| 1.
Organisation
Which insurances should
you take out before your stay abroad? You are well protected
with:
- a health insurance (absolutely elementary!!!)
- an accident insurance (an important
supplement; if you are already insured against accidents
with your parents, you should inform yourself, if you
are covered globally).
- a travel liability insurance (important
for everyone, who is not insured anymore with their parents;
in case of a private liability insurance with your parents,
you should inform yourself about a world-wide covering).
Some insurers offer a student
package with all three insurances, e.g. the DAAD, CareMed
or ProTrip.
First of all you should check
if your legal health insurance (GKV) in Germany (your home
country) is covering your stay abroad. Then you should think
about additional protection, if necessary or desired. Due
to the limited protection of the legal health insurance, your
should consider an additional insurance in most cases.
The health insurance protection
of the legal health insurance exists in EU member states,
but not automatically. You should get following forms:
- Form E109 – for students, who are
insured with their parents and have their domicile in
a member state during their studies abroad; you have to
present this form at the health insurance of your place
of study abroad;
- Form E106 – the same content as
form E109, but for students, who are self-insured, i.e.
not with their parents.
- Form E128 – for students, who
have their domicile not in a member state during their
study period abroad.
- Form E111 – for holidays, which
are spent neither at home in your native country nor at
your place of study in a member state.
But be careful – it is possible that there exists
a maximum period of validity for the forms, which can’t
be exceeded!!!
| Google´s health
insurance links: |
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From 01.06.04 the European
health insurance card has been introduced and it is possible
that you can also use this one. Forms E128 and E111 will be
supplemented by this card in the future.
There will be the same protection
provided, as the member state offers to their citizens. If
you are studying in Denmark for example, and you are using
the European health insurance card, you are protected in the
same way as the Danes themselves. Therefore it is important
to inform yourself about the actual protection in various
cases. This information is elementary for your decision to
take out additional insurance or not.
Students taking part in an
ERASMUS programme abroad, enjoy a certain protection through
this programme. But also here it is important to inform yourself!
When you are looking now for additional insurance, please
be careful not to accept the first cheap offer. You should
consider following points:
- Am I still insured in case I travel home
to Germany (my homecountry) in the meantime? If you plan
to stay longer abroad with some holidays at home in the
meantime, you should choose a rate, which covers your
stays at home as well.
- Will the insurance I want to take out
also be accepted in my chosen foreign country? (This is
particularly important for your studies in the USA; at
some places you are only allowed to study with a so-called
USIA J1 insurance. This regulation requires of you to
choose an insurance company with a cooperating partner
in America; moreover there are some rules concerning covering
funds).
European policies regarding stays abroad also have partly
other bonuses than policies for stays outside of Europe.
- How long will I stay abroad? Do you
know the exact time already or is an extension possible
if necessary? Some rates require a fee for an extension
and some don’t. You should clarify this before taking
out an insurance.
- Do you have a history of diseases? Some
insurers do not ask any questions concerning health when
checking your application but they are allowed to charge
extra, if diagnosing an illness, which was already in
existence at the time of taking out the insurance. A lack
of health questions is therefore not a guarantee to escape
extra charges. If you should suffer from diseases, please
discuss them with an independent insurance broker. He/she
can inform you individually about good insurers due to
his/her cooperation with various insurances.
- In which cases are you entitled a paid
return transport in case of a disease? If stated as “
medical required cases” it is hardly the case in
Europe, as we are provided with basic health care in all
EU countries.
Another tip –
ask at your university if they have negotiated a more favourable
rate with a certain health insurance.
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