Everyone who wants to spend a weekend or vacation in Finland must first take care of obtaining a visa and medical policy. To obtain the first document, you must contact the Finnish Consulate. But insurance in Finland is a purely individual matter. Where to go to get this document is your personal business.
Many insurance companies offer insurance in Finland . But to make the right choice, you need to understand all the subtleties of the procedure.
Do I need insurance to travel to Finland
Such a document, first of all, is necessary for the traveler himself. After all, none of us is immune from various incidents, and anything can happen during the trip. No one can guarantee that during this period you will not need medical attention. But in many countries it is provided exclusively on a paid basis, at least for foreigners. So without insurance in Finland (and other states) it is not worth going. Moreover, since Finland is a member of the Schengen agreement, when crossing its border, a medical policy should certainly be. Its availability and correct filling are strictly controlled at customs.
If you are traveling to this northern country by private or company car, in addition to the medical center, you will also need a Green Card (insurance). Finland is not the only state where such a document is needed. The Green Card is valid in 47 more countries. This document minimizes your risks in the event of an accident. It is worth noting that the Green Card is assigned to the car, and not to the person, and is valid regardless of who was driving at the time of the accident.
Do I need one-day insurance
Insurance for travel to Finland is needed even when you cross the border for several hours. This is a prerequisite for applying for a visa. Even if you were not asked about the policy in the process of issuing it, the customs officer must check the document before giving the go-ahead for entry. It is hardly worth the risk of traveling for the sake of saving a pretty small amount.
In addition, the traveler himself is interested in having health insurance in Finland. No one can guarantee you that you will not break your arm 15 minutes after crossing the border, or that any other trouble will happen to you. The cost of medical services in the northern neighbors is so great that only one visit to the doctor can amount to more than 100 euros. And if you have to go to hospital ...
Minimum requirements for Finnish insurance
In the case of insurance for a visa to Finland, a number of minimum requirements must be observed:
- the smallest amount of compensation payments cannot be lower than 30 thousand euros;
- the recommended figure in this case is 50 thousand euros, such a policy is preferable;
- territory of action - all EU countries;
- handwritten policy is not allowed;
- in no case should the insurance policy contain a deductible; it must be unconditional;
- a minimum coverage package should include emergency medical care, including transportation to the homeland or repatriation if necessary;
- insurance in Finland should begin on the day of the visa itself and cover all days of the proposed trip, plus an additional 15 days;
- In this case, you can pay only the actual days of stay.
Example: you apply for a visa on June 15th. The trip is planned from July 1 to 10. The insurance period in this case is considered to be from June 15. In the policy, the insurance period will end on July 30. And you need to pay only the days of the trip (from July 1 to 10).
Tourists should remember that the purchased policy does not in any way affect the period of obtaining permission to visit the country.
Office or online
You can take out insurance in Finland both by visiting the office of the selected insurance company in person or online. If you have ever made an online purchase before, the procedure will not take you much time.
Do not worry that insurance issued through the Internet will be "some kind of different." You will receive a completely official document, with all the necessary signatures and seals. Such a policy has equal legal force with those obtained at the office of any insurance company. Such documents are accepted without question by all visa centers of the northern neighboring country.
In addition, paperwork online often saves not only time but also money. Firstly, you do not have to travel around the city, looking for the best deal and the best insurance company. The conditions of various SK can be compared without getting up off the couch. Secondly, buying a policy online you can save up to a quarter of the cost. Indeed, the price does not include expenses on the salary of an insurance agent, office rental and more. Also, with remote registration of insurance, you exclude the possibility of imposing additional options on you, which the SK employee will almost completely try to do.
Choosing an insurance program
If you need insurance in Finland, its cost will directly depend on which program you prefer. Each insurance company forms its own package of proposals, but in general, all policies can be divided into 3 large groups:
- Premium The policy covers almost all probable risks. In addition to medical services, you can count on the help of a qualified lawyer, auto repair in the event of an accident, treatment in a specialized medical institution, assistance in recovering lost documents, and more.
