Medical insurance for travel in Russia

Insurance in the USA

American insurance is considered almost the standard in the insurance market in many respects.
Its main feature is that it is not subject to a national regulatory system, but is controlled separately in each state. This structure has proven its effectiveness throughout history (about 150 years). The private insurance sector in the United States replaces or complements government social programs, which is why it is so actively supported by the government. Ensuring comfortable conditions for the existence of the market is placed at the top of the state's priorities.

Insurance in the USA is not just a way to protect against possible risks. Active advertising campaigns of insurance agencies at one time complemented the image of the American dream, which was accelerated at the end of the last century through the mass media. The high standard of living has also contributed to the growth in demand for all insurance services in the country.

Features of American insurance

The insurance market in the United States consists of two types: life insurance and other types of insurance (property, liability). Property and liability insurance in the United States accounts for almost half of the global market - 46%. In total, there are 4 thousand life insurance companies and 4.5 thousand property and liability insurance companies in the country.

• High competition in the market is limited by a strict criterion for access to the market - the presence of a certain level of capital.
• External competition - from banks - is limited by the state through control over the conduct of related operations by banks.

Regulation of the insurance industry at the state level is expressed not only by ensuring that only solvent companies are on the market, but also by the availability of insurance services for all categories of citizens, regardless of nationality, place of residence and other factors characteristic of US politics.

In general, state regulation of insurance is carried out at two levels: regulation of the solvency of insurers and regulation of the market. If solvency regulation is based on capital and investment controls, then market regulation is mainly reflected in the pricing policy of insurance companies. Supervisory control over the activities of insurers is carried out by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which has existed in the United States since 1871.

A feature of American insurance is the presence of insurance brokers and agents in the insurance process - not a single transaction takes place directly. In addition, insurance is the only industry that is not subject to antitrust laws.

The leading insurance companies in the United States are State Farm Insurance and American International Group.

How to get insurance in the USA?

1. Insurance in the United States is the responsibility of all citizens. Legal immigrants are also required to provide Social Security or Social Security (SS).
2. SS is a general insurance system designed for working citizens and immigrants; it does not cover medical expenses. Every employee or entrepreneur regularly contributes interest to the SS fund, which provides financial assistance to the most vulnerable groups of the population: the poor, pensioners, orphans.
3. Social Security Number (SSN) is a unique 10-digit number that is assigned to everyone who legally resides and works in the United States. An analogue of SSN is the Russian Taxpayer Identification Number. It is advisable to obtain an SSN immediately after arriving in America, especially since this can be done for free from the Social Security Administration. Without an SSN, you will not be able to get a job, rent a home, or get medical care.

Why do you need insurance?

Medical insurance for a visa allows you to guarantee that in the event of any insured event specified in the policy, foreign citizens will receive a certain list of services or insurance compensation. Insurance for a visa must be taken out at the stage of preparing documents for applying to consular offices.

What insurance is needed for a visa? The choice of possible options depends on the purpose of the trip, the duration of the expected visit, as well as the list of services included in the terms of the policy. Most countries, as a prerequisite for issuing a visa, set minimum standards for the insurance services included in the policy:

• insurance of life and health of citizens against accidents;
• insurance of property if its use is directly related to the purposes of the stay;
• additional insurance during active or extreme recreation, sporting events, etc.;
• insurance against accidents at work.

In addition, citizens can independently draw up additional types of insurance contracts, which are not a condition for obtaining visa documents. In practice, when applying for a visa, citizens must have health insurance with the minimum amount of insurance coverage required by law.

Note! In order for medical insurance for a visa to be accepted without objection at the consular office, it must apply to all citizens planning a trip.

To obtain a visa, medical insurance must meet the following requirements:

• have a validity period for the entire period of stay in the territory of a foreign state;
• extend its effect to the entire territory of the foreign country to which the trip is planned, or simultaneously to several countries along the route.

In addition to insurance policies for single visits, you can obtain insurance for a visa for an unlimited number of trips within the validity period of a multiple-entry visa.

Health insurance

Health insurance in America is paid separately and is also mandatory under the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. A US resident who does not have health insurance will be required to pay a fine of 2.5% of their annual earnings.

Only unemployed people, disabled people, people over 65, or low-income people can get free health insurance. In all other cases, the insurance is paid either by the person himself or in whole or in part by the employer.

