ÖVB Versicherungen (Landschaftliche Brandkasse Hannover, trading as ÖVB Versicherungen in Bremen)
ÖVB (VGH Versicherungen)
ÖVB (VGH Versicherungen) is a travel insurance for the Germany market with online purchase and 24/7 assistance.
Direct payment
If the emergency call service is engaged before or upon hospital admission, the insurer arranges a suitable hospital so that the insured person does not have to pay hospital costs in advance.
Geographic scope
Worldwide, excluding Germany
Cover extends to foreign countries in which the insured person has no permanent residence; the Federal Republic of Germany does not count as abroad.
Starting price
€11
Indicative — pricing assumptions not stated
Unique selling points
- A single annual premium (from €11.40) covers an unlimited number of foreign trips within the policy year, each up to 8 weeks.
- No monetary sum-insured cap is stated for outpatient, inpatient or dental treatment abroad — reimbursement follows actual medically necessary costs.
- Policyholders can opt for a flat €25 per day hospital cash benefit instead of itemized expense reimbursement during inpatient treatment abroad.
- Newborns of an insured parent are covered retroactively from birth if registered within two months, without a separate waiting period.
Coverage limits
Medical treatment costs abroad
Covered
Reimbursement of costs for outpatient, inpatient and dental treatment arising from a medically necessary treatment during the trip; the AVB does not state a monetary sum insured or cap for these benefits.
Emergency medical treatment
Covered
A claims event is any medically necessary treatment of an insured person due to illness or accident; treatment costs are reimbursed without a stated monetary limit.
Inpatient hospital treatment
Covered
Covers physician services, hospital services including nursing, accommodation and meals, and transport to the nearest suitable hospital by recognized emergency services; free choice of generally recognized hospitals in the country of stay; no monetary cap stated. The emergency call service must be engaged immediately before or upon hospital admission.
Outpatient treatment
Covered
Covers physician services, services by Heilpraktiker/chiropractors/osteopaths, medicines and dressings, aids (rented, or purchase price if renting is not possible; excludes glasses/hearing aids), remedial treatments (e.g. physiotherapy) and transport to the nearest doctor/hospital for first aid; no monetary cap stated.
Emergency dental treatment
Covered
Covers pain-relief dental treatment including simple fillings, simple provisional dentures, and repair/restoration of dentures already in use at the start of the trip. Inlays, new dentures (crowns, bridges, prostheses, implants), orthodontic measures, and dental laboratory work for provisional dentures are excluded.
Local emergency transport
Covered
Transport to the nearest reachable doctor or hospital by recognized emergency services for first aid after an accident or emergency, and transport to the nearest suitable hospital for inpatient treatment; no monetary cap stated.
Medically necessary return transport (repatriation)
Covered
The insurer organizes a return transport and reimburses the additional costs of returning to Germany if the return is medically sensible and justifiable, or inpatient treatment abroad would likely last longer than 14 days, or expected treatment costs abroad would exceed the cost of the return transport. Return must be to the insured's permanent residence or a hospital in Germany. Additional costs for a companion are reimbursed if medically sensible. A benefit commitment via the emergency call service must be obtained before the transport; otherwise reimbursement is capped at what would have been incurred with proper engagement of the service.
Repatriation of remains / death abroad
Covered
If the insured person dies while abroad, the insurer organizes and reimburses the direct costs of transferring the deceased to their last permanent residence. If burial takes place abroad, the burial costs incurred are covered, up to the amount that a repatriation would have cost.
Search, rescue and recovery costs
€5,000
If the insured person must be searched for, rescued or recovered abroad due to illness, accident or death, costs are reimbursed up to 5,000 EUR.
Pre-existing/known conditions
Excluded
No benefits are paid for illnesses which it was foreseeable at the start of the trip would require treatment during the planned course of the trip, unless the trip was undertaken due to the death of a spouse/civil partner or a first-degree relative.
