When planning a trip, medical insurance is no less important than an air ticket. Even in the cheapest countries, medical care for a foreigner can cost a lot of money.
Medical insurance must be purchased for any trip. If it is included in a tourist voucher, keep in mind that travel agencies usually pay for insurance at the lowest rate, ask which company insures tourists. This is not something worth saving on, because in the event of an accident, insurance will save you a significant amount.
Choose an insurance company
It is advisable to buy a policy from large and reliable companies. Read reviews on the forums for independent travelers - they describe real cases of payments or non-payments. Study the conditions and compare the cost. Some insurance companies set a multiplying coefficient for certain countries, in particular, for Thailand, which is associated with a large number of complaints about accidents in this particular country. While you can find another company without this coefficient.
Choose the type of insurance
First select the host country. Also, several amounts of insurance payments are usually offered: in dollars and in euros. It is better to take the maximum, it will not increase the cost of insurance that much. You can choose the type of recreation: normal (hotel, pool and beach), active (excursions, riding quads, motorcycles), extreme sports (surfing, kite and windsurfing, alpine skiing, snowboarding, paragliding). Some insurance companies issue separate rates for certain sports (winter or water). If you will play sports only for part of the trip, then it is better to issue two policies for different dates at different rates. Carefully read the insurance contract, especially the concept of an "insured event", the procedure in case of an insured event and the procedure for reimbursing the costs of medical care. Important: Injuries sustained while intoxicated are usually not insured events!
How to buy a policy
This can be done at the company's office or on the Internet by paying by card. If you take out insurance on the Internet, be sure to print out the policy! If an insured event occurs, you may not always be able to view the policy number from your phone or computer. Please note that sometimes you can buy insurance online only when you are in the Russian Federation, so do not postpone it until the last day. It is better to take the number of days with a small "margin", at least one day more, in case of flight delays or other unforeseen circumstances.
What's next
Be sure to write down the phone number you need to contact in your phone so as not to look for it for a long time. If you go on excursions or just go far from your hotel, take your medical policy, or a copy of it, with you. In case you need medical attention, the first thing to do is call the number for a referral to a specific hospital. Exceptions are life-threatening cases when every minute counts.
