Travel medical insurance for the Schengen area
What is the Schengen area?
For practical purposes, and in a simplified way, the Schengen area is a territory made up of a group of countries that allow the free movement of people within their territory. Migratory controls are carried out by the countries through which you enter or leave the Schengen area and, unless you apply for a long-stay visa, it allows you to stay legally within the area for a period not exceeding 90 days within the last 180 days.
Which countries make up the Schengen area?
It is currently made up of 26 countries and 3 micro-states. These are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, San Marino, Monaco and the Vatican. The latter 3 are not part of the Schengen area but in practice behave as if they were.
Is travel medical insurance necessary to enter the Schengen area?
Travel medical insurance to enter the Schengen area is required only for those travellers who need to apply for a Schengen visa before entering the territory. In other words, for these persons this travel medical insurance is a necessary condition and must be valid for the entire duration of their stay in the Schengen area regardless of the purpose of the trip. Those who do not require a visa for entry into the Schengen area are not required to present a travel medical insurance although it is highly recommended.
Which countries require a Schengen visa?
Here you can find the most up-to-date list of countries that require a Schengen visa and therefore require travel medical insurance. For example, if we focus on Latin America, you will find countries such as Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic in this list. However, we cannot fail to mention that travel health insurance is essential and strongly recommended. Accidents happen and it is better to be insured!
Which travel medical insurance do we recommend?
We recommend AXA Schengen, a leading company with many years of experience. It only takes a couple of clicks to get a travel medical insurance and once the payment has been made, you will receive the proof of insurance instantly in your email inbox. In particular, we can highlight two types of policies: the basic one, for €30,000, valid in the Schengen countries and micro-states; and the more complete one, for €100,000, which in addition to covering the countries and micro-states of the basic policy is also valid in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania.
The process of acquiring an AXA Schengen travel medical insurance begins by choosing the type of policy you are interested in and entering the total duration of your trip. At this point you will be able to simulate the total cost of the travel medical insurance. You will then be asked for your details and finally you will be able to choose the payment method. It is a process that takes no more than 5 minutes and will allow you to enjoy your trip with total peace of mind, knowing that you are well insured.