You can sign up for insurance either through the state-run Health Insurance MarketPlace healthcare.gov or through coveredca.com in California and nystateofhealth.ny.gov in New York.

There are three types of health insurance (actually there are more, but three make up the bulk of the market):

• HMO (“in network”) - allows you to visit only those doctors and specialists who have entered into an agreement with the HMO. Using it, the general practitioner issues referrals to other doctors.
• PPO – you can receive treatment either “on-network” or “out-of-network”. With this type of insurance, the choice of doctors increases; you don’t need to get a referral from a therapist, but it also costs more.
• EPO differs from an HMO only in that it does not require a referral from a primary care physician, but will require treatment only from “in-network” doctors.

Dental and vision care will require separate insurance.

The process of obtaining medical care in America, at first glance, seems complicated, but it is easy to understand if you know its main stages:

1. Some services are provided free of charge by insurance and are prescribed in the insurance plan.
2. For all others, you must pay Co-pay (additional payment), the amount of which is also specified in the contract
3. When the amount of funds paid for medical services reaches a certain threshold - Deductible, only Co-Insurance will need to be paid for medical care - a small percentage of the full cost of the service.
4. Once the limit of the policyholder's spent funds has reached the Out-of-pocket maximum level, he stops paying for medical services - all expenses are borne by the insurance company.
5. Every year Deductible and Out-of-pocket are reset to zero.

Insurance in countries where the Green Card is not valid

What are the insurance conditions in countries where the green card is not valid? In Africa and Asia, for example, you will need to purchase other types of policies, but the conditions are practically no different from the Green Card. You will need to present the same package of documents and it will cost plus or minus the same. The only difference will be the direction.

OSAGO abroad

In addition to the Green Card, you can additionally take out a CASCO insurance policy to protect your car from theft and theft. You can also pay for a travel insurance contract, which, if necessary, will reimburse you for car repairs. This is not mandatory, but if you want to play it safe, these documents will help you.

How to deal with an accident abroad.

In order for the insurance company to compensate for the damage, in case of an accident you must follow this algorithm:

1. Do not leave the scene of the accident. After the incident, immediately call the police and, if necessary, an ambulance.
2. Take the accident notification form from the injured party and give them the second sheet of the policy.
3. At the police station, ask for a document confirming the fact of the accident.
4. Contact your insurance company office and report the incident.

If at least one of the points has not been met, the insurance company has the right to refuse to compensate you for damage, so take this as seriously as possible. There are also other reasons for denial of compensation; you can find the full list on the official website of your insurance company.

So we talked about car insurance for traveling abroad.
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Insurance in Russia

The insurance structure in Russia is radically different from the American system. We can start with the fact that the modern insurance system in Russia is based on the Soviet form, in which the Ministry of Finance provided a monopoly on insurance services. Literally, it dictated the conditions, and the policyholder accepted them without fail.

Insurance organizations of the USSR, subordinate to the Ministry of Finance, were used as a financial safety net that the state could use if necessary. After the collapse of the USSR, Rosgosstrakh was created on the basis of the State Insurance Board, which still exists today.

To obtain a license to carry out insurance activities, the organization must fully pay the authorized capital before starting work. After paying for the authorized capital, the insurance organization is obliged to submit a number of documents to the Department of Insurance Supervision, and only then begin work.

Main market players: Alfastrakhovanie, SOGAZ, Ingosstrakh, RESO, VTB-Insurance, Rosgosstrakh

Medical insurance for Schengen

There are certain insurance requirements for a Schengen visa that must be adhered to:

• the cost of the policy should be calculated based on the amount of insurance coverage of 30,000 euros, or higher;
• should not include a deductible, i.e. losses that are not compensated to the policyholder;
• The policy cannot be filled out by hand, only a printed form is accepted.

Standard Schengen visa insurance usually includes the following services:

• medical – calling a doctor, staying in a hospital, expenses for medicines, telephone bills related to an insurance event;
• dental - for acute pain;
• repatriation to the homeland.

The insurance coverage must begin on the date of receipt of the visa and must be 15 days longer in duration from the date of departure to your homeland. This requirement is due to the fact that there may be a delay in departure for some reason and then there will be no need to change the dates in the insurance. The policy is paid only for those days that a person actually spends abroad.

