# Travel medical insurance in Germany: holidays, long stays and winters in the sun

> Auslandskrankenversicherung, travel medical insurance, is the one part of travel insurance that everyone living in Germany should have. It pays for doctors, hospital and the flight back to Germany if you fall ill abroad. An annual policy covers your holidays for little money; months abroad need a separate long stay policy. Cancellation and luggage cover are different products.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-travel-medical-insurance.php  
Updated: 2026-10-31

## I have statutory health insurance in Germany. Do I still need travel medical insurance?

Yes. Abroad, your Krankenkasse pays only what a local patient would get in other European countries, usually nothing outside Europe, and never a medical flight back to Germany. According to published German comparisons, an annual policy for one person under 65 costs around EUR 10 to 30 a year. It is not a travel package, and you rarely need one: cancellation cover only pays off for expensive bookings, and household contents insurance often covers luggage already.

## At a glance

- **Mandatory?:** No for residents, but statutory insurance never pays repatriation
- **Guide price annual policy:** single person under 65 around EUR 10 to 30 a year
- **Length per trip:** annual policies usually 6 to 8 weeks per trip
- **Long stays:** separate long stay policy, per Finanztip around EUR 480 to 1,400 a year
- **Scope:** pays medical costs, not cancellation and not luggage

## Travel medical insurance or travel package: the difference

Travel medical insurance is private health cover for the time you spend outside Germany. It pays what being a patient abroad costs: treatment, hospital, medicines and transport home. A travel package bundles it with trip cancellation, trip interruption, luggage and sometimes delay benefits.

For most households the stand alone medical policy is the better buy. As an annual contract it is cheap and covers every trip, however often you travel. Add cancellation cover for an expensive booking when you need it; luggage and liability are usually covered by your Hausrat and Privathaftpflicht already. Buying a package often means paying for those twice.

## Long stays: sabbaticals, studies and wintering abroad

Annual policies cover each trip only up to a maximum length, typically around eight weeks. If you stay longer, depending on the terms you may lose cover for the whole trip, not just the extra days. For a sabbatical, a gap year, studying or work and travel there are long stay policies that run for months or years.

These cost far more than an annual holiday policy. Finanztip quotes around EUR 60 to 170 for three months and around EUR 480 to 1,400 for a year for the policies it recommends. If you deregister your address in Germany, ask your Krankenkasse beforehand whether your membership continues.

## Expat questions: trips home and visitors from abroad

If Germany is your home and your passport is from somewhere else, check how the policy treats trips to your country of citizenship. Some German policies exclude them or limit them to a shorter period, which matters when you fly home for several weeks every summer.

Parents or friends visiting you from outside the EU are not covered by your policy. They need their own incoming policy, which is also a condition for many Schengen visas: the visa rules require medical cover of at least EUR 30,000 for the stay.

## What is covered

- Outpatient treatment by a doctor abroad
- Hospital stay including surgery
- Prescribed medicines and dressings
- Pain relieving dental treatment and simple fillings
- Repatriation to Germany, in good policies as soon as it is medically advisable
- Repatriation of remains or burial abroad
- 24 hour emergency line with direct payment guarantee to the hospital

## What is not covered

- Treatment that was the reason for the trip
- Treatment that was already planned before departure
- Trips longer than the maximum length per trip
- Cancellation costs, lost luggage and missed flights
- Crowns, implants and dentures beyond a temporary fix
- Spa treatment and rehabilitation

## Who needs it

- Everyone with German statutory health insurance who travels, including within the EU
- Privately insured people whose plan limits cover outside Europe or for repatriation
- Students, interns and work and travel participants, with a long stay policy
- Retirees who spend the winter in Spain, Portugal or the Canary Islands

## Who does not need it

- A full travel package if you already have Hausrat and Privathaftpflicht and the trip is not expensive
- Credit card travel medical cover if your own annual policy already pays more

## What it costs

For holidays, travel medical insurance is one of the cheapest policies in Germany. Price depends on age, destination and above all length of stay: a one year long stay policy costs many times an annual holiday policy.

| Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- |
| Annual holiday policy, single person under 65 | around EUR 10 to 30 a year |
| Long stay policy, three months | around EUR 60 to 170 |
| Long stay policy, one year | around EUR 480 to 1,400 |

**What drives the premium:**

- Age, especially from 65 or 70
- Annual holiday policy or long stay policy
- Europe or worldwide, with or without USA and Canada
- Maximum length per trip
- Single, couple or family
- Deductible per claim

_Guide figures from published German comparisons by Finanztest and Finanztip, as of 2026. Older travellers and North America cost considerably more. Your premium is only fixed in the quote._

## The policy levels on the market

- **Annual policy, Europe:** For holidays in Europe and around the Mediterranean, each trip up to the maximum length. Enough for many families who do not fly further.
- **Annual policy, worldwide:** Also covers long haul trips, with or without USA and Canada. The standard choice if you travel outside Europe now and then.
- **Long stay policy:** For months or years abroad: sabbatical, studies, internship or a winter in the south. Higher premium, built for the whole stay.

