ZVK advice: Get travel insurance when going abroad

In an ad in the Daily Herald, the Health Insurance Office, ZVK,  advises the residents of the BES Islands to get travel insurance when going abroad. The countries St. Maarten, Curacao and Aruba are also “countries abroad”.

When traveling, you need to get a “certificate of registration” from the ZVK. Note that, in case of a vacation or a stay abroad, this entitles you to compensation for emergency treatments only. Emergency treatment is help that cannot wait until you return home. Be aware, that the ZVK will decide afterwards, if a treatment that you received will be processed as an emergency treatment.

The costs for all other care or help will NOT be reimbursed by the ZVK.

Therefore the Health Insurance Office encourages everyone to get a travel insurance BEFORE leaving the Island.

Cost for travel insurance vary, depending on the type of insurance, e.g. ENNIA offers a Continuous Travel Insurance  for NAF 375 per year/person. However note that the maximum amount refunded is NAF 25,000/year. This may be a bit low in case of need for urgent medical help in the US or Europe.

An alternative could be an insurance from World Nomads. They offer a much more extensive help, but at a higher cost, e.g., $44/week/person.

The above examples are indicative only. Shop around for the best deals.