VAV Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft
VAV
VAV is a travel insurance for the Austria market with online purchase and limited assistance availability.
Direct payment
Emergency medical transport and repatriation must be organized through the VAV/IFRA (Austrian Flying Ambulance Service) coordination center, which arranges these services directly; other medical and travel costs are reimbursed against submitted original receipts after the trip.
Geographic scope
Worldwide
Coverage applies worldwide. Benefits offered only for abroad (e.g. treatment and repatriation costs) do not apply to trips within Austria or in the country where the insured has their residence.
Unique selling points
- Family liability cover up to EUR 1,500,000, well above typical travel liability minimums.
- A single worldwide policy bundles medical, accident, liability, baggage and optional trip-cancellation cover.
- Emergency repatriation is coordinated directly through the dedicated IFRA (Austrian Flying Ambulance Service) emergency center.
- A dedicated 'single-parent' (Alleinerzieher) tariff offers higher limits than the single-person rate, distinct from standard family tariffs.
- An annual multi-trip variant covers unlimited trips of up to 42 days each within the policy year.
Coverage limits
Medical expenses abroad
€75,000 – €150,000
Covers hospital costs including ambulance, plus doctor's fees and medication incurred abroad. Limits: EUR 75,000 (single person), EUR 100,000 (single parent), EUR 150,000 (family).
Emergency medical treatment
€75,000 – €150,000
Treatment costs necessary for first aid and treating an accident or acutely occurring illness during a trip abroad, up to the agreed sum insured per tariff tier.
Hospitalization costs including ambulance
€75,000 – €150,000
Hospital costs including ambulance transport for treatment abroad. Limits: EUR 75,000 (single person), EUR 100,000 (single parent), EUR 150,000 (family).
Doctor's fees and medication
€75,000 – €150,000
Doctor's fees and medication costs incurred abroad. Limits: EUR 75,000 (single person), EUR 100,000 (single parent), EUR 150,000 (family).
Emergency dental treatment
No limit stated
No specific emergency dental treatment benefit is stated in the reviewed documents; repair or replacement of dentures/dental prosthetics is explicitly excluded.
Repatriation by scheduled flight (medical bed)
€75,000 – €150,000
Repatriation in a medical bed on a scheduled flight following a hospital stay abroad. Limits: EUR 75,000 (single person), EUR 100,000 (single parent), EUR 150,000 (family).
Emergency repatriation by air ambulance jet
€75,000 – €150,000
Emergency repatriation via air ambulance jet, organized through the IFRA coordination center. Limits: EUR 75,000 (single person), EUR 100,000 (single parent), EUR 150,000 (family). Cover lapses if IFRA instructions are not followed or the ambulance flight is not organized through IFRA.
Repatriation of remains / burial costs
€75,000 – €150,000
Costs for repatriating the deceased to Austria, or for burial at the place of death, if an accident or sudden illness during the trip leads to death. Limits: EUR 75,000 (single person), EUR 100,000 (single parent), EUR 150,000 (family).
Search and rescue costs (mountain/water distress)
€7,500 – €15,000
Costs of searching for and rescuing the insured following an accident or mountain/water distress. Limits: EUR 7,500 (single person), EUR 15,000 (single parent/family).
COVID-19 treatment
No limit stated
No specific mention of COVID-19 treatment coverage was found in the reviewed documents.
Pre-existing/chronic conditions
Excluded
Chronic conditions and their consequences are excluded, as are illnesses/ailments that were treated or required treatment prior to travel. Note: the coverage overview states a look-back period of the year before departure, while the IPID and T&Cs state a look-back period of the 6 months before policy inception; sources are not fully consistent on the exact period.
Winter sports cover
No limit stated
No explicit statement on general recreational winter sports (e.g. skiing) cover was found; only participation in official skiing/bobsleigh/skeleton competitions and their official training is excluded from accident cover.
Adventure/extreme sports cover
Excluded
Treatment, rescue, repatriation and related costs are excluded for claims arising from bungee jumping, boxing, freestyle wrestling, rafting, American football, bobsleighing, luge, skeleton, base jumping, other air sports, hang-gliding, weightlifting, cave trekking, house running, heli-bungee, high ropes, hydro-speed, scad diving, kite surfing, motocross and polo.
Pregnancy complications
€75,000 – €150,000
Sudden, unforeseeable abnormal pregnancy developments requiring special medical care are co-insured up to the agreed medical treatment sum. Normal pregnancy discomforts, deliveries, pregnancy termination and their consequences are not covered.
Private travel liability insurance
€750,000 – €1,500,000
Covers the insured's private liability for damages caused to third parties while travelling. Limits: EUR 750,000 (single person), EUR 1,000,000 (single parent), EUR 1,500,000 (family).
Legal assistance
No limit stated
No standalone legal assistance/legal protection benefit for the insured's own disputes is described; only defense costs against third-party liability claims are covered within the liability section.
24/7 assistance hotline
No limit stated
An emergency coordination center (IFRA - Internationaler Flugrettungsdienst Austria) organizes ambulance flights and repatriation, but the documents do not explicitly state that this service operates 24/7.
Key conditions
Assistance call deadline
Any claim expected to cost more than EUR 1,500 must be reported to VAV in writing without delay, at the latest within 3 days; other claims must be reported without delay after returning home. Accidents under the accident insurance must be reported within 1 week, and a death within 3 days.
Unauthorized treatment
Cover lapses if IFRA instructions following a claim event are not followed - in particular if repatriation is refused or missed - or if an ambulance flight is organized without going through the IFRA coordination center.
Purchase while abroad
Travel insurance must be applied for and paid before the start of the trip; taking out a further policy after the trip has begun to extend the insured period of that trip is not possible.
Chronic conditions
Benefits are excluded for existing chronic conditions and their consequences.
Pregnancy
Cover applies only to sudden, unforeseeable pregnancy complications; normal pregnancy discomforts, deliveries, and pregnancy termination and their consequences are excluded.
Pre-existing condition exclusions
No benefit is provided for illnesses or ailments that were treated or required treatment before the trip; sources differ on the exact look-back period, citing either the 6 months before policy inception or the year before departure.
Coverage duration limit
Single-trip policies are available for 15 or 31 days; the annual policy covers every trip during the policy year up to a maximum of 42 days per trip.
Policy specifics
Medical expenses abroad (Auslandskranken-versicherung)
Coverage for medical treatment costs incurred during foreign travel, including emergency medical care and hospitalization
SourceSource no longer reachableTrip cancellation (Stornoversicherung)
Coverage for pre-trip cancellation costs; can be selected with or without cancellation protection
SourceSource no longer reachableTravel baggage insurance (Reisegepäckversicherung)
Coverage for loss, damage or theft of baggage during travel; includes replacement purchases at destination
SourceSource no longer reachableAccident insurance (Unfallversicherung)
Coverage for accidents during travel, including disability and death benefits
SourceSource no longer reachableRepatriation and transport home (Heimtransport)
Coverage for emergency transport and repatriation to Austria, including rescue costs
SourceSource no longer reachableLiability insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung)
Coverage for personal liability during travel for damages caused to third parties
SourceSource no longer reachableGeographic scope (worldwide)
Insurance coverage applies worldwide for travel trips
SourceSource no longer reachableTrip duration options
Single trip policies available for 15 or 31 days; annual policies cover trips up to 42 days each
SourceAustria residence requirement
Requirement that insured person has normal place of residence in Austria or South Tyrol
SourceSource no longer reachableWHO health guideline exclusion
Exclusion of coverage when WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines were not followed
SourceSources
- https://www.vav.at/privat/versicherungen/reiseversicherungSource no longer reachable