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Credit-Card Health Insurance

Time of past OR future Camino
VdlP(2012) Madrid(2014)Frances(2015) VdlP(2016)
VdlP(2017)Madrid/Sanabres/Frances reverse(2018)
On all my caminos except this year, I have applied for private health insurance, at a cost of several hundred dollars, and have never had to use it. This year was the exception. I decided to try the complimentary health insurance offered in association with my bank/ MasterCard. I've always been reluctant to do this as it is free, and I didn't want to find out the hard way that "free" might turn out to be too good to be true.
Guess what? - this year, whilst visiting a relative in Portugal a few days before the start of my camino, I was hospitalised with a rather scary intestinal problem. The bill, (paid) came to nearly 1400E. On my return to Aus, I went through the very long-winded process of making a claim, and almost gave up on it, but yesterday I was re-imbursed, less an initial excess which I knew I would have to cover. So I'm very happy with the outcome.
Any others had positive experiences with this type of free insurance?
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
That's a good experience you had. I always buy travel insurance especially if you need to be retrieved home.
I am not sure I would trust the credit card associated cover to exposure your return home.
If I was unwell I wouldn't be able to do all the running around that you had to do for a simple claim.
 
Any others had positive experiences with this type of free insurance?

This would be good information to retrieve; when researching alternatives I found very little information from customers who actually had to file a claim (which is the reason the insurance business is profitable, after all - lots of policies sold, very few claims). Process required more blind trust in a vendor than I would prefer with a potentially very important product like this.

My credit card provides travel insurance but not health benefits. I purchased a separate policy for health insurance. No point in mentioning either specifically at this point. If the unlikely happens on my Camino, I will surely report the results.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
On all my caminos except this year, I have applied for private health insurance, at a cost of several hundred dollars, and have never had to use it. This year was the exception. I decided to try the complimentary health insurance offered in association with my bank/ MasterCard. I've always been reluctant to do this as it is free, and I didn't want to find out the hard way that "free" might turn out to be too good to be true.
Guess what? - this year, whilst visiting a relative in Portugal a few days before the start of my camino, I was hospitalised with a rather scary intestinal problem. The bill, (paid) came to nearly 1400E. On my return to Aus, I went through the very long-winded process of making a claim, and almost gave up on it, but yesterday I was re-imbursed, less an initial excess which I knew I would have to cover. So I'm very happy with the outcome.
Any others had positive experiences with this type of free insurance?
Usually "too good to be true" is just that.
Happy to hear not in your case :)
 
If I was unwell I wouldn't be able to do all the running around that you had to do for a simple claim.

Process required more blind trust in a vendor than I would prefer with a potentially very important product like this.
To be fair to the insurance company, when the incident happened all I had to do was inform them immediately. The "running around" was all after I returned home.
One piece of advice I would pass on, though. Be very specific and comprehensive when stating "pre-existing conditions". I had the impression that much of the claim process was to establish if I had been dishonest or remiss anywhere in the original application. Fortunately, I measured up, but I needed quite a bit of back-up from my GP.
 
On all my caminos except this year, I have applied for private health insurance, at a cost of several hundred dollars, and have never had to use it. This year was the exception. I decided to try the complimentary health insurance offered in association with my bank/ MasterCard. I've always been reluctant to do this as it is free, and I didn't want to find out the hard way that "free" might turn out to be too good to be true.
Guess what? - this year, whilst visiting a relative in Portugal a few days before the start of my camino, I was hospitalised with a rather scary intestinal problem. The bill, (paid) came to nearly 1400E. On my return to Aus, I went through the very long-winded process of making a claim, and almost gave up on it, but yesterday I was re-imbursed, less an initial excess which I knew I would have to cover. So I'm very happy with the outcome.
Any others had positive experiences with this type of free insurance?

Great that you had a good outcome :)

I am always a bit nervous about relying on free stuff too.

Thankfully at work I am required by our Insurance company to have myself insured for all eventualities.
I fool myself into thinking it's because I matter :rolleyes:
That insurance company has been great to me over the years.

But of more interest............

Last year 'post camino' my wife ended up in Hospital in Italy for a week having emergency surgery.
We didn't have to pay a thing!

