Travel insurance

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Feature / category	Allianz May 12, 2026 Open details	HanseMerkur Mar 21, 2026 Open details	Debeka May 12, 2026 Open details	ERGO Reiseversicherung May 12, 2026 Open details
Overview
Insurer	Allianz Deutschland AG	HanseMerkur	Debeka Krankenversicherungsverein a. G. / Debeka Versicherungsgruppe	ERGO Reiseversicherung AG
Online purchase	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
24/7 helpline	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Starting price	€25	Not available	€12	€49
Billing basis	annual	Not available	annual	annual
Unique selling points	Unlimited medical and dental emergency treatment coverage abroad with no deductible on the health component. Worldwide 24-hour emergency hotline (+49 89 624 24-245) with medical interpreter service included at no extra cost. Allianz can issue direct payment guarantees or advance payments to foreign hospitals, eliminating out-of-pocket upfront costs for inpatient treatment. All sports types covered abroad including skiing and snowboarding without additional premium, subject only to standard extreme-activity exclusions. Rated 'Sehr Gut' (1.5) by Stiftung Warentest Finanztest (05/2024) for annual travel medical insurance for individuals.	Not available	Extremely low annual premium starting at EUR 12 per adult and EUR 6 per child, with no surcharge for seniors aged 68+, up to age 67 flat rate. No monetary cap on medical treatment and repatriation transport costs – the policy reimburses 100% of all medically necessary expenses abroad without an upper limit. Debeka advances payment upon notification of the insured event so the insured does not have to finance costs out of pocket before reimbursement. Worldwide 24/7 emergency hotline included at no extra cost, with telephone costs for contacting the service reimbursed under the policy. Coverage automatically extends beyond the 70-day trip limit if medically impossible to return, with no administrative action required by the insured.	The travel medical insurance covers repatriation not only when 'medically necessary' but also when 'medically reasonable and justifiable' (medizinisch sinnvoll und vertretbar), giving the insured more flexibility to return home. Unlimited sum insured for medical expenses and repatriation abroad – no coverage ceiling on treatment costs, protecting against catastrophic medical bills worldwide. 24/7 emergency hotline (365 days a year) with international medical team, direct hospital billing via cost-guarantee letters, and access to the 'Air Doctor' digital service for finding local specialist doctors and conducting video consultations. COVID-19 illness and death are explicitly covered as insured events since August 2023, even though COVID-19 is classified as a pandemic by the WHO – no pandemic exclusion for COVID-19. Rated 'Good' (2.3) by Stiftung Warentest (Finanztest 05/2025) for both individual and family annual travel medical insurance policies, confirming independent quality recognition.
IPID	IPID	Not available	IPID	IPID
Terms & conditions	Terms & conditions	Not available	Terms & conditions	Terms & conditions
Coverage
Medical expenses	Covered	€45,000	Covered	Covered
Medical transport	Covered	€18,000	Covered	Covered
COVID-19 treatment	Covered	€10,000	Covered	Covered
Baggage loss	Not available	€1,250	Not available	Not available
Personal liability	Excluded	€9,000	Excluded	Optional
Emergency dental	Covered	Not available	Covered	Covered
Search & rescue	€10,000	Not available	€5,000	€10,000
Legal assistance	Covered	Not available	Excluded	Excluded
Emergency medical treatment	Covered	Not available	Covered	Covered
Hospitalization	Covered	Not available	Covered	Covered
Outpatient treatment	Covered	Not available	Covered	Covered
Medical evacuation	Covered	Not available	Covered	Covered
Repatriation of remains	Covered	Not available	Covered	Covered
Pre existing conditions	Excluded	Not available	If an insured event (illness) already existed before the start of the trip, costs are only reimbursed to the extent that a worsening of the pre-existing condition requiring treatment occurs during the trip abroad. Treatments whose necessity was already medically established before departure are excluded, unless the trip was undertaken due to death of a spouse, civil partner or first-degree relative.	Treatments that the insured already knew to be necessary before the start of the trip (e.g. dialysis, scheduled procedures) are explicitly excluded (Part C §17 B). However, an unexpected and serious deterioration of a pre-existing condition is covered, provided there was no treatment for that condition in the 6 months before the trip start (routine check-ups, stable medication dosage, and dialysis are not counted as treatment). Exception: if the trip is undertaken because a spouse, life partner, or first-degree relative has died, coverage may apply (Part C §17 B).
