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What to do if you fall ill abroad
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
When you are about to go on holiday abroad, you don’t even want to think about various troubles like illnesses or accidents. And what, it would seem, can happen in 2 weeks… However, tour operators take the issue more seriously and sell medical insurance along with the tour.
It is better to take into account the probability of an accident when buying a tour. Insurance for tourists will cost from $0.2 to $3 per day. Cheap insurance may not cover transportation costs if you suddenly need to be delivered home on a special flight. Therefore, find a reasonable compromise between thrift and caution. It is important to keep in mind that medical care abroad is very expensive, especially in the USA and Schengen countries.
Study the contract with the insurance company carefully to know what kind of troubles are considered an insured event and from what moment the insurance starts to operate. For example, many companies will not pay for the treatment of a disease that you could have been vaccinated against in your home country. The insurance does not cover sexually transmitted diseases either.
If you feel unwell abroad, find the phone number of the service company's call center in your insurance policy. It deals with organizational issues of providing medical care and paying for medical services. Tell the operator your policy number, your name, where you are, the phone number where you can be reached, and explain the nature of the problem.
In case of mild illness, you may be advised to see a doctor yourself. Be sure to keep paid medical bills, prescriptions and receipts from the pharmacy. After returning home, take these documents to the insurance company and you will be reimbursed for the costs.
If the problem is more serious and you need hospitalization, the company contacts the nearest clinic with which it has a contract or the hotel doctor. All expenses in this case are borne by the insurance company. It is necessary to contact the call center in any case. You may unknowingly violate some of the insurance conditions and lose the right to reimbursement of expenses