is my health insurance in UK valid after i left UK ? Question?
I have european health insurance card issued in uk when i was living and working there, i am traveling around the world as i have enough money not to work now for a couple of years.
1) is this card still valid and will remain valid as long as the expiry date on it?
2) if i have an accident and go to a hospital somewhere in EU (not UK) do i need to worry that i will need to cover medical expenses as i am not living nor working in UK at the moment?
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:50 am
Each policy is different, but as a general rule, no, health insurance policies do not cover you once you’re outside of that country.
You probably need to take out travel insurance, as this is the only kind of policy that will protect you when you’re overseas.
EU countries do have a reciprocal health agreement but as far as I know, this applies only to EU citizens, not to foreign nationals regardless of where you reside and what insurance you have.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:39 am
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Health_Insurance_Card
The European Health Insurance Card (or EHIC) allows citizens of the EEA countries and Switzerland to receive medical treatment in another member state for free or at a reduced cost, if that treatment becomes necessary during their visit (for example, due to illness or an accident), or if they have a pre-existing chronic condition which requires care such as kidney dialysis.
The participating countries are :-
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Cyprus (but not Northern Cyprus)
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland – However, Switzerland excludes certain nationalities.
* United Kingdom (Including Gibraltar)