VGH Versicherungen (Landschaftliche Brandkasse Hannover / Provinzial Lebensversicherung Hannover)
VGH
VGH is a travel insurance for the Germany market with online purchase and 24/7 assistance.
Direct payment
The insurer works on a reimbursement basis: original invoices and receipts must be submitted and are required for payment, though contacting the 24/7 emergency call service before a hospital admission can allow direct settlement with the hospital and avoid the policyholder having to advance costs.
Geographic scope
Worldwide (abroad)
Cover applies abroad, defined as countries in which the insured person does not have a permanent residence; the Federal Republic of Germany is not considered abroad.
Starting price
€11
Indicative — pricing assumptions not stated
Unique selling points
- Very low entry price: annual premium starts from just EUR 11.40 for individuals under 60 in the single-person variant.
- Includes a dedicated 24/7 emergency call service (Notruf-Service) for advice, hospital search and coordination of repatriation.
- Family cover (AK-F) extends to spouses/registered partners and minor children, including step-, adoptive- and foster children, at a single family premium.
- Search, rescue and recovery costs abroad are included as standard up to EUR 5,000, a benefit some travel insurers only offer as a paid add-on.
- Contract can be concluded online, in addition to the standard paper application process.
Coverage limits
Medical treatment expenses abroad
Covered
Costs for medically necessary outpatient, inpatient and dental treatment arising from an insured event abroad (illness or accident) are reimbursed. No overall monetary ceiling is stated in the terms for these treatment costs.
Outpatient emergency medical treatment
Covered
Ambulatory medical services, treatment by licensed practitioners/chiropractors/osteopaths, medicines, dressings, aids and physiotherapy needed during the trip are covered, including transport to the nearest doctor or hospital by recognized emergency services after an accident or emergency; no cap is stated.
Inpatient hospital treatment
Covered
Medical fees, hospital services including nursing, accommodation and board, and transport to the nearest suitable hospital are covered for medically necessary inpatient treatment abroad; no monetary cap is stated. Alternatively, the insured may choose a hospital daily allowance of EUR 25 per day instead of cost reimbursement. The emergency call service must be contacted without delay before or upon hospital admission.
Outpatient treatment
Covered
Includes physician services, services of licensed practitioners/chiropractors/osteopaths, prescribed medicines and dressings, aids (rented, or purchase price if renting is not possible; excluding glasses and hearing aids), and physiotherapy from a physiotherapist. No overall cap stated.
Emergency dental treatment
Covered
Covers pain-relieving dental treatment including simple fillings, simple provisional dentures, and repair/restoration of function of dentures already present at the start of the trip. New crowns, bridges, dentures, implants, inlay fillings and orthodontic treatment are not covered, nor are dental laboratory costs for provisional dentures. No monetary cap is stated for the covered items.
Local medical transport
Covered
Transport to the nearest reachable doctor or hospital by recognized emergency/ambulance services for first treatment after an accident or emergency, and transport to the nearest suitable hospital for inpatient treatment, are covered. No monetary cap is stated.
Medical repatriation / evacuation
Conditional
The insurer organizes and reimburses the additional cost of repatriation to Germany if repatriation is medically sensible, inpatient treatment abroad would likely exceed 14 days, or expected foreign treatment costs would exceed the repatriation cost; the cost of a medically necessary accompanying insured person is also covered. Prior authorization via the emergency call service is required before repatriation; without it, reimbursement is capped at what would have been paid had the service been properly engaged.
Repatriation of remains / burial abroad
Covered
If the insured person dies abroad, the insurer organizes repatriation of the body to the last permanent residence and reimburses the direct repatriation costs. If burial takes place abroad instead, the incurred funeral costs are reimbursed, capped at what a repatriation would have cost. No specific monetary ceiling is stated.
Search, rescue and recovery costs
€5,000
If the insured person needs to be searched for, rescued or recovered abroad due to illness, accident or death, the resulting costs are reimbursed up to EUR 5,000.
COVID-19 treatment
No limit stated
The terms and conditions do not separately mention COVID-19 treatment; general medically necessary treatment for illness abroad would fall under standard medical expenses cover, but no explicit provision was found.
