Health Insurance

We live in France. My South African son in law wants to come with our
daughter and kids for a short holiday. Apparently however, he needs to
have proof of health and repatriation insurance to the value of about
$38,000 before a visa application would be considered, to come to
France. Any suggestions at all? It seems rather strange to go through
all this for a holiday lasting only 12 days. Thanks Susan

"Susan" wrote in message
ups.com...
We live in France. My South African son in law wants to come with our
daughter and kids for a short holiday. Apparently however, he needs to
have proof of health and repatriation insurance to the value of about
$38,000 before a visa application would be considered, to come to
France. Any suggestions at all? It seems rather strange to go through
all this for a holiday lasting only 12 days. Thanks Susan


Is it not just a question of buying the necessary Travel Insurance before
leaving South Africa? The Policy/Certificate would be proof of the
Insurance.

JohnT

Although he has a South African passport, he and my daughter work in
the USA. It is going to cost a huge amount in the US to get coverage
for not only health care, but any necessary repatriation. I suppose
they base the premiums on what health care costs in the States :-). I
always thought that if payment was made with a reputable credit card,
the insurance was automatically included. I was wondering whether it
would be possible to buy an insurance in Europe at a much more
favourable rate, to cover someone travelling from the USA. Probably the
only way to find out would be to google search for health cover firms
in Europe, and write and ask them! Thanks for your reply. Susan

On 12 Apr 2006 08:44:30 -0700, "Susan" wrote:

Although he has a South African passport, he and my daughter work in
the USA. It is going to cost a huge amount in the US to get coverage
for not only health care, but any necessary repatriation. I suppose
they base the premiums on what health care costs in the States :-). I
always thought that if payment was made with a reputable credit card,
the insurance was automatically included. I was wondering whether it
would be possible to buy an insurance in Europe at a much more
favourable rate, to cover someone travelling from the USA. Probably the
only way to find out would be to google search for health cover firms
in Europe, and write and ask them! Thanks for your reply. Susan

Why would it cost more to get travel insurance for a visit to france
from the US than from China say - the cost of being treated is the
same - the cost it would be in france, the fact US prices are
expensive would make no difference.

A very quick look showed plenty of options for under 100$ as I would
expect...

Jim,

It would make sense to have that kind of insurance anyway.

PJW

On 12 Apr 2006 05:08:50 -0700, "Susan" wrote:

We live in France. My South African son in law wants to come with our
daughter and kids for a short holiday. Apparently however, he needs to
have proof of health and repatriation insurance to the value of about
$38,000 before a visa application would be considered, to come to
France. Any suggestions at all? It seems rather strange to go through
all this for a holiday lasting only 12 days. Thanks Susan

If the man comes from a country where there is a national health
system, it should be possible to get a certificate from the national
insurance . If he is already insured in the country where he lives, his
insurer should be able to provide coverage during a short holiday
period ?

I just asked for a quote from my insurers for a similar case
(concerning a citiezen of Vietnam). I had the answer this morning -
after a short wekk delay: 47 to 83 euros per month, depending on age
and risks covered.

Susan wrote:

Although he has a South African passport, he and my daughter work in
the USA. It is going to cost a huge amount in the US to get coverage
for not only health care, but any necessary repatriation. I suppose
they base the premiums on what health care costs in the States :-). I
always thought that if payment was made with a reputable credit card,
the insurance was automatically included. I was wondering whether it
would be possible to buy an insurance in Europe at a much more
favourable rate, to cover someone travelling from the USA. Probably the
only way to find out would be to google search for health cover firms
in Europe, and write and ask them! Thanks for your reply. Susan


Travel health policies in the US aren't all that expensive. And, if by
repatriation you mean medical evacuation, that isn't out of sight either.

What kind of prices are they being quoted?

On 12 Apr 2006 08:44:30 -0700, "Susan" wrote:

Although he has a South African passport, he and my daughter work in
the USA. It is going to cost a huge amount in the US to get coverage
for not only health care, but any necessary repatriation. I suppose
they base the premiums on what health care costs in the States :-).

There are lots of companies that sell reasonable insurance for short
holidays. I have used Liaison International in the past. I just
checked a hypothetical quote for a $50000 policy for travel excluding
the US, for 12 days for a person 19-29 years old, and it was around
$17.

http://www.worldwidemedical.com/liaisonframe.htm

If that link doesn't work, try their home page and choose travel
outside the US or something like that.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

Susan wrote:

Although he has a South African passport, he and my daughter work in
the USA. It is going to cost a huge amount in the US to get coverage
for not only health care, but any necessary repatriation. I suppose
they base the premiums on what health care costs in the States :-). I
always thought that if payment was made with a reputable credit card,
the insurance was automatically included. I was wondering whether it
would be possible to buy an insurance in Europe at a much more
favourable rate, to cover someone travelling from the USA. Probably the
only way to find out would be to google search for health cover firms
in Europe, and write and ask them! Thanks for your reply. Susan

Travel medical insurance usually doesn't cost NEARLY as much
as a full-time health insurance policy, simply because it
only covers you for a limited time - i.e. the length of your
trip! I doubt whether the policy would cost any less in
Europe, because it would not be expected to cover him in the
U.S., but while he was traveling elsewhere.

If he's young and healthy, and only staying for twelve days,
he should be able to get something affordable. American
Express seems to have some good insurance plans - I
personally have their travel medical policy, which does
cover repatriation, if necessary, but I pay an annual
premium, and it's strictly for when I'm traveling. I'm not
sure you have to have an Amex card to qualify - I think they
just got my address for their advertising from their records
because I have one.


--
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kwax wrote:

If the man comes from a country where there is a national health
system, it should be possible to get a certificate from the national
insurance . If he is already insured in the country where he lives, his
insurer should be able to provide coverage during a short holiday
period ?

Possibly, since this is presumably a healthy young man.
However, U.S. Medicare (and many of the Medicare
supplemental policies) do NOT cover travel outside of the
U.S. I suspect that quite a few HMO setups here would not
cover outside the country, either.

I just asked for a quote from my insurers for a similar case
(concerning a citiezen of Vietnam). I had the answer this morning -
after a short wekk delay: 47 to 83 euros per month, depending on age
and risks covered.

But if he's only staying in France for twelve days, why
would he WANT a policy that charges a monthly premium?


--
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