private center.

So, we’ve been over some of the destinations that require mandatory travel insurance for visiting them. However, it is recommended to have travel insurance wherever you go, because you never know when something unpleasant may happen. And when it happens, it is extremely better to have an insurance to cover for your medical expenses.

You can visit this website to check out the different options available for your travel insurance and decide which one suits you best for your upcoming trip.

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