Schengen visa travel and insurance guide

June 18, 2018

Buy travel insurance for Schengen Visa

Looking to buy travel insurance for a Schengen Visa? UHC SafeTrip offer great deals on Schengen Visa Insurance. Whether it's a short trip or a long stay, our travel health insurance packages cover a large amount from sickness to flight cancellation. 

Best travel health insurance for Schengen Visa  

Choose SafeTrip as your travel insurance provider and we will take care of you. Here are some of our travel insurance benefits:

• Customized travel protection plans
• Flight cancellation protection
• Emergency Medical Insurance
• Emergency medical transportation
• Repatriation of mortal remains
• Cover the loss of your bags, tech and gear
• Compliant with Schengen rules
• Instant policy delivery
• Online Claims
• For individuals and groups
• 24/7 Assistance

Get Covered with Schengen Visa Travel Insurance

As part of Schengen Visa requirements you are required by law to have the right type of travel insurance for your trip. If you fail to have the correct travel health insurance, this could result in your Schengen Visa being declined. You may even experience some unanticipated expenses when traveling to Schengen region countries. 

The established Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 states that you must have adequate travel medical insurance to travel to the Schengen member states. This health insurance should cover all expenses relating to medical situations during your trip, such as emergency hospital treatment, accidents, injuries or death. 

Your insurance coverage must be at least 30,000 euros, any less and your Schengen Visa will fail. Here at SafeTrip all our travel health insurance packages offer a coverage of at least $100,000, which is roughly 90,000 euros.  

In addition to the above, your travel medical insurance should provide coverage for your entire trip duration. Failing to meet any of these requirements will mean that your Schengen visa will be declined regardless of your type of trip (Study, business or domestic). 

Do I need travel insurance for Schengen Visa?

If you are unsure about whether to get travel insurance, then think about potential circumstances that may require some sort of treatment while traveling. For instance, if traveling with children, traveling with the elderly, traveling with people with existing medical issues, traveling to an underdeveloped country or traveling to a place that is subject to visa requirements, then you need to have travel health insurance. In other words, it is recommended that all traveling parties—whether vacationers, business personnel, students or interest groups—have the correct traveling insurance.

Is travel insurance compulsory for Schengen visa?

If you are applying for a Schengen Visa, then travel insurance is a mandatory requirement. You will require travel insurance regardless if you’re traveling for business, pleasure, studying, holidays or any other reason.

Alternatively travelers who can travel visa-free to the Schengen zone do not require travel  insurance. However it is still highly recommended that you do purchase some travel insurance for protection. 

Benefits of Schengen Travel Insurance

If a traveler were to become ill or get hurt while traveling, travel insurance would cover the expenses. However, your decision to get travel health insurance should be based on where you’re planning to travel to as well as your ability to cover your own health expenses out-of-pocket should something happen while you’re overseas.

There are other benefits besides health coverage when having Schengen Visa Insurance. For instance, if you have a last-minute flight cancellation or lose your luggage, you could use your insurance to get a full or partial reimbursement. Also, if the travel agency or lodging place you were using has gone out of business (or suddenly bankrupted), you can recover some or all your losses with your travel insurance.

If you are visiting just one destination for a specified duration or visiting multiple European countries within the same duration, your travel insurance provider should have designed policies that will have your needs covered. These will be separate packages, so select a policy specifically for a single trip, or a policy that covers multiple trips within a year’s time. However it is always advisable to check your policy to make sure you are covered for the whole duration. UHC SafeTrip pricing is calculated according to age, duration and options selected. You can buy your Schengen Visa Insurance policy from us here.

How to get insurance for Schengen visa?

Wondering, ‘where can i buy travel insurance for a Schengen visa’? Look no further -  You can buy Schengen Travel Insurance online through us. However, if you have an existing health insurance policy through your job, you might have international medical coverage, but be aware that certain policy services may be restricted or prohibited while you are overseas. It's best that you check your coverage and compare your policy with ours.

One thing to note if you don’t buy your policy from us, is to make sure that the policy you do buy is valid for travel to Schengen countries. If not, the international policy may not be accepted in the Schengen region. If you’re looking for a starting point, and are still unsure, feel free to call us on 1.800.732.5309

How to buy travel insurance for Schengen visa?

Buying travel insurance for a Schengen Visa from us is really simple. If you plan on visiting one of the Schengen countries, you’ll first need to apply for the visa. If you are visiting multiple Schengen countries then you must apply for a visa at your main destination.  

You will require a passport which is valid for three months after the planned stay. For example, if you plan on staying for two months, then you must have a passport which is valid for five months in total. Apart from this you may require other documents depending on the type of trip you’re going on:

• Business: Evidence of invitation to attend meetings, conference or event in a Schengen country. Entry tickets may be a valid form of evidence.. 
• Tourism/General: Invitation from host that you’re staying with in that country or a document from your accommodation provider. 
• Study/Training: Certificate of enrolment or training can be used as evidence. 
• Medical: Official documentation from a medical institution confirming the medical care required and that funding has been paid. 
• Official Business: A letter by an authority in your country confirming purpose of visit in the Schengen country. 

Now you’re ready to purchase your Schengen travel insurance for a safe trip in a Schengen country. Once purchased this travel insurance policy will cover all Schengen area member states:  Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Which insurance to buy for Schengen visa?

