What is and isn't covered under my expat health insurance policy?

Expat health insurance is a common and great option for expats first arriving in Europe and settling in. It is an affordable insurance option with minimal eligibility criteria, meaning it is quick and easy to sign up for and provides you with initial health insurance in Europe.

However, unlike public health insurance, expat is designed as a short term insurance that covers basic health care needs.

Expat insurance will cover you for new medical conditions that commence after your insurance cover starts (and after the waiting period if that applies to you). This includes both outpatient appointments (e.g. an appointment with a General practitioner), or inpatient hospital treatments. This coverage applies specifically to treatment with a registered medical doctor.

There is limited additional for non-medical treatments, such as dental and physical therapy, which will be covered in more detail below.

First, let's break down the coverage in a simplified comparison table so you can have an initial overview.

Now, let's provide some further information on the coverage points listed above.

Your expat policy covers you for medical treatment (as described in this article) throughout the European Union and the Schengen Area (which means the United Kingdom is excluded), as well as Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City. Coverage applies for trips of up to 90 days, with no limit on the number of trips per year.

After 12 months on the expat policy, you also receive the same level of coverage for up to 6 weeks of travel to your home country per year, defined as the country of your last residence as declared at sign-up.

Yes. Accidents that happen while practicing a sport as a hobby are covered under the same terms as any other accident described in this article — this includes mountain sports and winter sports (such as skiing and snowboarding). This means outpatient and inpatient treatment resulting from a sports accident is covered, and ambulance transport and air lifting following the accident are covered under the same condition that applies to all ambulance transport: it must lead to an admission and inpatient stay.

This coverage does not extend to professional athletes. If the sport is practiced professionally rather than as a hobby, accidents resulting from it are not covered, and professional athletes cannot be covered under the expat health plan.

As expat health insurance is designed for short term use and does not have the same levels of coverage as a statutory insurance, we recommend upgrading to a statutory insurance once you become eligible.