How to choose the cheapest travel insurance in the Czech Republic

How do you choose the cheapest travel insurance? Holiday planning time is here. Glossy travel agency brochures are piling up on your desk. Do you dream of a mountain destination in the Alps, or would you prefer a sandy beach in Croatia? As well as a valid passport and sun cream with a high enough protection factor, you also need to think about arranging suitable travel insurance for everyone going on the holiday. Where can you find the most reliable one?

It is a specific insurance product that you arrange with your chosen insurer before travelling abroad, after a short consultation with a financial adviser (or online). Today this service is much faster, and you can arrange travel insurance online, or it may even be included in a premium product from your bank or Revolut. Unlike compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, travel insurance is voluntary.

The insurance contract gives you a guarantee that medical expenses will be covered in the event of an injury or illness. By agreement with the insurer, you can also add other risks to the contract that you realistically face based on your planned activities abroad.

The best advertisement for travel insurance is the cases where something really did happen to people in the Alps, for example, and a helicopter had to be sent for them. Medical costs like these can run into millions of crowns and completely ruin a whole family.

How travel insurance in the Czech Republic works for foreigners

If you live and work in the Czech Republic, Czech travel insurance works the same way for you as for local residents. You buy a policy for a specific trip or period, choose the territory it covers, and the insurer pays eligible costs up to the agreed limits. The core of every policy is travel medical insurance, which covers urgent treatment abroad. It does not replace your ordinary health insurance at home. It only protects you while you are outside the country.

Before you buy, go through these steps:

• Check that the policy covers the countries you will visit and the full length of your trip.
• Compare the limits for medical costs, not just the price.
• Add cover for any sports you plan to do.
• Read the exclusions, for example for existing health conditions or alcohol-related incidents.
• Save the insurer’s assistance phone number and your contract number on your phone.

A common mistake for foreigners is to assume that a trip to their home country is covered automatically. Some policies treat your country of citizenship differently, so always check the terms before you travel there.

Insured risks

Your travel insurance can also include insurance for damage caused to a third party during your stay abroad. Parents with small children will especially appreciate this. Damage at a hotel or in a small local shop can happen quite easily in a moment of inattention.

It is also sensible to arrange insurance against theft or loss of luggage, or assistance services. This is essential especially if you are travelling abroad independently.  

If you are an active sportsperson drawn to beautiful nature, white-water rafting or mountaineering, do not underestimate high-risk sports insurance, accidental death insurance or cover for permanent consequences of an injury, or death insurance. This applies especially if you do not already have these risks properly covered in your life insurance.

💡 Tip: Also take a look at the article that explains what to do when an insured event occurs: How to report an insured event?

Even a weekend of skiing in Austria can end in complete disaster for your family budget. A holiday without travel insurance can easily turn into a nightmare. A mountain rescue call-out, hospital treatment and possibly the cost of transport home can reach astronomical sums and put a financial burden on your family for several years.

Arranging travel insurance takes only a fraction of your time, and it costs tens of crowns per person per day. If you are planning ski touring or a wild river, make sure you do not forget additional cover for high-risk sports.

Travel insurance is a fairly flexible product that is also being updated in response to current events. Insurers currently even offer cover for costs related to COVID-19. If you meet the conditions, they will pay the costs of any quarantine or a hospital stay if the illness takes a complicated course.

Which travel insurance is the cheapest?

The simplest option is to arrange travel insurance through the best-known insurance comparison site. This saves you both time and money. If you have Revolut or ČSOB, you can try arranging travel insurance through these platforms.

Uniqa insurance company

As a family of four (2 adults and 2 children under 18), you can get the Komfort travel insurance package for a 7-day stay abroad (within Europe) for 554 CZK (about 25 USD). What does the package include? Medical and assistance costs with cover up to 5 million CZK (about 230,000 USD), permanent consequences of injury up to a limit of 300,000 CZK (about 14,000 USD), compensation for a hospital stay of 300 CZK (about 14 USD)/day, liability for damage caused of 1 million CZK (about 46,000 USD), and luggage insurance up to a maximum of 15,000 CZK (about 690 USD).

Kooperativa insurance company

A family of four (2 adults and 2 children under 18) can arrange the Klasik travel insurance package for a 7-day stay within Europe for 756 CZK (about 35 USD) (including a 10% discount for arranging it online). The policy has better cover for damage caused abroad (a limit of up to 4 million CZK (about 180,000 USD)) and luggage insurance twice as high. You can add COVID insurance and QUARANTINE insurance to the policy.

Axa insurance company

Under the same conditions as the previous two insurers, Axa offers a package called Komfort for 728 CZK (about 33 USD) (with a 50% discount). What does the package cover? Medical expenses up to a maximum limit of 5 million CZK (about 230,000 USD), liability for injury to health of 1 million CZK (about 46,000 USD), and property damage up to 500,000 CZK (about 23,000 USD). The package also includes assistance services, legal protection insurance up to 20,000 CZK (about 920 USD), luggage insurance up to 20,000 CZK (about 920 USD), insurance for a delayed flight departure (5,000 CZK (about 230 USD)) and even pet insurance (up to 20,000 CZK (about 920 USD)).

💡 Tip: Also read the article on term life insurance, which explains your options: When is term life insurance worth it?

Travel and protection against COVID-19

You can arrange this insurance with Generali Česká pojišťovna (which offers a 20% discount if you arrange it online), but also with VZP, Axa, ČSOB Pojišťovna, Uniqa or TOP pojištění.cz. The conditions for making a claim are similar, but the scope of cover and the price of the insurance differ.  

What can you actually arrange as part of travel insurance?  Medical expenses insurance for costs related to COVID-19 includes:

• Payment of costs related to treatment, quarantine and any repatriation if, because of the illness, you cannot use your own car to return home.
• Payment of costs related to COVID-19 up to the agreed limit of insurance benefit. You can choose a limit of 3 million CZK (about 140,000 USD) (Kooperativa), 5 million CZK (about 230,000 USD), 25 million CZK (about 1.1 million USD) or 100 million CZK (about 4.6 million USD). The price of the insurance depends on the chosen limit. This applies to trips to countries marked as high-risk on the “traffic light” system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (MZV ČR).
• You can arrange the insurance with territorial validity for Europe or the whole world. It applies to short-term stays of up to 120 days.

How much will you pay for COVID-19 insurance?

The insurance is the same for all age groups. You can arrange it as one of the optional add-ons. If you arrange it online with Kooperativa, you can also get a 10% discount

The price of the insurance is shown in the following table:

Every stay abroad involves risk, so it is ideal to arrange travel insurance even for a one-day trip across the border. Today’s technology lets you arrange insurance from the comfort of your home. You just fill in a form, choose the risks you realistically face, pay the premium and print out your insurance contract. When comparing offers from different insurers, you need to consider everything the insurance includes and what service you are actually paying for. The lowest price is not necessarily the deciding factor.