- Standard . Here you are guaranteed the necessary medical treatment, the transmission of urgent messages, payment of additional days at the hotel, if necessary due to illness, delivery of a loved one to care for the sick, transfer of young children to their homeland and some other services.
- Economy In this package you can only rely on emergency hospitalization or medical care. You will also be transported free of charge to the nearest clinic and may be assisted by an interpreter. Repatriation services can also be included here, however, this option is always present in any package.
To any of the proposed packages, you can additionally select one or more items as you wish. For example, you can add the service of sending home with your child's accompanying person to the Economy package for an additional fee if you suddenly become ill and have to extend your stay abroad.
You can also add to any of the packages:
- baggage insurance;
- assistance in the repair of vehicles in the event of an accident;
- Compensation "from recognizance not to leave" due to a refusal of a visa, illness and so on
- other risks.
How to calculate the price of insurance
How much insurance costs to Finland, first of all, depends on which package you prefer.
There are a number of criteria that significantly affect the price of insurance:
- insurance package (list of foreseen risks);
- contract time;
- the amount of coverage - the more it is, the more expensive the policy;
- the presence of increasing coefficients - special conditions that increase the cost of insurance;
- inclusion of additional services in the policy.
As you understand, the more various factors will be included in the contract, the higher the total amount will be.
Boost factor
So-called circumstances that increase the likelihood of an emergency. Most often they include:
- passion for extreme sports;
- pregnancy;
- the presence of chronic diseases;
- solid age, more than 60 years;
- some others.
The presence of at least one of these factors automatically leads to higher insurance costs. But do not hide anything. If the client provides false information about himself at the time of issuing the policy, then his actions will be considered fraud. There is no need to talk about receiving compensation in this case.
Helps "Turtle"
If you are too lazy to independently seek offers from various insurance companies, it is most convenient to use the services of the Cherehapa service (cherehapa.ru). To find the most profitable offers you just need to fill out a small tablet:
- country to which you intend to travel;
- dates of entry and exit;
- number of people and their age.
The service itself will select for comparison the most advantageous offers from various insurance organizations. Without getting up off the couch, you can add or remove additional options and create the exact package of services that suits you.
Note that the prices for insurance issued on the page of this service can sometimes be lower than at the office of the company. This is achieved through a special affiliate discount provided by insurers.
Having chosen a suitable insurance company and having formed the necessary service package, it is enough to pay for the policy in a way convenient for you. Within a few minutes after receipt of the money, a finished policy will be sent to your email address. It can be printed and carried with you, but it will also be available around the clock in your personal account.
Can I not buy insurance
Is insurance really necessary for a visa to Finland? Maybe you can not buy it?
It is possible, but in this case you will not go anywhere. You simply will not be issued a visa, because the presence of an insurance document is an indispensable condition for obtaining an entry permit.
In fairness, it’s worth saying that border guards quite often are not at all interested in having your insurance document. So if you already have a visa, you can try to slip through without a policy. But in practice, doing this is strongly discouraged.
Firstly, if anything happens to you, you will need to pay for treatment yourself. And this, believe me, is very expensive.
Secondly, if you get caught, it will be considered that you have violated an important requirement of the EU countries. In the future, you may have problems visiting Finland and other Schengen territories.
How to use a policy
In order for insurance in Finland to work out in full, you need to know what to do when an insured event occurs. When concluding an agreement, all SCs must prescribe a course of action in case of an emergency. It must be strictly observed. Any deviation from the prescribed rules is fraught with a refusal to pay compensation.
First of all, it is necessary to contact the service operator by phone specified in the policy and tell about the trouble that has happened. Next, you need to clearly do everything that an employee of the UK says. Most often, the employee of the insurance company calls the clinic itself, which you need to contact and can even call an ambulance, if necessary. To avoid misunderstandings, upon arrival at the clinic, it is best to know in advance the list of procedures that you are going to do, and coordinate it with your IC. Otherwise, surprises may await you in the process of paying compensation.