Why do I need an insurance abroad ?

Medical costs abroad are often much higher than in France and social security does not cover you everywhere.
It’s important to make sure you benefit from the right international health insurance when you’re going abroad for a variety of reasons.

What health cover is there without international health insurance?

Very often, the cover you have in your home country is not valid abroad.

There are two main reasons why you will not be able to count on Social Security coverage:

• Not systematically covered
• Reimbursement on the basis of French rates.

In Europe, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is not enough to be well covered.

Finally, if you have a premium bank card, the travel insurance will not be valid if you do not use your card to pay for your stay in full. Classic cards do not provide broader coverage. It is not possible to customise cover with a bank card. Insurance cover with bank cards is usually valid for three months or 90 days.

Immediate cover by taking out health insurance

International health insurance covers you against some major risks:

• Financial risk: health costs vary greatly from one country to another and can rise quickly. The insurance covers your expenses and prevents you from having to pay in advance in the event of hospitalisation.
• Health risk: in some parts of the world, medical facilities are very limited. It is important to have extensive repatriation assistance coverage to compensate for local shortcomings.
• Risk of access to medicine: the public structures of certain countries do not always allow a choice of doctor or hospital and the time taken to access care is very long.
  The insurance allows the reimbursement of care provided by private medicine, with a free choice of doctor or hospital, throughout the world

The benefits of health insurance abroad

The insurance offers many advantages such as

• Complementary guarantee to social protection: it covers loss of luggage, theft, destruction of all or part of the luggage
• Reimbursement of medical and health costs: the insurer sets a ceiling according to the contract chosen.
• Civil liability cover: this covers the costs of damage caused to others, to other people’s property and to social security abroad.

Having good health cover is essential if you want to travel abroad with peace of mind!