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Passport-holding American citizens can travel to 27 European countries for less than a 90-day stay without first obtaining a visa. But many other people must get a visa before entering the 27 countries that make up Europe’s Schengen Area. For example, citizens of China, India and Russian must get Schengen visas in order to travel there.
What Is Schengen Visa Insurance?
A Schengen visa allows free movement among European countries, which don’t have border control checkpoints.
Those who need to secure a Schengen visa must meet several requirements, including the purchase of medical travel insurance.
Schengen visa insurance must provide medical expenses coverage, including hospitalization, medical treatment and repatriation for medical reasons. It must also be valid in all Schengen countries and cover a person’s entire stay in that area.
The minimum coverage is €30,000 (about $33,300).
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Which Countries Are in the Schengen Area?
The 26 countries that compose the Schengen Area are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Who Needs Schengen Visa Insurance?
Passport-holding American citizens do not need a Schengen visa or Schengen visa insurance. However, Americans traveling abroad should consider travel insurance that provides medical coverage and other valuable benefits..
Someone who must obtain a Schengen visa also must purchase Schengen visa insurance. This includes citizens of more than 100 countries, such as Cambodia, China, Cuba, Egypt, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
Countries that are exempt from the visa requirement include the United States, Canada, Israel, Japan, Mexico and South Korea.
What Does Schengen Insurance Cover?
Schengen visa insurance covers medical expenses, repatriation and other expenses that may happen while traveling in the Schengen area. It may also cover prescription medications, medical tests and treatments and dental care.
A broad policy could also cover trip cancellation and trip interruption.
Schengen visa insurance must include:
- Minimum coverage of €30,000 (roughly $33,000) that is valid in all Schengen countries.
- Coverage for expenses related to transporting someone back to their home country for medical reasons.
- Coverage for expenses for emergency medical treatment or hospital care.
- Coverage for expenses related to the policyholder’s death.
- Coverage for the entire period of the policyholder’s intended stay or travel.
Some insurance companies offer coverage that goes beyond those requirements.
For instance, Europ Assistance sells extended coverage that provides coverage up to €60,000 (roughly $66,000), travel and lodging expenses for the return trip of a policyholder’s companion, expenses for the return of a minor under age 14 to their home country and a doctor-prescribed extended stay of up to five days. This coverage is good in Schengen countries as well as Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom.
Another insurer, AXA, offers coverage for medical expenses up to €100,000 (roughly $111,000) for up to 180 days in its Europe Travel plan. It’s valid in Schengen countries and non-Schengen countries in the European Union, along with Great Britain, Liechtenstein, San Marin, Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City.
The Multi Trip AXA policy provides that same level of coverage over a one-year period. This coverage enables someone to stay for up to 90 days. Once the 90-day trip ends, the policyholder would need to leave the region, but the coverage would be reactivated once they come back. The coverage then would apply for another 90 days within the same one-year window.
What Does Schengen Insurance Not Cover?
Schengen insurance typically doesn’t cover fines and penalties while staying in the Schengen area, flights and other forms of transportation like car rentals or lost and stolen luggage. It also doesn’t cover pre-existing medical conditions.
How Much Does Schengen Visa Insurance Cost?
AXA’s lowest-cost coverage starts at €.99 (about $1.11) per day of travel. Its mid-level coverage starts at €1.50 per day (about $1.70), and its annual plan starts at €298 (about $382). At Europ Assistance, coverage starts at €3 (about $3.33) per person for the basic plan or €5 per person (about $5.55 )for the extended plan.
How to Buy Schengen Visa Insurance That’s Right For You
Those who need Schengen visa insurance should first figure out what they want the policy to cover, including policy limits.
See if your credit card offers any insurance. By using the credit card, you may have the protections you need without buying with a separate Schengen visa insurance policy. That can help you keep down costs.
You could also check into a travel insurance policy to help cover problems not included in Schengen visa insurance.
Compare quotes from multiple companies that offer Schengen visa insurance coverage, including quotes for different policies from the same company.
Who Sells Schengen Visa Insurance?
Primary sellers of Schengen visa insurance include AXA and Europ Assistance.
AXA’s coverage carries no age limit. It sells coverage to citizens of any country.
Coverage from Europ Assistance isn’t available to residents of Iran, Syria, Belarus, Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan or Zimbabwe. Europ Assistance covers people travelers who are under age 74 when the policy is purchased.
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Does Schengen Visa Insurance Cover COVID-19?
Schengen visa insurance might cover medical expenses related to the coronavirus.
For example, AXA says its policies cover Covid “as long as you have respected medical advice and the travel recommendations provided by the World Health Organization or any other similar organization from your country of residence or from the country you are traveling to.” However, policies from Europ Assistance exclude Covid.