Winter sports cover	Covered	Not available	Covered	Covered
Adventure sports cover	Medical treatment costs from adventure sports abroad are covered provided: the activity is booked together with the trip, the activity provider is licensed (if required), the activity is not prohibited by law, and the insured wears recommended protective equipment. Excluded: activities above 4,500m altitude, extreme whitewater, heli-skiing in unsafe areas, combat sports, motorized racing, deep freediving/scuba beyond limits, and similar extreme activities.	Not available	Covered	Extreme sports (Extremsportarten as defined in the glossary: rafting, free climbing, canyoning, abseiling/rappelling, cave exploration, mountaineering, hang gliding, paragliding, skydiving) are excluded under the accident insurance (Part E §7.1 E) and travel liability insurance (Part F §2.17). However, the travel medical insurance section (Part C) does not list extreme sports as an explicit exclusion. Treatment costs arising from extreme sport injuries may therefore be covered under Part C if medically necessary, but this is not explicitly confirmed for all scenarios.
Pregnancy complications	Complications of pregnancy and premature births before the end of the 36th week of pregnancy occurring abroad during travel are covered under the travel medical insurance. Normal, uncomplicated pregnancies and births are not covered.	Not available	Pregnancy complications including miscarriage, premature birth and emergency termination are covered as an insured event. Coverage does not apply if the complication occurs after the 36th week of pregnancy, unless the continued stay abroad was necessitated by a previously occurring insured event. After delivery, necessary medical treatment for the newborn abroad is also covered until mother and child are fit for transport, provided the delivery costs are reimbursed.	Covered
Key conditions
Assistance call deadline	For inpatient hospital treatment, repatriation, or hospital visitor travel, the insured must contact Allianz in advance and all arrangements must be made in advance. If transport is not pre-approved and organized by Allianz, reimbursement is limited to the amount Allianz would have paid if it had organized the transport. For self-organized emergency transports, no support can be provided.	Call assistance before inpatient care whenever feasible.	No explicit deadline for contacting the 24-hour emergency service is stated in the policy. However, the insured is obligated to minimise damage and must cooperate with the insurer in establishing the facts of the claim.	The insured (or their legal successors in the event of death) must contact the 24/7 emergency hotline without undue delay (unverzüglich): before beginning any inpatient hospital treatment; before any medical repatriation is carried out; and before any repatriation of remains. Failure to do so may reduce or eliminate the insurer's obligation to pay (Part C §18.2).
Purchase while abroad	It is not possible to take out the travel medical insurance retroactively while already abroad or after travel has commenced. The insurance must be purchased before the trip begins. For the travel medical and other non-cancellation covers, purchase is possible up to the day of departure.	Purchase must happen before the insured trip begins.	If the contract is concluded during a trip abroad, insurance coverage only begins with the commencement of the next new trip abroad (§ 2 Nr. 2 AVB/AR).	Insurance cannot be taken out once the insured is already abroad. The travel medical insurance must be purchased before departure. The contract can be concluded up to the last day before travel commencement. For annual policies, purchase is possible at any time, but coverage for medical treatment only begins upon commencement of the trip (Part C, General Terms §3).
Chronic conditions	Chronic diseases that were being actively treated before the insurance commenced are classified as pre-existing conditions and are not covered. Regular check-ups for monitoring or prevention are not considered treatment. Emergency medical treatment required during travel for conditions not related to chronic pre-existing conditions remains covered.	Chronic conditions are covered only for acute, medically necessary stabilization.	Chronic diseases are not explicitly excluded. If a chronic illness existed before the trip, only treatment costs necessitated by a worsening of that condition during the trip are reimbursed. Scheduled treatments known to be necessary before departure are excluded (§ 1 Nr. 1 and § 5 Nr. 1 lit. j AVB/AR).	Known chronic diseases that require regular treatment are generally excluded. This includes treatments known to be necessary before departure (e.g. regular dialysis, scheduled surgeries). However, an unexpected and serious worsening of a chronic/pre-existing condition is covered if there was no treatment for the condition in the 6 months prior to trip start. Routine check-ups, stable medication at unchanged dosage, and dialysis do not count as 'treatment' for this purpose (Part C §17 B, §2.1 definition).
