Key takeaways
- Get personal liability, accident, and travel health insurance for your parents’ visit to Germany.
- Travel health insurance covers the medical costs your parents or visitors may incur in Germany and countries in the Schengen area. The coverage includes medication, hospitalization, repatriation, basic dental treatment, injuries during an accident, etc.
- Good travel insurance with a combination of personal liability and accident insurance costs 1.3 € per day (up to 64 years) or 2.8 € per day (65 and above).
- You need valid travel health insurance to get a German visitor visa.
This is how you do it
- Get travel health insurance before the start of your trip to Germany and other Schengen countries.
- We find travel insurance from Dr. Walter* and HansMerkur among the best.
Table of Contents
You are excited about your parents visiting you in Germany. You want to ensure they have good health insurance coverage during their stay.
However, you don’t know which travel insurance is the best or what other types of insurance you need to protect your parents and yourself.
You’ll find detailed answers to these questions in this guide.
Best travel health insurance for parents coming to Germany
| Travel health insurance | Insurance coverage | Trustpilot Rating (as of 5 May 2024)* | Cost |
| Dr. Walter* | ✅ No deductible ✅ Unlimited coverage of medical costs ✅ No age limit ✅ Cancellation and rebooking free of charge ✅ Contract and services in English | 3.7 out of 5 (175 reviews) | 1.1 € per day (up to 64 years) 6.5 € per day (65 and above) 20 € minimum premium |
| HansMerkur | ✅ No deductible 🟡 The sum insured is limited to a total of 50,000 € per insured person for all insured events within the contract term. 🟡 Covers individuals who are up to 75 years old ✅ Contract and services in English | 2.6 out of 5 (4152 reviews) | 1.2 € per day (up to 64 years) 2.5 € per day (65 to 75 years) 10 € minimum premium |
| ADAC | 🟡 50 € deductible ✅ Unlimited coverage of medical costs ✅ No age limit 🟡 Cancellation before start of insurance: 8 € of business fee ❌ Cancellation after the start of insurance: a business fee of 15% (max. 50 €). ❌ Contract and services are in German only | 1.9 out of 5 (3700 reviews) | 97 € for 3 months (under 66 years) 296 € for 3 months (over 66 years) Find the complete cost table here. |
*As most companies offer several products, the customer reviews on Trustpilot reflect a mix of those products.
The following is common among all travel health insurance providers.
- ✅ Provides the necessary medical coverage
- ✅ Coverage in Germany and Schengen countries.
- ✅ Travel insurance recognized by the visa authorities
- ❌ Existing medical issues and foreseeable medical problems are not covered
Other travel health insurance providers are
- Allianz
- Ergo Reiseversicherung
However, they offer services in Germany only.
Verdict
We find Dr. Walter’s* travel insurance the best if your parents are up to 64 years old. However, HansMerkur is a significantly cheaper option if your parents are 65 and above.
NOTE: Dr-Walter offers unlimited health insurance coverage, but HanseMerkur’s insurance coverage is limited to 50,000 €.
Dr-Walter
- No deductible, no age limit
- Unlimited coverage of medical costs
- Cancellation and rebooking free of charge
- Contract and services in English
What is a travel health insurance plan?
Travel health insurance covers your parents’ medically necessary treatment costs in Germany and other Schengen countries during their visit. It is also known as incoming health insurance (Incoming Versicherung).
Without travel health insurance, you bear the medical costs that may incur during your parents’ visit to Germany. Travel health insurance should fulfill the following requirements to get a German visa.
- Offer a health coverage of at least 30,000 €.
- It should be valid in Germany and other countries in the European Union.
Why should you get a travel insurance policy for your parents when they visit Germany?
- Your parents or foreign visitors need valid travel health insurance for a German or Schengen travel visa.
- Medical treatment is expensive in Germany. Hence, a travel health insurance policy is required to cover the medical costs.
What is covered by good travel health insurance for Germany?
