Travel insurance

A serious traffic accident, a fire in your home, or your child needing emergency surgery for appendicitis – many reasons can mean you can’t start your long-planned trip or you have to cut it short.

This is where trip cancellation insurance helps: it reimburses the cancellation fees charged by your tour operator if you have to cancel a trip you already booked. You can also protect yourself financially if you have to leave your holiday early and can’t use services you’ve already paid for, for example if a close relative becomes seriously ill or passes away.

Coverage can also apply if unexpected complications arise during pregnancy, if you have an intolerance after a vaccination, or if you can’t leave your home alone or must return quickly due to burglary, fire, severe storm damage, or other natural events.

Sometimes it happens on day one: your suitcase is stolen. The tour operator is liable – if at all – only up to a limited amount, and travel luggage insurance can cover what goes beyond that. It can be taken out as a weekly, monthly, or annual policy.

Travel luggage insurance protects you worldwide against financial loss resulting from the loss, destruction, or damage of the items you carry with you.

Reimbursed: current value or repair costs
Covered items include everything you need for personal travel, items worn on your body or in your clothing, checked baggage or hand luggage, souvenirs and gifts, as well as sports equipment including accessories and protective gear.

As a rule, the insured amount is the current value of the items you take with you – in other words, the replacement value minus a reasonable deduction for wear, age, and use. If items are damaged, the insurer covers repair costs up to the level of the current value.

When travelling beyond Germany’s borders, private international travel health insurance provides strong protection. Statutory health insurers reimburse medical costs only if you travel in an EU country or in a country that has a social security agreement with Germany.

Even then, reimbursement is limited to what would usually be paid in Germany. Outside Europe, you are often treated as a private patient and may have to pay very high doctor or hospital bills yourself, which – for example in the USA – can easily exceed a year’s income. Statutory health insurers also do not cover transport back home.

Medical transport home is also insured
International travel health insurance pays for medical treatment in the event of acute illness or accidents. It reimburses the costs of inpatient treatment, pain-relieving dental treatment, and medication, dressings, and therapeutic aids.

Also covered is medically necessary repatriation to Germany, as well as transfer costs in the event of the insured person’s death or burial costs incurred abroad.

You can take out international travel health insurance as a time-limited policy for a specific number of travel days or as an annual policy for any number of trips within a year.

On the road with a rental car
If you want to explore your holiday destination on your own, a rental car is often the first choice. Especially in Southern Europe, rented vehicles often come with lower insured sums than in Germany.

That can get expensive after an accident: if you cause an accident while driving a rental car and the injured party’s claims exceed that minimum limit, you must pay the difference out of your own pocket.

Cost-effective protection with the “Mallorca policy”
You are on the safe side if you already have rental car third-party liability insurance at home – commonly known as the “Mallorca policy”. It’s available for just a few euros from domestic car insurers.

In its basic version it applies within Europe and can be taken out for a few weeks or for several months. Depending on the insurer, the Mallorca policy may already be included in your existing motor insurance – simply ask or check your contract.

If you need this additional cover worldwide, you can choose a so-called Traveller contract.

Tip: inform the police immediately after an accident and notify the vehicle rental company. And if you don’t have injuries certified by a doctor, you risk them not being recognised by the at-fault party’s liability insurer.

Maximum cover
If you are travelling abroad in your own car, you also need the right level of protection. For motor third-party liability insurance, it’s best to agree on the maximum possible cover. 

As an addition, taking out comprehensive cover is recommended. Partial comprehensive insurance covers damage caused by theft, fire, storms, collisions with wild animals, and broken glass. Fully comprehensive policies also pay for damage to your own car after an accident. In addition, fully comprehensive insurance can pay if you are harmed in a car accident abroad and the responsible party does not settle the claim properly.

For any trip abroad, you should always carry the green insurance card as proof of insurance and a “European Accident Statement”, which provides guidance for completing it in ten languages.

Affordable and helpful: roadside assistance
A roadside assistance letter is also useful and available at a reasonable price. In the event of an accident or breakdown, it reimburses – within certain maximum limits – the costs for recovery, towing and storage of the vehicle, shipping spare parts, repatriation if the driver becomes ill, necessary overnight stays, and, if required, a rental car.

You can get roadside assistance letters from all German motor insurers and from automobile clubs.