Pregnancy complications
Conditional
Unforeseeable, acute pregnancy complications (including miscarriage, premature birth, or emergency termination) are covered as a claims event, but only if they occur before the end of the 32nd week of pregnancy, unless the extended stay abroad was necessitated by a prior claims event. Costs for a pregnancy known before the trip, elective termination, delivery, and puerperal illnesses are excluded.
Personal liability abroad
No limit stated
Not part of this travel medical product per the reviewed documents.
Legal assistance abroad
No limit stated
Not part of this travel medical product per the reviewed documents.
Emergency call service
Covered
The policy includes an emergency call service reachable at a dedicated German telephone number (+49 4441 905-4441), which must be contacted immediately before or upon hospital admission, before a return transport, and before arranging childcare cover; explicit round-the-clock hours are not separately stated in the AVB text.
Key conditions
Assistance call deadline
The emergency call service must be engaged immediately before or upon hospital admission; before a return transport is carried out, prior benefit approval must be obtained via the emergency call service, otherwise reimbursement is limited to what would have been paid had the service been engaged properly.
Unauthorized treatment
Without a prior benefit commitment obtained via the emergency call service for a return transport or child-care assistance, reimbursement is capped at the amount that would have been payable if the service had been properly engaged in advance.
Purchase while abroad
The insurance application, including the direct-debit mandate, must reach the insurer before departure from Germany; the contract only comes into being through payment of the premium, and cover never starts before the trip abroad has begun.
Chronic conditions
No benefits are paid for illnesses which it was foreseeable at the start of the trip would need treatment during the planned course of the trip (i.e. known chronic conditions), unless the trip was made due to the death of a spouse/partner or a first-degree relative.
Pregnancy
Only unforeseeable, acute pregnancy complications occurring before the end of the 32nd week are covered; costs for a pregnancy known before the trip, elective termination, delivery and puerperal illnesses are excluded.
Pre-existing condition exclusions
Illnesses known to the insured person before departure, where treatment during the planned trip was foreseeable, are excluded from cover (with a narrow exception for trips undertaken due to the death of a close relative).
Coverage duration limit
Cover applies to each foreign trip taken within an insurance year up to a maximum of 8 weeks; if a trip lasts longer, benefits are only paid for the first 8 weeks. If the insured person cannot travel home due to illness or accident consequences, cover is extended until they are fit to travel again.
Where to buy
Policy specifics
Medical repatriation
Coverage for medically necessary return transport to home country
SourceSource no longer reachableTravel duration limitation
Coverage limited to maximum 8 weeks per trip for standard travel health insurance (Tarif AK)
SourceDental treatment coverage
Coverage includes dental treatment services while abroad
SourceSource no longer reachableFamily accompaniment costs
Coverage for travel costs of a family member who must accompany hospitalized insured person
SourceSource no longer reachableAnnual multiple trips coverage
Single annual premium covers unlimited trips within the policy year, subject to duration limits per trip
SourceCosts for an accompanying person
The insurer reimburses additional costs for accompaniment by another insured person during a medically necessary return transport, provided the accompaniment is medically sensible; separately, for a hospitalized minor insured child, the costs of accommodating an accompanying person in the hospital are reimbursed.
Source24/7 emergency assistance service
Round-the-clock emergency support available at any location worldwide
SourceSource no longer reachableMedical necessity requirement
Coverage applies only to medically necessary treatment; excludes treatment where travel is the primary purpose
SourcePre-existing condition exclusion
Coverage excludes medical treatment for known diseases or conditions that were to be treated during the trip
SourceWorldwide coverage scope
Coverage applies to medical emergencies anywhere in the world (excluding home country)
SourceNo deductible (self-retention)
Not established from the insurer's documents
Travel health insurance (Tarif AK) typically covers claims without deductible
SourceThird-party source, not the insurer's documentSources
- https://www.oevb.de/content/privat/versicherungen/reise-und-urlaub/reisekranken/index.htmlSource no longer reachable