Health insurance abroad
There is currently no single, international health insurance scheme. This means that contracts concluded in Hungary are typically valid in Hungary. There are special exceptions to this: insurance policies that cover only very specific illnesses – certain types of brain tumour, very complicated and complex operations. If the insured needs the specific treatments, the insurance will cover operations and treatments abroad. These insurances are typically “second” insurances, i.e. it makes sense to take them out alongside a general package available in Hungary.
The insurance also includes a so-called second opinion. This means that, in the event of an illness being discovered, the insured person can request a second, independent medical opinion in addition to the one issued. This may be a foreign opinion.
Offers from insurers
Aegon
With Aegon, you can choose from four packages. The basic package does not include screening or outpatient care, but rather helps with organising care. As you move up, the range of services available increases.
Allianz
Allianz distinguishes between an employee and an executive package in its group insurance. The latter includes home visits, dental care, patient transport and same-day surgery.
Generali
Generali also offers four types of package. The basic package includes services such as annual breast examinations, basic laboratory and diagnostic tests, cytology for women and prostate cancer screening for men. The most expensive package includes physiotherapy, oncological diagnostics and home visits.
Groupama
Groupama’s health insurance packages are also gradually expanding their list of services. The basic package does not include same-day surgery, only outpatient specialist care and diagnostic tests in addition to advice. The packages are increasingly making services available in higher values: the premium now covers one-day surgery up to HUF 1 million.
Medicover
Medicover is a special player because it provides both insurance and health services. In other words, instead of one insurer contracting with several providers, they manage everything in-house. The health services are available to anyone, but insurance is only offered to companies. They also contract with insurance companies as a health institution.
Union
Union offers a children’s insurance plan to go with the four different plans. And it is not the most basic package, as it already includes same-day surgery. This can be particularly useful for a lively and adventurous child.
Uniqa
Uniqa offers customers three types of insurance. One provides financial support in case of illness, another covers medical treatment abroad for serious illnesses, and the third covers standard domestic healthcare. Uniqa is the only company to have suspended these latter policies in view of the coronavirus.
Income insurance
After an illness or an accident, the inability to work for a longer or shorter period of time only adds to the problems. NN-Bank360 Group Income Supplement Insurance pays in the event of incapacity to work, 100% online without a medical examination.
Buy income protection insurance
Frequently asked questions
At what age should I buy health insurance?
When you are young, you spend little on health services because you do not visit the doctor often.
But if a problem does arise, we can pay for the care.
But later on, problems multiply and it becomes more and more expensive to pay for ongoing private treatment.
It is difficult to say when it is better to move to continuous payment, but it is worth looking at the options from around 30-35 years of age.
How should you choose a plan?
Typically, insurers offer four packages, of which the basic package is almost universally flat-rate, with one-day surgery, for example, missing from the list of services. However, it does include some major diagnostic tests such as MRI, CT or ultrasound.
The additional package is usually offered with a wider range of services. At a younger age, it is not necessarily necessary to opt for the more expensive ones, but individual needs should be taken into account. Typical examples might be something specific to the job, a family history and predisposition to disease or the sport played.
How much should you pay per month?
It depends on what you want and how much you can afford. The most basic packages usually cost less than 10,000 HUF, but they don’t include many services.
The top end costs tens of thousands of forints a month, but you get quite a lot for that. It’s a good idea to set your monthly fee so that you can pay it comfortably – like your phone bill.
