Is assistance insurance useful if my family already benefits from assistance coverage in the hospitalization policy?

Naturally, a separate assistance insurance policy, taken out for example through one of our partner brokers, is extremely useful. We briefly explain this here (*).

What does the assistance component of a typical hospitalization policy cover?

We are thinking here of (collective) insurance policies with AG, DKV, and Axa"), each of which includes coverage for assistance services abroad.

The assistance insurance included in most (collective) hospitalization policies covers "urgent and unforeseen hospital admissions abroad", for the insured family members. The assistance component of your hospitalization policy also includes medical repatriation and certain basic assistance services. For example, sending a babysitter (a family member) after the fact, in the event both parents are hospitalized, is a typical guarantee included in this type of policy.

In that sense, the assistance coverage included in the hospitalization policy is a very useful and complete coverage. This coverage will protect you from financial surprises abroad. It is often said that, for travel within Europe, this assistance component will be "sufficient". To be certain about this with regard to your personal situation, it is better to seek advice from your broker or from Life Experts.

What can a separate assistance policy additionally insure?

These are policies offered by Europ Assistance, Allianz Partners, Axa Assistance, AIG, and other specialized insurers. These policies are often taken out temporarily (for the duration of a trip), or on an annual basis. If you take several trips per year, an annual contract is advisable.

A separate assistance policy is possibly, depending on which level of coverage you take out and with which insurer, much broader than the assistance insurance component in the hospitalization policy. This gives you a kind of "one stop shop" for all your assistance needs.

We are thinking, for example, of:

- Coverage for trip cancellation before departure, or if you are already on site and are confronted with a sudden early return (in the event of the death of a close family member, for example), where you are then offered a compensation trip at a later date... - Medical costs inside and outside the hospital, we are thinking for example of urgent dental care during your holiday. The intervention limits (the maximum total cost that an insurer can bear) are also often higher in separate policies. This is certainly useful if you were to travel to countries such as the United States and Canada, for example. - An information service is often linked to the policy. This way, before your departure, you can find out where the nearest medical center is, should you end up being hospitalized. The insurers then consult their worldwide network or draw on experience. In certain regions of Africa or South America, this sometimes produces surprising (and at the same time reassuring) answers. - In some cases, this type of contract provides coverage for the medical costs of "all occupants of a vehicle". This as opposed to "all family members". Suppose, for example, that you travel by car and take a nephew or niece along on the trip? - Luggage and travel inconveniences - Intervention in the event of loss or delay of luggage - Early return due to family circumstances or circumstances specific to the household or the business (e.g. certain business policies provide for a return in the event of a fire in a company building). - Vehicle assistance: - Towing and, if necessary, repatriating a broken-down vehicle - Arranging a replacement vehicle

A separate assistance policy can also cover specific situations. You should know that most assistance insurance policies (including the one in the hospitalization policy) do not cover services once you have been staying abroad for more than 3 consecutive months. A long-term stay abroad is, however, typical for students, au pairs, world travelers, winter migrants, or even certain business people. In that case, a tailor-made policy is worked out.

If I then take out a separate assistance policy, alongside my hospitalization policy, am I then double insured?

For the component "urgent medical costs in a hospital", you are indeed then double insured. The same applies to repatriation and a few minor assistance services. This is unavoidable. Better be safe than sorry. Also, if you booked your trip with certain credit cards, you benefit, sometimes without being aware of it, from assistance services. With certain car brands too, some assistance services are included in the maintenance contract. Assistance services have even crept into certain car insurance policies. These are, however, all cost-covering types of insurance, so there can be no double payout in your favor. Of course, it is important to know what you are insured for and where you can turn in the event of urgent problems. The last thing you want is to not know who to call on in an urgent emergency abroad. Hence the usefulness of one overarching coverage through a broker. You then file a claim first with the separate assistance insurance policy, and preferably at the same time with the hospitalization policy (you may refer to the separate assistance insurance in doing so). And your broker keeps an eye on things.

The Life Experts team wishes you and your family a safe summer holiday.

(*) Although assistance policies often also cover services in Belgium, here we focus exclusively on assistance services abroad. The coverages listed in this text are indicative examples, and no rights can be derived from them.