Travel insurance to spain

[westmorland sailor]

Thought other cruisers might be interested in this. I had an annual insurance policy (UK & Europe) which has just come up for renewal. I am cruising to spain and portugal in late April and so thought I would renew the annual insurance again for the third year because it is a good policy. I have pre-existing medical conditions and always have to go through pre screening. All went well and I renewed the policy. When the paperwork came there was an error on it and I noticed that it had Spain and Cyprus were exluded. As I am travelling to Spain this useless. At no time did the operator inform me that the policy did not cover Spain. Last year it did. If you are cruising to Spain it may be worth checking your policy if you have pre-existing conditions to check that you are covered.

 

This seems to have slipped in recently and I am now in the difficult position of trying to arrange cover with another company. I understand it is because Spain's health care is now so expensive. What is the point of the EHC card then?

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friend,

 

Greetings from Madrid.

 

First of all, if you'd like excellent travel insurance at a very low cost, look at the site in the Uk insurancebookers dot co dot uk

 

I would purchase that annual policy with Platinum Cover (the underwriter is the same company that owns TravelGuard in the United States) and not worry about the pre-existing condition.

 

Your EHC card will get you immediate and free treatment in the Spanish public health system (Seguridad Social), similar to your NHS. It is not as good a system as in the Scandinavian countries or Germany, but British expats here in Spain tend to have the opinion that it is better than the British NHS.

 

Just bring the EHC card with you and follow the below guidelines.

 

A little secret -- the Spanish constitution provides for universal, emergency healthcare. So as long as it was an emergency (i.e. you didn't purposely come to Spain just to seek medical treatment), you will be treated in the public system free of charge even if you didn't have the EHC.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

 

Medical care in Spain

If you are an expatriate or a visitor coming from another European Member state, you are generally free from hospital and medical care expenses. Having presented your European Health Card (EHC), you will be attended to by a general practitioner at your local centre. If you are not able to make it to your local health centre, the general practitioner will pay you a visit. If the situation requires you to see a specialist or be admitted to a hospital, the general practitioner will give you a referral or a medical certificate. Most hospitals in Spain also have Accident and Emergency departments.

 

What does the EHC do?

With your EHC, you can receive similar healthcare to that of a Spanish citizen. Expiration dates are indicated on the EHC and they are not valid in Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. Private hospitals and some general practitioners in Spain will not honour an EHC. The EHC is available from relevant healthcare organizations in your country of origin.

 

What Health forms are necessary?

During your stay in Spain, if there is a need for a specific treatment, e.g. haemodialysis, you are required to fill out an E-112 form. You will also need authorization from an appropriate institution from your home country. Dental treatment is not generally covered in Spain, with the exception of emergency extractions.

If you happen to forget your EHC card, it is your responsibility to pay for you pharmaceutical, medical and hospital bills in advance. By providing your receipts, you can seek a reimbursement from the appropriate healthcare organization in your own country.

 

Bear in mind that your EHC is not applicable if you travel to Spain for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatments. This also applies to other EU participating countries.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friend:

 

If you still want private medical treatment and not depend on the EHC, go to google and type travel insurance for uk citizens providing cover for pre-existing conditions.

 

You will get to a website called moneysupermarket dot com that will give you a whole list of travel insurance companies that provide this type of cover.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[CruisinGerman]

What confuses me is your exclusion of Spain and Cyprus.

 

Policies issued in the European Union generally cannot exclude other EU countries, by law.

 

In any case, please let us know how you make out.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friend:

 

I've researched how to purchase travel insurance from certain UK websites.

 

Where you seek cover tends to influence the price of the policy. Most policies let you choose:

 

Domestic

Europe

World excluding USA

World including USA

 

with the last one World including USA being the most expensive because of the peculiarities (price) of the system they use in that country.

 

However, some companies break this choice further, such as:

 

Home country only;

Europe excluding Spain, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey

Europe including Spain, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey

Worldwide excluding USA

Worldwide including USA

 

You appear to have mistakenly purchased the wrong policy. I am sure that if you call the insurer or broker immediately, inform them of the mistake, and pay the difference in premium, they will issue you the correct policy no problem.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[patseacruiser]

Does anyone know an annual plan for a US citizen that would include pre-existing conditions. All I can find excludes pre-existing conditions within the last 2 years and most of them have wording that says even if it hasn't been diagnosed or treated in the last 2 years if you have a recurrence during travel it will not cover in excess of $20K.

[westmorland sailor]

Dear friend:

 

I've researched how to purchase travel insurance from certain UK websites.

 

Where you seek cover tends to influence the price of the policy. Most policies let you choose:

 

Domestic

Europe

World excluding USA

World including USA

 

with the last one World including USA being the most expensive because of the peculiarities (price) of the system they use in that country.

 

However, some companies break this choice further, such as:

 

Home country only;

Europe excluding Spain, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey

Europe including Spain, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey

Worldwide excluding USA

Worldwide including USA

 

You appear to have mistakenly purchased the wrong policy. I am sure that if you call the insurer or broker immediately, inform them of the mistake, and pay the difference in premium, they will issue you the correct policy no problem.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

 

 

Guntha and Uta

 

Thank you for taking so much trouble with the information you have given. I am interested that you think it is illegal to offer insurance which excludes a Euro Country. Mine certainly did. I had to cancel the policy - I then had to go through all the process of pre-existing medical conditions again, this time with Spain included. It is clear that it is costing more to insure us in the Uk for travel to Spain on holiday than other Euro countries. So in the UK they are definitely selling insurance which includes Spain and insurance which precludes Spain. I think it probably only affects those of us with pre-existing medical conditions.

 

I have got fixed up elsewhere and it includes Spain so thanks anyway for all your help and information. Hopefully your information may help others.