Americans with passports can visit Europe’s Schengen Area without getting a visa if you stay less than 90 days. People from many other countries need a visa before visiting that area.
Though Americans don’t need a Schengen visa to visit for up to 90 days, it’s still wise to get travel insurance to cover medical issues and other problems while you’re traveling.
What Is Schengen Visa Insurance?
Schengen visa insurance is a travel insurance policy that meets the requirements for getting a Schengen visa. The Schengen Area comprises 29 countries in the European Union that allow passport-free travel between them.
A policy includes medical travel insurance, including hospitalization, medical coverage and repatriation for medical reasons. Minimum coverage is €30,000 (about $31,000) and it must cover your entire stay.
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Which Countries Are in the Schengen Area?
The Schengen Area comprises 29 countries:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen area in 2024 for air and sea borders only.
Who Needs Schengen Visa Insurance?
Travelers who must get a Schengen visa should also purchase Schengen visa insurance.
That can include anyone from over 100 countries, such as Cambodia, China, Cuba, Egypt, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
Countries that are exempt from the visa requirement include the United States, Canada, Israel, Japan, Mexico and South Korea. Though you’re not required to have the coverage, Americans should consider travel insurance, which offers medical coverage and other benefits.
What Does Schengen Insurance Cover?
Schengen visa insurance covers medical travel insurance, repatriation and other expenses. Policies vary and some may offer trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage, as well as prescription medications, medical tests, treatments and dental care.
At a minimum, Schengen visa insurance must include coverage for the entire period of the person’s stay for:
- At least €30,000 (roughly $31,000).
- Costs related to emergency medical treatment or hospital care.
- Expenses to transport a traveler back to their home country for medical reasons.
- Costs connected to the policyholder’s death.
Some travel insurance companies provide additional coverage beyond standard Schengen visa insurance:
- Europ Assistance offers extended coverage up to €60,000 (about $62,000). Coverage includes travel and lodging expenses for the policyholder’s companion’s return trip, expenses for the return of a minor under age 14 to their home country and a doctor-prescribed extended stay of up to five days. This coverage is good in Schengen countries as well as Cyprus, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
- AXA’s Europe Travel policy provides coverage for medical expenses up to €100,000 (roughly $103,000) for up to 180 days. Coverage is in Schengen countries and non-Schengen countries in the European Union, as well as Great Britain, Cyprus, Ireland, San Marin, Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City.
- The AXA Multi Trip policy has the same coverage level as the Europe Travel policy over a one-year period. The coverage lets you stay for up to 90 days. The coverage is reactivated once you go back and picks up for another 90 days in that one-year timeframe.
What Does Schengen Insurance Not Cover?
Schengen insurance doesn’t generally cover fines and penalties during stays in the Schengen area, flights and other types of transportation like car rentals or lost and stolen luggage.
A Schengen policy also doesn’t cover pre-existing medical conditions.
How Much Does Schengen Visa Insurance Cost?
You can buy coverage from AXA for as low as €5.00 (about $5.15) per day of travel. The company’s mid-level coverage starts at €9.00 per day (about $9.27). AXA’s annual plan starts at €328 (approximately $338).
Europ Assistance’s Schengen coverage starts at €3 (about $3.09) per person for the basic plan or €5 per person (about $5.15) for the extended plan.
How To Buy Schengen Visa Insurance That’s Right For You
You need to first figure out how much you need in Schengen visa insurance. That includes policy limits. The higher the policy limit, the higher the cost.
Examine a policy to see what other problems it covers besides Schengen visa insurance like travel cancellation coverage.
You’ll also want to check with your credit card. Credit cards often offer Schengen visa insurance coverage if you use your credit card while on your trip.
Featured Travel Insurance Partners
1
AXA Assistance USA
Platinum
Yes
$250,000/$1 million
2
Cat 70
Travel
Yes
$500,000/$500,000
3
GoReady (formerly April)
Pandemic Plus
Yes
$50,000/$500,000
Who Sells Schengen Visa Insurance?
AXA and Europ Assistance sell Schengen visa insurance.
AXA doesn’t have an age limit and sells coverage to people of any country. Europ Assistance covers travelers who are under age 75 when the policy is purchased. Europ Assistance doesn’t sell policies to residents of Belarus, the Crimea Region, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk People’s regions, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Russian Federation.
