# EU Residency - Private Health Insurance required



## Sharker (Apr 11, 2013)

I am Australian and recently married an EU national and applying for residency. I have been told I must get a 12 month valid health insurance policy yet acquaintances of mine recently got theirs without this requirement. They were not told they needed it. My application form sadly has it very heavily circled and Aug 2014 expiry scrawled beside it. Rather hard to avoid it.

I am over 50 and fear this insurance will be very costly. Any suggestions would be greatfully received.


----------



## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

My only suggestion is to do the rounds of the insurance companies and get quotes. Health Insurance here is much less costly than the UK and if you've no pre-existing conditions won't be too high at a mere 50 something years.

Pete


----------



## Guest (Aug 24, 2013)

Sharker said:


> I am Australian and recently married an EU national and applying for residency. I have been told I must get a 12 month valid health insurance policy yet acquaintances of mine recently got theirs without this requirement. They were not told they needed it. My application form sadly has it very heavily circled and Aug 2014 expiry scrawled beside it. Rather hard to avoid it.
> 
> I am over 50 and fear this insurance will be very costly. Any suggestions would be greatfully received.


You don't say if your wife/husband will work here or have state pension. In this cases you don't need a private health insurance. They will try to force you, but it is illegal in this case

Anders


----------



## Miss Daisy (Jan 24, 2011)

You can get basic private health insurance that will meet the residency permit requirements for around 100 Euros a year. Whether this will meet your personal requirements is another story.

I just changed my health insurance because the cost went up significantly (mainly because I am turning 55 this year). The new policy cost me 847 Euros per year for 1 million Euros max of annual coverage - this policy is for accident or significant illness requiring hospitalization. I chose not to get the outpatient portion because it was going to cost me around 400 Euros for only 1000 Euros worth of annual coverage. Since I am generally healthy and I have found the cost of routine health care here quite reasonable (compared to the US), I can't imagine ever spending more than 400 Euros a year on routine medical expenses.


----------



## Sharker (Apr 11, 2013)

Thank you Miss Daisy for that info. I think I just want to buy the cheapest at the moment. Could you pls tell me a contact or names of some companies in particular? I googled a list and wrote off to all re medical cover but have had no response and cannot wait any longer to buy. My appointment with Immigration is on Tuesday.


----------



## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Sharker said:


> Thank you Miss Daisy for that info. I think I just want to buy the cheapest at the moment. Could you pls tell me a contact or names of some companies in particular? I googled a list and wrote off to all re medical cover but have had no response and cannot wait any longer to buy. My appointment with Immigration is on Tuesday.


I think you need to take on board that writing, emailing, faxing, phoning rarely produces good responses here and that face to face contact is what works the quickest and best. Hopefully this will change over time but at the moment it remains the norm as you might expect in this part of the world (Cyprus is not Europe).

I doubt that anyone can provide you with the proof of cover you require in such a short timescale. The normal way the Health Insurance companies work out here is for you to fill in a form and pay the premium. They then consider whether you need medicals, produce a policy where, for the first time, you will see what restrictions they place upon the cover. If you don't like it you can cancel and await refund of premium. Good luck in getting this in less than a month or 2.

I have little doubt that your meeting on Tuesday will make little progress and that you will be told to return with your health insurance. 

Pete


----------



## Sharker (Apr 11, 2013)

Oh that is tough news Pete. We live in a fairly rural area and getting out to these companies is not so simple. I will have to change my plans and take that on board. Thanks for the info.


----------



## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Sharker said:


> Oh that is tough news Pete. We live in a fairly rural area and getting out to these companies is not so simple. I will have to change my plans and take that on board. Thanks for the info.


Where are you living?

Pete


----------



## Guest (Aug 30, 2013)

PeteandSylv said:


> I think you need to take on board that writing, emailing, faxing, phoning rarely produces good responses here and that face to face contact is what works the quickest and best. Hopefully this will change over time but at the moment it remains the norm as you might expect in this part of the world (Cyprus is not Europe).
> 
> I doubt that anyone can provide you with the proof of cover you require in such a short timescale. The normal way the Health Insurance companies work out here is for you to fill in a form and pay the premium. They then consider whether you need medicals, produce a policy where, for the first time, you will see what restrictions they place upon the cover. If you don't like it you can cancel and await refund of premium. Good luck in getting this in less than a month or 2.
> 
> ...


It's no use to go there probably, but it's no big problem. Just get a new time. We did so because of all papers they wanted

Anders


----------



## Miss Daisy (Jan 24, 2011)

Let me preface this post by saying that I am not affiliated in anyway with the insurance companies or agencies that I will now mention.

Atlantic Insurance is the company that I used for the minimum insurance when I first got my residency permit. I got that insurance through Laiki Bank insurance offices though it may be available through other agencies. I got a document that satisfied immigration within a few days of applying for the insurance. There was no medical history questionnaire to complete or anything of that nature.

My current insurance is an IASIS policy purchased through Ydrogios Insurance (they are in almost every village in Cyprus). I completed the application, which did require a medical history questionnaire, and I had the proof of insurance within a week.

You will need to actually to go into an office as you do not have a relationship yet with an insurance agent.


----------



## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Miss Daisy said:


> There was no medical history questionnaire to complete or anything of that nature.


Totally unbelievable. I am sure you must be mistaken. I too went via Laiki and the only policy they offered was their own.

I have never heard of any insurance company offering to insure anything anywhere without asking the details of it.

Pete


----------



## Miss Daisy (Jan 24, 2011)

PeteandSylv said:


> Totally unbelievable. I am sure you must be mistaken. I too went via Laiki and the only policy they offered was their own.
> 
> I have never heard of any insurance company offering to insure anything anywhere without asking the details of it.
> 
> Pete


No, I am not mistaken. I was shocked myself. I was also shocked that I could get a medical insurance policy for only 90 Euros a year. 

This was my first experience purchasing medical insurance outside the US and frankly I was surprised and concerned about the obvious casual nature of the whole thing. I never filed a claim on that policy, I only purchased it to satisfy immigration for my initial residency permit. Subsequent to that I have purchased more a comprehensive policy that did require more details from me.


----------



## Guest (Sep 1, 2013)

Miss Daisy said:


> No, I am not mistaken. I was shocked myself. I was also shocked that I could get a medical insurance policy for only 90 Euros a year.
> 
> This was my first experience purchasing medical insurance outside the US and frankly I was surprised and concerned about the obvious casual nature of the whole thing. I never filed a claim on that policy, I only purchased it to satisfy immigration for my initial residency permit. Subsequent to that I have purchased more a comprehensive policy that did require more details from me.


I would love to read the fine-print on that policy...

Anders


----------



## Sharker (Apr 11, 2013)

I had 3 companies contact me sayng they could supply me with the Basic Cover needed for Immigration. I chose one of them in Nicosia as I had to go to Immigration there and they completed the paperwork in 15 minutes. The policies ranged from €185 to 190 for an annual cover of basically some hospital and accident cover.


----------



## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

I think the difference with my experience must be that I was searching for comprehensive health insurance. I did see and ignored some of these minimal cover policies with their dreadful restrictive terms dismissing them as not worth the paper they are printed on. But if they do the job for immigration purposes, all well and good. I'd like to hear some claim experiences though!

Pete


----------