Mistrust of policyholders and insurers

Despite the fact that the insurance market has been successfully developing over the past decade, a certain level of mistrust in insurance remains among Russian citizens. One of the main reasons for this phenomenon lies in the frequent cases of fraud in the market. One-day companies have long been remembered by Russian citizens since the 90s.

The idea that insurance companies use all legal subtleties in order not to pay the insured amount is firmly entrenched in the minds of consumers.

Insurers always run the risk of running into unscrupulous policyholders who are willing to fake an accident or death in order to receive an insurance payment. However, fraud in this case will cost the policyholder much more: up to and including criminal penalties.

Another reason why Russian citizens prefer to refuse insurance is the presence of compulsory medical insurance - it is free, which already explains a lot.

Personal and corporate insurance in Russia

Personal insurance in Russia is VHI, risk or accumulative life insurance. Voluntary health insurance allows policyholders to receive better service compared to the compulsory medical insurance system, as well as to enlist the support of the insurance company in case of a controversial situation with a medical institution.

VHI insurance does not cover a number of risks associated with chronic diseases, as well as treatment of oncology or diabetes. There are specialized insurance programs for these cases.

Cancer insurance services in Russia are provided by all leading insurers: Alfastrakhovanie, Ingosstrakh, VTB, Renaissance.

Corporate cancer insurance programs with a cost of 1,000 rubles per insured person allow you to receive a one-time payment of 250,000 rubles and assistance in organizing treatment in Russian clinics. Alternative programs that pay for cancer treatment abroad cost from 5,000 rubles per employee per year, and the amount to pay for treatment is from 250,000 US dollars.

Corporate insurance occupies almost half of the total market share - 40%. Most often, companies use voluntary health insurance and property insurance, followed by insurance of various types of liability: for failure to fulfill obligations under the contract, for causing harm to third parties.

Employees are divided into 2 types. Those who must be insured are people working with risks. But in this context we are talking about employees whose activities are not associated with risks. In fact, until the last moment, corporate insurance not so much for the employee, but for his relatives and children, was in the lead and was one of the top five most intangible motivators. But on the other hand, we see around the world that its value has partially decreased. People say: “Stop giving us our money this way, we can manage it ourselves.” On the one hand, most of the people are still strongly motivated by this, but the decline in the trend is based on the opinion “we don’t want people to decide for us where to insure and how to insure us.” On the other hand, as HR I understand that this is beneficial. With a large staff of workers, I will receive significant discounts, and, consequently, social benefits. the package will be more complete.”

Alena Vladimirskaya Creator of the Anti-Slavery service and the main hunter of the Runet

The cost of corporate voluntary health insurance varies from 10,000 to 250,000 rubles, depending on the insurance program and the level of the clinic. An international VHI policy will cost the employer from 3,000 to 15,000 euros.

Deposit corporate medical care, being an alternative to corporate VHI, allows you not only to save up to 40% of funds on a VHI agreement, but also to use deposit funds for any medical services (including those not included in VHI). At the same time, tax benefits for the employer are preserved.

Separately, it is worth mentioning international personnel insurance. International insurance covers all risks associated with the development of cardiovascular and oncological diseases, organ transplantation and orthopedic operations. Treatment is most often provided by leading European and American clinics. These programs are characterized by very high insurance amounts - from 2.5 million euros. The size of the insurance premium depends on the set of included options (inpatient care, outpatient care, drug coverage), coverage area (Europe or USA), gender and age of the insured.

International health insurance is provided by companies such as BUPA (UK), Globality Health (Luxembourg) and Allianz (Munich).

Which insurance is suitable for travel?

To travel abroad, you need TZR insurance (for those traveling abroad). It guarantees you emergency medical care if, say, you are poisoned by a stale coconut or fall down the stairs.

The basic TZR policy only covers treatment and medical transportation to a certain extent. But it can be supplemented with medical care in special cases (for example, during pregnancy), insurance of baggage, documents and civil liability, as well as insurance against accidents, failure to travel and flight delays. In this case, there will be no more paperwork. All options can be added to the VZR policy - you get one contract that covers all possible risks.

To travel around Russia, theoretically, a regular compulsory medical insurance (CHI) policy will be enough for you. But you can’t get away with it: the compulsory medical insurance policy only comes with queues the length of the Volga. If you want insurance to cover additional risks: for example, evacuation by helicopter from a mountain resort or flight delay, it makes sense to take out a travel policy for Russia and expand it in the same way as the VZR policy.