Pre-existing / foreseeable conditions
Excluded
No benefits are paid for treatment abroad that was the sole or a contributing reason for the trip, nor for illnesses that were foreseeably going to require treatment during the planned course of the trip, unless the trip was undertaken due to the death of a spouse/registered partner or a first-degree relative.
Winter sports cover
No limit stated
No specific provision for winter sports activities was found in the Tarif AK terms and conditions.
Adventure sports cover
No limit stated
No specific provision for adventure/extreme sports was found in the Tarif AK terms and conditions.
Pregnancy complications
Conditional
Unforeseeable, acutely occurring pregnancy complications (including miscarriage, premature birth, or emergency termination) are treated as an insured event, but only if they occur before the end of the 32nd week of pregnancy, unless the extended stay abroad was necessitated by a previously occurred insured event. Medically necessary treatment of the premature infant is also covered in this context.
Personal liability
No limit stated
Personal liability cover is not part of this travel health insurance product; the policy is a health/medical expenses product and does not address third-party liability claims.
Legal assistance
No limit stated
Legal assistance / legal expenses cover is not part of this travel health insurance product and is not mentioned in the terms and conditions.
24/7 emergency call service
Covered
A dedicated emergency call service (Notruf-Service) is included, reachable at +49 4441 905-4441, for advice and support in case of an insured event; its use is mandatory (to avoid benefit restrictions) before inpatient hospital admission, before repatriation, and before arranging child-care benefits.
Key conditions
Assistance call deadline
The emergency call service must be contacted without delay before or upon hospital admission, and must in every case be engaged before repatriation from abroad and before arranging child-care travel benefits, to avoid restrictions on benefits.
Unauthorized treatment
For repatriation and child-care benefits, prior authorization (Leistungszusage) must be obtained via the emergency call service before the measure is carried out; without such prior authorization, reimbursement is limited to the amount that would have been incurred had the emergency service been properly engaged.
Purchase while abroad
The application, including the SEPA direct debit mandate, must reach the insurer before departure from Germany; cover cannot begin before the contract is concluded or before the start of the stay abroad, and no benefits are paid for trips already begun before the contract was concluded.
Chronic conditions
The terms do not contain a dedicated clause on chronic diseases as such, but the general exclusion for illnesses foreseeably requiring treatment during the planned trip (Nr. 13b) effectively limits cover for known chronic conditions expected to need treatment abroad.
Pregnancy
Only unforeseeable, acute pregnancy complications occurring before the end of the 32nd week of pregnancy are covered as an insured event; planned or foreseeable pregnancy-related treatment is not covered.
Pre-existing condition exclusions
No benefits are paid for illnesses that were foreseeably going to require treatment during the planned course of the trip, or for treatment abroad that was the sole or a contributing reason for undertaking the trip.
Coverage duration limit
Cover applies to trips abroad of up to 8 weeks per insurance year; if a trip lasts longer than 8 weeks, benefits are only provided for the first 8 weeks of that trip.
Policy specifics
Trip duration limit
Standard coverage is limited to 8 weeks per trip within one insurance year for holiday and business trips
SourceMedical evacuation and repatriation
Costs for medically necessary repatriation or transport from abroad are covered when medical care is not available locally
SourceEmergency contact requirement
For repatriation and child care benefits, the emergency service must be contacted to avoid benefit restrictions
SourceNo coverage for medical tourism
Trips undertaken specifically for medical treatment or healing purposes are not covered
SourcePermanent residence requirement
Eligible persons must have permanent residence in Germany and only travel abroad temporarily
SourceHousehold requirement for family variant
In family variant (AK-F), family members must have permanent residence in Germany and live in the same household as the policyholder
SourceClaims submission requirement
Original documents and receipts must be submitted to ALTE OLDENBURGER; copies are not accepted for claims processing
SourceWaiting periods for certain benefits
Waiting periods apply for deliveries (8 months) and non-accident-related dental prosthetics (6 months) in student tariffs
SourceSources
- https://www.sparkasse-hannover.de/de/home/privatkunden/versicherung/gesundheit/auslandsreise-krankenversicherung-vgh.html
- https://www.vgh.de/de/reiseversicherung/reisekrankenversicherung
- https://www.vgh.de/vgh/export/sites/vgh/_resources/downloads/pdf/privat_versicherungen/reiseundurlaub/vgh_vertragsinformationen_versicherungsbedingungen_tarif_ark_schueler_studenten.pdf