Travel assistance cover
Falling ill or having an accident during your trip can put a damper on things and even herald the end of your holiday. However, travel assistance insurance ensures that you’re prepared for a setback and that you receive 24/7 cover anywhere in the world.
What is travel assistance insurance?
Assistance insurance provides cover should you fall ill or have an accident while on holiday and includes:
Why should you take it out?
If you unexpectedly require medical care during your trip, you’ll want to be helped as quickly as possible. It’s in such a situation that travel assistance spares you a lot of stress and worry.
- It is valid worldwide
- You can count on receiving assistance 24/7
- You decide whether to take out cover for one trip or for a whole year
You are not covered by your travel assistance insurance in these situations.
Medical assistance abroad
The cost
In many countries in Europe and further afield, you can get immediate access to a doctor or be taken to hospital in an emergency case. However, the cost of health care is often higher than in Belgium, especially if you travel outside the European Union.
Even when you’ve taken out hospitalisation insurance or have joined a health insurance fund, you still have to pay a considerable amount extra in some countries. Health insurance funds are increasingly limiting what is reimbursed for treatment abroad or have even stopped providing cover for certain countries.
Travel assistance insurance with KBC Brussels applies the same compensation limits worldwide, so you can be sure that your medical expenses will be reimbursed.
Taking out travel assistance insurance
Travel assistance insurance is optional cover in the travel insurance policy provided by KBC Brussels. You can work out the cost of your travel assistance cover online and take it out right away.
How to work out the cost of your travel assistance
- Run your simulation in KBC Brussels Mobile, KBC Brussels Touch or on our website
- Select ‘Personal assistance’ from the list of insurance products that can be added to your travel insurance
- Calculate your premium
- If you like what you see, take out your travel insurance right away
Apart from travel assistance, you can also add other types of cover to your travel insurance:
- Cancellation cover
- Luggage cover
- Travel accident cover
- Legal assistance cover
The cost of an appendectomy in the United States and Canada can amount to more than 40,000 euros.
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What is and isn’t covered by your travel assistance insurance?
Covered
Personal assistance cover reimburses you for things like medical expenses you incur while travelling abroad
- Hospitalisation, repatriation, forced extended stays, transfer of family members, etc.
- Medical expenses abroad up to 500,000 euros per person (VIP option: 1,000,000 euros per person)
- Personal assistance cover is valid worldwide
Not covered
- Complications occurring after the second trimester of pregnancy, and childbirth expenses
- Complications related to, or worsening of, an existing illness if you have not followed the treatment prescribed
- Participation in paid or profitable sports (including training for such sports)
- Participation in extreme outdoor activities where the conditions or level of difficulty involved pose a potential danger to the insured person’s life (such as base jumping, heli-skiing and wreck diving)
A complete overview of what is and isn’t covered can be found in the general conditions.
If you’re admitted to a private clinic instead of a public hospital while on holiday, the cost will be much higher. This is the case in countries like Greece and Spain, as well as in certain Austrian ski resorts.
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What happens if you fall ill or have an accident during your trip?
Your travel assistance will pay all the costs of your medical treatment:
- Doctor's visits
- Hospitalisation
- Treatments
- Transport costs
- ...
All these costs will be reimbursed up to an amount of 500,000 euros per person.
This maximum amount includes the following compensation limits:
- 5,000 euros for search costs
- 1,250 euros for your follow-up treatment in Belgium
- 250 euros for dental surgery, prosthetic and orthopaedic appliances
The deductible in respect of these expenses is 100 euros.
If you want to increase your compensation limit to 1,000,000 euros, go for the VIP option. This enables you to double your maximum compensation limit but your deductible remains the same.
If you need to return home for medical reasons, we will accompany you to your place of residence or a hospital in Belgium.
We will also arrange the return journey of other insured persons who are unable to return home as planned. Persons who cannot travel alone because of their age or a disability will be accompanied by a personal attendant.
Sometimes your travel plans get thrown into disarray through no fault of your own. For instance, your outward journey could be interrupted by weather conditions or a strike, or you have to stay longer than expected at your destination on account of an accident or illness.
