Everything is prepared: your Erasmus+ destination, your work placement and even your accommodation. You can’t wait to finally leave your comfort zone and spend a defined period of time abroad, where you will learn a lot about another culture, improve your language skills as well as expanding your professional experience. The Erasmus+ mobility is just perfect and will help you to do all of those things. As an experienced travel agency that specialises in the organisation of various Erasmus+ internships, we want to stress the importance of insurance. Many circumstances that occur are unpredictable and sometimes there is no way to prevent them. For that reason, we want to give you an overview and answer any questions you may have about insurance so that you will be able to decide what insurance best fits your needs.
One of the most common questions to do with Erasmus+ experience, participants often ask is if they need insurance for their stay? The answer is yes. Besides obviously having general insurance in place (which we’ll explore later on), there are lots of aspects that confirm the need for insurance, for example, look at the following scenarios:
- You arrive at your destination’s airport and your luggage gets lost. Would you be able to replace all your clothes and belongings in a short time without considering the financial aspect?
- On a lovely day you decide to explore your new hometown, and on your way you slip and break your leg. Can you afford to receive medical treatment without insurance in place?
- You met great new people and are abroad, so what’s missing? A party! What if you forget your keys and leave them inside your apartment? You’ll have to call expensive lock changing services in the middle of the night.
We could continue this list with lots of possible incidents, such as theft, accidents, and injuries, not to scare you but to make you aware that insurance is an essential part of your trip and you must organise it for your Erasmus+ experience. As mentioned before, there are unpredictable occurrences that could happen in a flash and we want you to enjoy your time abroad satisfied and happy without being stressed about matters you could avoid. Remember, we deal with different insurance agencies that have perfect packages designed for students’ spending time abroad.
So, we want you to have an overview of insurance’s benefits and answer frequently asked questions:
1. I already own a credit card that includes insurance, which means I do not need to arrange insurance for my Erasmus+ experience, right?
No, that information is not correct. It is right that most credit card owners already have insurance, but that so-called “travel insurance” is only valid for maximum 3 months. What about the remaining three months left if you stay for half a year abroad? Furthermore, that travel insurance is intended for tourist travels, such as a vacation.
2. Do companies have the right to tell their interns that they must take out insurance or can interns choose whether or not they want insurance?
We want to make it easy for companies to employ interns. Companies do not have to take out insurance for interns, neither do they need to arrange insurance for them. For this reason, every Erasmus+ intern must arrange their own insurance in case an incident occurs at work. In addition to that, every student should own a “European health insurance card” that enables medically necessary treatment of public healthcare for all EU-countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway to the same standards and cost as for the citizens of the specific country. For more information about the free card click here.
3. Does my insurance have to cover certain insurance benefits, like a certain sum of money?
Yes, you must cover at least medical, liability and accident insurance.
4. Are Erasmus+ interns obliged to provide evidence of their insurance?
Erasmus+ interns should carry a copy of their learning agreement and proof of their valid insurance to be able to produce the documents in case checks are required.
5. What is the correct procedure in the case of a damage report?
Let’s assume that you need medical treatment. If this is the case, go to the hospital or doctor’s office and get treatment and don’t forget to keep all invoices and documents you receive. Afterwards, contact us and send us those documents so that we can claim the report as well as pass those papers onto the insurance agency. They will examine your damage case. After that process, we will receive the result and let you know about it. If you are not sure what to do in the case of a damage report, contact your Erasmus+ group leader or us immediately. Please be aware that late reports can lead to losing your insurance coverage. If you organised the insurance yourself, you need to hand in all documents to your insurance agency.
6. I don’t know what insurance I need, as there are so many insurance agencies, I’m a bit confused. What should I do?
Traveledventures doesn’t only organise a super-impressive Erasmus+ internship and accommodation, we will also be more than delighted to book any activities you would like to do and to arrange your insurance. Just get in touch with us and we will assist you. We’ve got your back!
Everything in a nutshell:
- As an Erasmus+ intern you are obligated to arrange an insurance contract (at least medical, liability and accident insurance)
- You can get a European health insurance card that is valid in all EU-countries
- Check various insurance agencies to compare the different benefits or let us do the work for you and we will send you the insurance contract afterwards
- A copy of your insurance contract should be carried along with your learning agreement during your stay abroad so you can produce it at any time
- Keep all your invoices and documents you receive in case of a damage report as that serves as proof for your insurance agency
Are you missing further information? Let us know in the comments below or contact us by clicking here.
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If you need information regarding the application process, check our guide for Erasmus+ funding applicants or read our Handbook for Erasmus+ Project Management & Execution.
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