## How to recognise a good policy

| Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Repatriation | when medically necessary | when medically advisable and justifiable | This wording decides whether you stay in a foreign hospital or are flown home. |
| Sum insured | high fixed limit | unlimited | A few days in intensive care in North America exhaust a low limit. |
| Length per trip | six weeks | eight weeks or more, extendable while abroad | Exceeding the limit can cost you cover for the whole trip. |
| Pre existing conditions | known conditions excluded | covered if they worsen unexpectedly | The key clause for anyone with diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma. |
| Trips to your home country | excluded or limited | covered like any other destination | Matters for expats who spend weeks with family every year. |
| Emergency service | reimbursement against invoices | 24 hour line, payment guarantee directly to the hospital | Otherwise you pay the hospital bill up front. |
| Deductible | fixed amount per claim | none | With small doctor visits a deductible can wipe out the benefit. |

## Insurers on the German market

In Germany, travel medical insurance comes from travel insurers, private health insurers and automobile clubs. Many policies are sold under intermediary brands backed by one of these insurers. This list is a market overview.

- **HanseMerkur**: travel insurer of the HanseMerkur group, annual and long stay policies
- **ERGO Reiseversicherung**: travel company of ERGO, also sold through travel agents
- **Union Reiseversicherung**: Versicherungskammer group, also available at savings banks
- **Würzburger**: specialist insurer, often the risk carrier behind intermediary brands
- **ADAC**: insurer of the automobile club, travel medical cover also for non members
- **DKV**: private health insurer of the ERGO group
- **Allianz**: private health insurer, travel policies via agents and brokers
- **SIGNAL IDUNA**: mutual health insurer based in Dortmund
- **Barmenia**: private health insurer based in Wuppertal

42 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Krankenversicherer). Source: BaFin company database, 2026-09-18; EU insurers without a German office excluded.

## Typical claims and who pays

- **Broken leg hiking in Madeira** (hospital plus stretcher flight home, easily five figures): Every policy pays for treatment. A basic one flies you home only when medically necessary, a strong one as soon as it is medically advisable.
- **Heart attack on holiday in Florida** (intensive care and surgery, five figures and more): Cheap policies exclude the USA or cap the sum. A worldwide policy without a limit pays the whole bill.
- **Fall in week ten in Tenerife** (hospital and repatriation, several thousand euros): Once the maximum trip length is exceeded, an annual policy does not pay. Only an extension in time or a long stay policy protects you.
- **Child with an ear infection** (doctor and antibiotics, usually modest): Every travel medical policy pays outpatient treatment and prescribed medicine. Keep the invoice with the diagnosis and claim after you return.
- **Helicopter rescue on a glacier** (several thousand euros): Search and rescue is usually covered only up to a fixed limit. You may have to pay the rest, even with a strong policy.
- **Dental implant abroad to save money** (several thousand euros): Treatment that is the purpose of the trip is never covered. Travel medical insurance pays only for what becomes necessary unexpectedly.

## Myth or truth

- „With my German health card I am covered in the EU just as at home." ✘ False. The card covers only what locals get in the country you visit, often with co payments and only in public facilities. It never pays for search and rescue or a flight back to Germany.
- „Stay longer than the maximum trip length and you may have no cover for the whole trip." ✔ True, depending on the terms. Many annual policies do not cover an overlong trip at all, not just the extra days. Extend in advance or choose a long stay policy.
- „A semester abroad is covered by a normal annual policy." ✘ Usually not. A semester is longer than the six to eight weeks per trip. Students need a long stay policy, often with lower premiums for young people.
- „You can usually still buy travel medical insurance shortly before departure." ✔ True. Unlike cancellation cover there is usually no deadline after booking and no waiting period. It does not work for a trip that has already started.
- „My parents visiting from abroad are covered by my German policy." ✘ No. Visitors need their own incoming policy, and for a Schengen visa it must cover medical costs of at least EUR 30,000.

## Common mistakes

- Keeping the annual policy when the next trip is longer than its maximum length
- Not counting the weeks when spending the winter in the south
- Relying on the health card and forgetting the flight home
- Not calling the emergency number first when admitted to hospital
- Overlooking an exclusion for trips to your country of citizenship
- Buying a full package only to get the medical part

## FAQ

### What is the difference between travel medical insurance and travel insurance?

Travel insurance is the umbrella term. Travel medical insurance is one part of it and pays only medical costs and repatriation. Cancellation, interruption and luggage are separate policies, sold alone or as a package.

### Does my German health card work abroad?

In EU and EEA countries and Switzerland the European Health Insurance Card on the back gives you the same public care as locals, often with co payments. Outside these countries and those with social security agreements it usually pays nothing, and it never pays repatriation.

### How long can a single trip be on an annual policy?

Usually six to eight weeks, depending on the policy. The number of trips per year is unlimited. Longer stays need a long stay policy or an extension.

### How much does cover for a year abroad cost?

According to Finanztip, its recommended long stay policies cost around EUR 480 to 1,400 for twelve months and around EUR 60 to 170 for three months. Age, destination and deductible drive the price.

### Am I covered when I visit my home country?

That depends on the policy. Some treat your country of citizenship like any other destination, others exclude it or cover only a shorter period. Check this clause before you buy.

### Can I buy a policy shortly before I leave?

Usually yes. Most travel medical policies have no waiting period and cover trips that start after the policy begins. A trip that has already started generally cannot be insured anymore.

### What should I do if I end up in hospital abroad?

Call the emergency number on your insurance card straight away. The emergency service arranges payment with the hospital and organises repatriation if needed. Keep every invoice and medical report.

## Legal basis and sources

- [Insurance Contract Act (VVG, German)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/vvg_2008/)
- [BaFin company database (licensed insurers)](https://portal.mvp.bafin.de/database/InstInfo/)

## Request quotes

We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-travel-medical-insurance.php#anfrage

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