In such a situation, your travel assistance will pay the additional accommodation costs (up to 75 euros per day and per person for a maximum of seven days).
If you’re admitted to hospital, it’s best that another person is with you. If there is no adult family member present locally, one of your relatives or friends may visit you. We will reimburse the cost of their return journey and their stay (up to 75 euros per day for the cost of accommodation for a maximum of seven days).
If the insured person is a minor, we’ll arrange for both parents to travel out to the child.
Suppose a family member falls seriously ill while you’re away on holiday. You’ll obviously want to get back home as quickly as possible, but the cost can mount up as everything has to be arranged last-minute.
Your travel assistance will pay for the journey back to Belgium of all the insured persons if a family member (first or second degree relative) or a person who resides with you:
- Is in a critical condition
- Has died
- Has to be hospitalised for more than five days
Even if your home or business premises is badly damaged, you will be reimbursed for your journey back to Belgium.
If you want to resume your holiday after having returned home, that’s possible too. In that case, we will cover the cost of the return journey for one insured person in your travel group.
Who is a first or second degree relative?
- A first degree relative is your father, mother or child
- A second degree relative is your grandfather, grandmother, grandchild, brother or sister
You are not covered by travel assistance insurance in the following cases. The exclusions below apply to both the policyholder and the other insured persons in the travel group.
You are not covered if ...
You’ve already left on holiday before taking out the insurance
You fail to request assistance immediately at the time or assistance is provided without the approval of KBC Brussels
Complications occur after the second trimester of pregnancy and expenses are incurred for childbirth
An existing illness worsens or complications occur because you haven’t followed the treatment prescribed
Complications occur as a result of medical treatment abroad that was planned in advance
There is a deliberate act or omission on the part of one of the insured persons (this exclusion does not apply to children under 16)
You participate in extreme outdoor activities (for example, activities in extreme conditions or where the level of difficulty poses a potential danger to your life)
You fly an aircraft (however, you’re covered if a passenger)
You are being paid to play a sport (also includes training for that sport)
We will only reimburse costs arising from an unexpected setback such as an accident or illness.
You can view the full list of claims not covered in the general conditions.
Good to know
- The insured persons must reside in Belgium and have their principal residence there.
- You can easily take out personal assistance cover, luggage cover and extra-protection travel accident cover online – even up to the day before you depart. Travel disputes cover cannot be taken out online.
- Cancellation cover must be taken out at least one month before the departure date
- This product is governed by the laws of Belgium.
- Insurance cover under this policy is valid for a term of one year and is tacitly renewed unless you cancel it no later than two months before the main renewal date.
As a consumer, you can cancel your insurance contract at any time starting from the second insurance year, with effect after two months have elapsed from the day after the registered letter was submitted for delivery, the writ was served or the date of the acknowledgement of receipt. - Your intermediary is the first point of contact for any complaints you may have. If no agreement can be reached, please contact KBC Complaints Management, Brusselsesteenweg 100, 3000 Leuven, complaints@kbc.be, tel. 016 43 25 94. If you cannot find a suitable solution, you can contact the Belgian insurance industry's ombudsman service: Ombudsman van de Verzekeringen, de Meeûssquare 35, 1000 Brussels, info@ombudsman-insurance.be, www.ombudsman-insurance.be. This does not affect your legal rights.
Visit our website, use KBC Brussels Mobile or KBC Brussels Touch, or contact your insurance expert to request a quote for KBC Travel Insurance.
KBC Travel Insurance is a product provided by KBC Insurance NV – Professor Roger Van Overstraetenplein 2 – 3000 Leuven – Belgium.
VAT BE 0403.552.563 – RLP Leuven – IBAN BE43 7300 0420 0601 – BIC KREDBEBB.
Company licensed by the National Bank of Belgium, de Berlaimontlaan 14, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, for all classes of insurance under code 0014 (Royal Decree of 4 July 1979, Belgian Official Gazette of 14 July 1979).
Member of the KBC Group