Stiftung Warentest Foreign health insurance

Which foreign health insurance offers the best protection? Stiftung Warentest examines 40 offers.

05/22/2013

Summertime, vacation time - what should actually be the highlight of the year, can quickly become an expensive pleasure: For those who need medical help abroad, but has no additional overseas health insurance, may remain at high cost. The choice of „right“ Insurance is often not easy - help here is the Stiftung Warentest, which is responsible for the June issue of the journal "Finanztest" „40 annual contracts for worldwide travel health insurance for individuals and families tested“ and the offers of „very well“ to „sufficient“ has rated.

Medical help on holiday often necessary
Whether a broken leg when hiking or a sunstroke on a beach holiday - especially in the holidays, medical help is often needed, but that can quickly lead to horrendous costs. Because the costs incurred, for example for a hospital stay or the return home, are not covered by the statutory health insurance, but must be paid by the patient. Protection therefore offers only an additional foreign health insurance, which is usually complete for relatively little money. But which insurance is really worthwhile? Stiftung Warentest has now examined 40 offers - central result: „The services of the various providers vary greatly. For example, only a few insurers take over services for provisional dentures. Significant differences also exist in conditions for repatriation to Germany“, so the current press release of the foundation.

No reimbursement by statutory health insurance outside Europe
According to Stiftung Warentest, the basic costs would amount to "an average of ten to twelve euros per year," but seniors would "amount to fifteen to thirty euros". However, according to the experts, this investment is recommended for anyone who "wishes to travel abroad, because while the statutory health insurance company would in some cases still pay costs within Europe, it would never arise for costs outside Europe". Accordingly, a long-distance travel could quickly lead to financial disaster, because in the US, for example, hospital treatment could be very expensive, so the warning of the Stiftung Warentest. It should also be borne in mind that destinations such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkey or Tunisia must also apply for an international health insurance because the European health insurance card is not sufficient in these countries.

Test winner Allianz offers uncomplicated return transport home
Of the tested insurance, the alliance rated the rating "very good" the best: Singles pay here according to the experts, according to the experts 9.80 euros for one year protection abroad, for a family are 19.60 euros payable, in both cases During the insurance year any number of trips of a maximum of 56 days at a time should be undertaken. The plus point of this insurance, according to the testers, is that Allianz would not, for example, cover the costs of repatriating the illness in a medical emergency, but even if it is medically reasonable and justifiable. In addition, mental health care would also be covered by insurance coverage.

Universa offers, among other things, reimbursement for provisional dentures
The Universa got from the testers a "very good" and thus occupied the second place in comparison. Here, singles could insure themselves for 12.84 euros per year and expect services such as the reimbursement of provisional dentures and medically necessary aids, if necessary, and, according to the experts, costs incurred in the last six weeks before the contract was signed are. The big surprise is that even in the previous year, this insurer had received a "poor" in a similar investigation.

Third place this year, the Ergo Direkt together with the Hanseatic League Merkur / DAK and Neckermann: Singles get here for € 8.90 a year „good“ Insurance coverage abroad, for families costs the protection at Neckermann 17.80 euros annually and Ergo Direkt and Hanse Merkur / DAK each 19.90 euros.

Four insurers only offer sufficient offers
But for four insurers, the testers could only give a "sufficient": So could not convince the offers of Deutscher Ring, Mannheimer, Signal Iduna and Gothaer - frequent criticism here were the conditions in the case of a return home.

In general, it should be taken into account with the foreign health insurance that older people would have to expect surcharges, but there would also here relatively cheap offers, such as the Inter (increased contribution of 15 €) or the LVM / hkk (increased contribution also from 15 euro). (No)

Picture: Margot Kessler