- Outpatient treatment: Cost of medically necessary acute treatments.
- Inpatient treatment: Cost of hospitalization and medically necessary inpatient treatments. Good travel insurance also covers doctor-prescribed rehabilitation measures after the treatment.
- Medication and test costs: Cost of prescribed medicines and tests.
- Accident: Medical treatment costs in case of an accident.
- Dental cover: Basic dental cover to relieve pain, simple dental fillings, and repairs to existing dentures.
- Medical repatriation: Medically reasonable return transport and repatriation to the home country.
- Costs of burial in Germany in case of death of the insured person.
- Transfer in the event of death: Cost of returning the deceased to their hometown.
You should always contact the insurer before getting an expensive medical treatment. This will save you surprises in the future.
All travel health insurance plans only cover acute and medically necessary treatments. If your parents need extensive treatment, they have to return to their home country.
What is not covered by travel health insurance for Germany?
- Cost of medical treatments the insured person knew about before the start of the journey.
- If the treatment abroad is the sole reason or one of the reasons for the trip.
- There is no coverage in the countries where the insured person has a permanent residence.
- Travel insurance doesn’t cover prenatal examinations.
- The cost of child delivery after the 36th week of pregnancy is not covered.
How much does a good travel health insurance plan for Germany cost?
- Dr Walter costs 1.1 € per day for individuals up to 64 years old. So, you pay 99 € for a 90-day trip.
- HanseMerkur costs 1.2 € per day for individuals up to 64 years old. So, you pay 108 € for a 90-day trip.
The table below summarizes the travel health insurance costs based on age and stay period.
| Dr. Walter | HanseMerkur | |
| 30 days | up to 64: 33 € 65 and above: 195 € | up to 64: 36 € 65 and above: 75 € |
| 60 days | up to 64: 66 € 65 and above: 390 € | up to 64: 72 € 65 and above: 150 € |
| 90 days | up to 64: 99 € 65 and above: 585 € | up to 64: 108 € 65 and above: 225 € |
Other types of insurance you should get for your parents traveling to Germany
Travel health insurance is necessary to cover the medical costs. However, you should also consider getting personal liability and accident insurance.
Dr. Walter and HansMerkur offer a combination of health, personal liability, and accident insurance. We recommend taking this combination.
Personal liability insurance for visitors works the same way as a normal German liability insurance plan. It covers the cost of damages your parents or visitors caused to others.
In the worst-case scenario, the damage costs can be in the millions. So, we highly recommend getting one for your parents during their visit to Germany.
The cost of a travel insurance policy offering health, personal liability, and accident coverage is
- Dr-Walter
- 1.3 € per day (up to 64 years old)
- 6.7 € per day (65 and above)
- HansMerkur
- 1.47 € per day (up to 64 years old)
- 2.8 € per day (65 and above)
How do you claim travel health insurance benefits?
You can claim the travel insurance benefits by filling out an online form at the insurer’s website.
Dr. Walter offers online claim filing in English. HansMerkur’s online claim filing form is in German, but you can use a manual claim form that is available in English and other languages.
Here are some general guidelines to make the claim process easy.
- Go to a general practitioner (Hausartz) before going to a specialist.
- Inform the doctor about the medical coverage your travel insurance offers. Dr. Walter also gives you a medical info card (Artze-info-ticket) that you must show the doctor during your visit.
- Before getting expensive medical treatment, check with your insurer to see if it’s covered by the travel insurance policy.
- Keep the invoice and file the claim as soon as possible.
What are the Schengen visa requirements for health insurance?
The German visa office doesn’t accept all travel health insurance providers and plans. Travel insurance must fulfill the following criteria.
- A minimum coverage of 30,000 €.
- It should be valid in Germany and other countries in the European Union.
- It must cover the repatriation costs in case of illness or death.
- Cover the hospitalization and emergency services costs.
- The travel insurance must be valid for the whole stay in the Schengen area.
