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Health insurance on a long passage: what do bluewater sailors need?
Short answer
On a long passage an ordinary travel policy is rarely enough,
because it usually limits each trip to a few weeks.
Bluewater sailors need long stay health insurance that applies at sea and pays for repatriation,
and they settle their cover at home before they leave.
Anyone setting off for a year or more on their own boat soon finds that the annual travel policy from everyday life does not fit. Most of these policies limit each trip to a set number of days, often a month or two, and the cover ends after that. For an Atlantic circuit or a circumnavigation bluewater sailors need long stay or international health insurance that runs for the whole voyage and includes the areas you actually sail in, including the Caribbean, North America or the Pacific.
Three points decide whether a policy fits. First, the scope: does it apply only ashore, or also on board and on the high seas, and does it include the United States, where treatment is very expensive? Some travel policies exclude sailing beyond a stated distance from the coast, so read the sports and activities section. Second, repatriation: does it pay for medically necessary transport home or to the nearest suitable hospital, by air if needed? Third, the length of cover and the rules on breaks, for instance when you fly home for a few weeks and leave the boat in a marina abroad.
Settle your health cover at home before you go as well. Entitlement to the NHS, to public healthcare in Ireland or to the compulsory basic insurance in the Netherlands depends on where you live, and a long absence or giving up your address can end it. Ask early what happens to your entitlement and how you get it back on return. A GHIC or EHIC is tied to residence too and covers state healthcare only. Keep copies of every insurance document and the emergency number of the health insurer with the ship's papers and in the grab bag. For illness, boat insurance pays no medical bills. After an accident, our Premium accident cover pays necessary medical costs up to 50,000 euros within Europe and 100,000 euros outside Europe.
Worth remembering
Travel policy
usually a few weeks per trip
Long stay policy
for the whole voyage, at sea too
Settle it before you leave, not in hospital.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Is my annual travel insurance enough for a long passage?
Usually not, because it limits each trip to a set number of days, often a month or two. For a long voyage you need long stay health insurance that runs for the whole trip.
Does health insurance apply on the high seas?
Not every policy does. Check that cover applies on board and on the high seas, that sailing offshore is not excluded, and that repatriation by air is included.
Does personal accident cover pay the doctor abroad?
Mostly it pays a sum according to the consequences of an accident. Our Premium accident cover also pays medical costs after an accident, up to 50,000 euros within Europe and 100,000 euros outside. When you fall ill, only health or travel insurance pays.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Health insurance on a long passage: what do bluewater sailors need?” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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