Having an accident or getting sick while traveling can put a damper on your holiday. But by taking a few precautions, you can minimize hassles, avoid high medical costs, and get the best possible treatment.
1. Before you travel
It all starts with being prepared. Before leaving on your holiday, take a quick look at this checklist:
- Healthcare directives: Consider creating an advance healthcare directive that specifies who should make your important medical decisions if you are physically unable to make them yourself.
- Health insurance cards: When traveling in most European countries, it is helpful to carry the European Health Insurance Card you get from your mandatory insurance provider. This card proves you are insured, and can simplify the paperwork and payments if a medical emergency occurs.
- Medication: If you are already on medication, it is beneficial to take enough medicine with you to last throughout your trip, when this is feasible. Depending on where you travel to, needed medication may be hard to find, or even completely unavailable.
- Medical records: If you have an existing condition, it can be helpful to take some medical records with you when you travel. This will help foreign doctors better understand your case. You have the right to request copies of your medical records from Swiss doctors.
- Money: In foreign countries, you may be required to front the fees for medical care and hospital stays out of your own pocket. Tip: As a HanseMerkur travel insurance customer, you benefit from a money advance of up to 5000 francs towards the costs of treatment in foreign hospitals.
- Phone numbers: Make sure you have the phone numbers of your main doctor or medical center in Switzerland, and the medical support hotline offered by your travel insurance or health insurance provider. HanseMerkur customers benefit from a medical hotline in English, French, German, and Italian that you can contact for help with organizing medical care. This can be very helpful, especially in countries where you do not speak the local language.
2. Cover your bases
Medical care can be extremely expensive. Making sure you are properly insured can make a huge difference financially if you are hit with a medical emergency while traveling.
HanseMerkur’s Premium long-term travel insurance offers can help cover costs that are not covered by your basic, mandatory Swiss health insurance.
In addition to the cost of medical care itself, there are also other costs that you are likely to incur if you become ill or have an accident while traveling. Here too, Premium travel insurance from HanseMerkur can be used to cover costs that are not covered by mandatory health insurance.
The cover for medical emergencies is just one component. You also get trip cancellation and interruption insurance, luggage insurance, and other travel insurance coverages.
3. While you are traveling
There are a few things to keep in mind during your holiday as well:
- Always ask for receipts when you pay for medical care in foreign countries. You will need these in order to claim reimbursement from your mandatory and voluntary medical insurance.
- Avoid staying in luxury clinics or otherwise using luxurious medical services, as insurers generally only cover needed medical care within reasonable limits.
- Both Swiss mandatory health insurance and voluntary medical insurance like that included in HanseMerkur’s Premium travel insurance only covers medical emergencies in foreign countries. It can make sense to wait with preventative checkups and non-urgent treatments until you return to Switzerland, where they are covered by mandatory health insurance.
The long-term travel insurance Travel Premium 365 from HanseMerkur automatically cover you every time you leave Switzerland, for any number of trips, 365 days a year. In addition to medical insurance, you also get standard travel insurance cover like insurance for trip cancellations and interruptions, luggage, and tickets, as well as price protection and assistance in travel emergencies. Trips within Switzerland are also covered.
You can compare offers and apply online directly on the HansMerkur website.
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