Seems Italy has a reciprocal health agreement with Australia.
Sadly Spain is not on the list.
But still worth knowing if going to other countries before or after the Camino, and might be worth checking for residents of other countries, to see what reciprocal health agreements exist for them.......
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
On all my caminos except this year, I have applied for private health insurance, at a cost of several hundred dollars, and have never had to use it. This year was the exception. I decided to try the complimentary health insurance offered in association with my bank/ MasterCard. I've always been reluctant to do this as it is free, and I didn't want to find out the hard way that "free" might turn out to be too good to be true.
Guess what? - this year, whilst visiting a relative in Portugal a few days before the start of my camino, I was hospitalised with a rather scary intestinal problem. The bill, (paid) came to nearly 1400E. On my return to Aus, I went through the very long-winded process of making a claim, and almost gave up on it, but yesterday I was re-imbursed, less an initial excess which I knew I would have to cover. So I'm very happy with the outcome.
Any others had positive experiences with this type of free insurance?
Yes. I had to fly back early to New Zealand as my husband had had a stroke. So needed to change flight and buy extra train ticket. They covered it minus excess on provision of a medical certificate.
So very happy with the outcome.
 
They always have a product disclosure document and remember they have their reputation to maintain
Also these cards usually have an annual fee so not really free
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
My wife and I travel internationally and we use evacuation insurance, since much of our time is spent in countries where medical is hard to find and we just do it in Europe too. My personal insurance will reimburse any medical cost after we arrive home.
 
I had to cancel a trip at the last minute ealier this year due to a severe medical condition. I had taken out insurance separately from the credit card complimentary insurance, but omitted to tick the box marked Cancellation cover. After a refusal from this cover, I was able to apply and obtain a refund for my flight costs less the excess. Luckily, I hadn't spent much on the rest of the pretrip expenses.
Just my addition to this group
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
Does the EU Health Insurance card apply in Spain (I'm Irish). I expect it does.
What about ordinary Irish Health insurances?. Do they transfer to Spain? Must ask. Will pass on any info I get from Irish Life Health. Perhaps others could check with Laya, Aviva and VHI.
Good to hear the Mastercard cover actually works, even if you have to claim at home after-the-fact. I've never had to use it. thank God.
As Sir AJP (Tony) O'Reilly used to say "information is friendly".
 
Does the EU Health Insurance card apply in Spain (I'm Irish). I expect it does.
What about ordinary Irish Health insurances?. Do they transfer to Spain? Must ask. Will pass on any info I get from Irish Life Health. Perhaps others could check with Laya, Aviva and VHI.
Good to hear the Mastercard cover actually works, even if you have to claim at home after-the-fact. I've never had to use it. thank God.
As Sir AJP (Tony) O'Reilly used to say "information is friendly".
You should receive the same health care plan as those in Spain would receive. If it's expected that a Spaniard would pay for something like emergency dental then you'd pay the same. You can get it without the card but it really makes things easier for everyone to have it on you.
 
On all my caminos except this year, I have applied for private health insurance, at a cost of several hundred dollars, and have never had to use it. This year was the exception. I decided to try the complimentary health insurance offered in association with my bank/ MasterCard. I've always been reluctant to do this as it is free, and I didn't want to find out the hard way that "free" might turn out to be too good to be true.
Guess what? - this year, whilst visiting a relative in Portugal a few days before the start of my camino, I was hospitalised with a rather scary intestinal problem. The bill, (paid) came to nearly 1400E. On my return to Aus, I went through the very long-winded process of making a claim, and almost gave up on it, but yesterday I was re-imbursed, less an initial excess which I knew I would have to cover. So I'm very happy with the outcome.
Any others had positive experiences with this type of free insurance?
Yes I have. I had some issues after smoke inhalation in Vietnam and my credit card insurance paid up. It is all I ever use.
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
How well off we are! The Camino, for me, anyway, and for many many others, is still a pilgrimage. Yet here we are checking out our insurance.
Rich indeed. May God be with us as we set out. Buen Camino, y'all.
 
To be fair to the insurance company, when the incident happened all I had to do was inform them immediately. The "running around" was all after I returned home.
One piece of advice I would pass on, though. Be very specific and comprehensive when stating "pre-existing conditions". I had the impression that much of the claim process was to establish if I had been dishonest or remiss anywhere in the original application. Fortunately, I measured up, but I needed quite a bit of back-up from my GP.
This is the case for all travel insurance. We made a medivac claim in China, and the company wouldn’t confirm cover until they could call his gp on Monday morning. It was a long couple of days, and I needed the cash to get my partner admitted , and started making arrangement ps if I had to transfer a large amount for the medivac. Even though we’d declared pre existing conditions, they called and put the senior dr on the ward under pressure to define the diagnosis, so they could decline if they could find a non disclosed condition. They couldn’t and they paid.
 

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