Winter and extreme sports	Not available	Winter sports require an explicit extension.	Not available	Not available
Pregnancy	Normal uncomplicated pregnancies and births are not covered. Premature births occurring before the end of the 36th week of pregnancy during a trip abroad are fully covered under the travel medical insurance. Pregnancy complications that require emergency treatment are also covered.	Not available	Pregnancy complications including miscarriage, premature birth and emergency termination are covered. No coverage for events occurring after the 36th week of pregnancy unless the continued stay abroad resulted from a previously occurring insured event. After delivery, treatment of the newborn is covered until mother and child are fit for transport (§ 4 Nr. 7 AVB/AR).	Pregnancy complications, medically indicated terminations, and childbirth abroad are covered up to and including the 36th week of pregnancy. After the 36th week, treatment for complications, terminations, and deliveries are excluded. If pregnancy occurs during the trip, up to 5 prenatal check-ups, 2 ultrasounds, and postnatal care are also covered (Part C §3). Planned prenatal check-ups in the guest country are excluded for foreign visitor insurance (Part G §13 M).
Unauthorized treatment	If the insured organizes emergency transport or repatriation without prior approval by Allianz, reimbursement is limited to the amount Allianz would have paid had it organized the transport itself. Violation of this obligation (Obliegenheit) may result in reduction or refusal of benefits depending on the degree of fault.	Not available	The policy does not impose a specific penalty for seeking treatment without prior authorisation. However, if treatment exceeds the medically necessary extent or the fee is unreasonable, the insurer may reduce its benefit to an appropriate amount (§ 5 Nr. 2 AVB/AR).	If treatment exceeds the medically necessary level, ERGO may reduce its reimbursement to an appropriate amount. Fees and charges must not exceed those generally considered customary and reasonable in the country of treatment; otherwise ERGO may reduce reimbursement to the local standard rates (Part C §2.4). Intentional breach of obligations leads to full loss of coverage; grossly negligent breach may lead to proportional reduction (Part C §19).
Pre existing conditions	Pre-existing conditions are illnesses or health complaints that existed before insurance inception or travel booking, for which treatment was required or reasonably foreseeable. They are generally excluded from all coverage under this policy. Only unexpected, sudden illness arising for the first time after policy inception (or travel booking for annual policies) is covered.	Not available	If a condition existed before departure, only treatment necessitated by a worsening during the trip is covered. Treatments whose necessity was already established before departure are excluded, unless the trip was made due to the death of a spouse, civil partner or first-degree relative (§ 1 Nr. 1 AVB/AR).	Treatments that were known to be necessary before trip start (e.g. dialysis, scheduled procedures) are explicitly excluded. An unexpected, serious deterioration of a pre-existing condition is covered if there was no active treatment for it in the 6 months before trip start; routine check-ups, stable medication at unchanged dosage, and dialysis are not considered 'treatment'. Exception: if the trip is undertaken because a spouse, life partner, or first-degree relative has died, coverage may apply despite planned treatment needs (Part C §17 B).
Coverage duration limit	For the annual Jahres-Reiseschutz, each individual trip is covered for a maximum of 56 days (from departure to return). If a single trip exceeds 56 days, coverage only applies for the first 56 days. An exception applies if the return trip is delayed due to a covered event, in which case coverage is extended until the insured is able to return or reaches a medical facility.	Not available	Coverage applies for each trip within a policy year for up to 70 days. If return travel is medically impossible at the end of the 70-day period, coverage extends until the insured is fit for transport. The policy year is annual (§ 1 Nr. 5, § 7 lit. b AVB/AR).	For annual policies: each individual trip is covered for a maximum of 45 days. Coverage for medical treatment ends after the first 45 days of any trip. For single-trip policies: coverage is for the full insured trip duration, provided it is planned for a maximum of 12 months and the insured's habitual residence is not relocated abroad (General Terms §2.2 F, §4.1). If the insured is unable to travel home for reasons beyond their control, coverage is extended until return is possible (General Terms §3.1 D, §3.2 C).
Proof and next steps
Direct payment policy	For inpatient hospital treatment, Allianz can issue a direct payment guarantee or advance payment to the hospital so that the insured does not need to pay upfront. For outpatient treatments, costs are generally paid upfront by the insured and then reimbursed.	Direct payment depends on immediate coordination with the emergency center.	Debeka advances payment upon notification of the insured event and settles the claim in accordance with policy conditions; the insured must submit original invoices. For costs in foreign currencies, reimbursement is made in EUR at the ECB exchange rate on the day invoices are received.	ERGO issues a cost-guarantee letter (Kostenübernahmegarantie) directly to the treating hospital for medically necessary inpatient treatment. ERGO settles the bill directly with the hospital. If ERGO is not liable for the full amount, any advances made must be repaid by the insured within one month of invoicing. For outpatient treatment, the insured pays upfront and submits receipts for reimbursement.
Last verified	May 12, 2026	Mar 21, 2026	May 12, 2026	May 12, 2026