SafeTrip offer the best health insurance coverage for any type of trip. Our insurance packages include:

• Travel Protection: For safe single trips. Coverage is for one trip up to 364 days. 
• Choose Your Medical coverage: $100,000 , $500,000 or a $1,000,000
• Medical Evacuation
• Medical Repatriation
• Return of Children
• Emergency reunion 
• Return of Mortal Remains
• And more...
• From $9.94 per day, per traveler
• Annual Frequent Traveler: For those who travel multiple times a year. You get upto 90 days coverage per trip per year. 
• Choose Your Medical coverage: $100,000 , $500,000 or a $1,000,000
• Same features as travel protection plan
• From $189 per traveler, per year
• Group Travel: Insurance perfect for 20 or more travellers in a group. 
• Choose Your Medical coverage per person: $100,000 , $500,000 or a $1,000,000
• Same features as travel protection plan
• From $10,340 per group of 20
• More than 20 travellers? Call us on 1.800.732.5309 to get a better quote!

Which travel insurance is best for Schengen visa? The answer to this question depends on the type of trip you plan on having. If plan on traveling to Schengen region countries regularly throughout the year, then you might go for the ‘Annual frequent traveler’ plan for the best deal. Alternatively if it’s a single, one-off trip, then our ‘Travel Protection’ package will provide you the best value travel health insurance. 

Compare travel insurance for schengen visa

Make buying travel insurance for a Schengen Visa easy, by comparing our top travel insurance packages. The type of coverage and level of benefits can remain the same with all our packages, however, you may save money by choosing the right one:

	Travel Protection	Annual Frequent Traveler	Group Travel
Medical Coverage	Choose between: $100,000 , $500,000 or  $1,000,000	Choose between: $100,000 , $500,000 or  $1,000,000	Choose between: $100,000 , $500,000 or  $1,000,000
Overview	Single Trip	Multiple trips per year	20 or more travelers
Medical Evacuation	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	$1,000,000
Medical Repatriation	Y	Y	Y
Return of Children	Y	Y	Y
Emergency Reunion	Y	Y	Y
Return of Mortal Remains	Y	Y	Y
AD & D Coverage – 24 Hour	Y	Y	Y
AD & D Coverage – Common Carrier	Y	Y	Y
Baggage Loss	Y	Y	Y
Baggage Delay	Y	Y	Y
Medical Assistance	Y	Y	Y
Travel Assistance	Y	Y	Y
Destination Intelligence	Y	Y	Y

 

Low cost travel insurance Schengen visa 

UHC SafeTrip offer three types of travel health insurance packages for those travelling to the Schengen area. Our lowest cost package ranges from $9.94 per day. While our annual, multi-trip coverage package is priced from $189 per year. Groups of over 20 travellers can get further discounts on their travel health insurance quote, just call us on 1.800.732.5309 to get the for a quote.

All our travel insurance packages come with a refund guarantee, just in case your visa application is refused. To help you with your visa application we can provide you with an instant insurance certificate to support your application. 

Schengen Visa Insurance Requirements

All of our travel health insurance packages meet the minimum requirements of Schengen Visa. This means you don’t need to worry about which package is right for your trip to a Schengen country.

For a Schengen visa to be valid, your insurance must meet the following criteria:

• Minimum coverage of $50,000
• It should cover all Schengen member states
• Cover all medical expenses relating to repatriation, such as emergency health care and death.

As previously stated, prior to making your trip, you may want to check if your existing health insurance already provides international coverage, to avoid purchasing a policy with duplicate coverage. If there are no limitations that make your existing coverage restrictive in its use, then your policy should be adequate to cover your trip.

Some people have a hard time getting accustomed to new climates, or are exposed to new microbes while staying in foreign countries and, as a result, may become ill. Make sure you have access to a copy of your medical file from your regular doctor and enough medications to last the duration of your stay.

If you take medication, make sure you have a copy of your latest prescription and your doctor's details in case of an emergency. If you are covered by SafeTrip, keep our contact details handy too.

 

Worldwide Assistance Services include:

• Medical and dental referrals
• Medication and vaccine transfers
• Replacement of lost or stolen travel documents
• Legal referrals
• Language services
• Pre-travel destination health and security reports

What conditions may I have to get covered with additional insurance?

Depending on the inclusions of your specific travel insurance company, you may have to get extra coverage for the following conditions – if insuring with us, feel free to call us to discuss on: 1.800.732.5309

• Pre-existing conditions (like high blood pressure, asthma, etc.). SafeTrip covers controlled pre-existing conditions that have had no change in the past 180 days (added to SafeTrip’s coverage's, see above).
• Sports that require the participant to take risks (like scuba diving, mountain climbing, or skiing). See SafeTrip’s sports coverage option, above.

What conditions are not covered under Schengen Visa insurance?

• Durations outside your stay in the Schengen Region: Safe Trip covers the period of time purchased. An incident that occurs while you are still abroad, but beyond the time frame purchased, is not covered. Travelling in multiple countries is covered as long as it is within the purchased duration.
• Pre-existing Conditions: As stated earlier, pre-existing conditions are not covered under your Schengen Visa Insurance. The only way you can get issues arising from your pre-existing condition covered while in the Schengen region is if your doctor declared you fit for travel prior to taking your trip. SafeTrip covers controlled pre-existing, managed with medication and without change for the past 180 days.
• Sports: Sports that are considered extreme and requiring high-risk manoeuvres (like skiing, skydiving and scuba diving) are not included in your Schengen coverage. Participating in a professional sporting event is also not covered. SafeTrip has an optional Extreme Sports Coverage.
• Substance Abuse (of any kind): medical issues arising from drug and alcohol abuse will not be covered under your insurance policy. Alcohol intoxication is not covered by SafeTrip, neither is being under the influence of substances – unless they have been prescribed by a doctor.
• War-Related Injuries: Your injuries from residing in a war zone will not be covered by your Schengen Visa insurance.
• Mental or nervous conditions: unless hospitalized for that condition.