Travel health insurance for 30 days: Optimal protection for your short trip
8 Apr 2025
6
Minutes
Katrin Straub
Managing Director at nextsure
A medical emergency abroad can quickly become expensive, often costing several thousand euros. A travel health insurance for 30 days protects you from these financial risks. Find out what you need to consider when making your choice.
The topic in brief and concise terms
Travel health insurance for 30 days is essential, as statutory health insurance often only provides basic coverage and repatriations usually cost over 10,000 euros.
Ensure 100 percent coverage for treatments, medically necessary repatriation, and preferably no excess.
Annual policies for trips up to 63 days are often cheaper (from around 10 Euros/year) than single-trip policies and cover trips of up to 30 days.
Quick Facts: International Coverage for 30 Days
An international health insurance for 30 days is often part of annual policies. These cover trips up to 63 days.
The costs for this start at about ten euros per year.
Statutory health funds provide only limited coverage in the EU. Outside of Europe, there is generally no protection from the GKV.
Medical repatriation often costs over 10,000 euros.
Pay attention to the scope of coverage, especially when travelling to the USA or Canada. Many tariffs can have approximately 50 percent higher premiums here.
Insurance can usually be taken out until shortly before departure. Some providers even allow this on the day of departure itself.
Why is travel health insurance for 30 days so important?
Your statutory health insurance (GKV) often only provides basic coverage abroad. Within the EU, costs are reimbursed according to the rates of the destination country.
However, at most, German rates are covered. This often means a coverage gap of 20 to 40 per cent.
Outside the EU, you usually bear all costs yourself. A doctor's visit in the USA can quickly amount to several thousand dollars.
A comprehensive foreign health insurance is therefore invaluable.
A medically necessary repatriation is rarely covered by the GKV. The costs can easily reach five-figure sums.
For example, an air ambulance flight from Asia costs 25,000 euros. A good policy fully covers these costs.
Many travellers underestimate treatment costs abroad by up to 70 per cent. A broken bone can cost over 5,000 euros.
This gap is closed by a private foreign health insurance.
A short holiday of 30 days is meant for relaxation. Financial worries from unexpected medical expenses can quickly reach 500 euros.
With the right protection, you travel more relaxed.
Scope of coverage: What does a good policy cover for 30 days?
A powerful international health insurance covers several core areas. Outpatient and inpatient treatments by a doctor are standard.
The cost coverage in the hospital should be at 100 percent.
Medications, bandages, and medically prescribed aids must be reimbursed. Pay attention to the transport to the hospital.
Costs for transport to the nearest suitable hospital are often covered up to 100 percent.
The medically reasonable repatriation is a must. It should not only occur when medically necessary.
Organisation and cost coverage up to 100,000 Euros are customary here.
Pain-relieving dental treatments and simple fillings are included. Temporary dental replacements are often covered up to 250 Euros.
For an optimal travel health insurance, these points are important.
Other important benefits can include:
Coverage of search, rescue, and recovery costs up to at least 5,000 Euros.
Rooming-in for children up to 18 years old in the hospital.
Visit of a close person during a longer hospital stay (over five days).
Repatriation in the event of death or burial abroad up to the height of repatriation costs.
Some tariffs even offer a hospital daily allowance of 50 Euros per day for up to 30 days. This can be financial support.
So you better understand, what international health insurance costs and provides.
Cost factors and tariff selection for your 30-day protection
The cost of international health insurance for 30 days varies. Annual contracts for trips up to 63 days often start from ten to 20 euros per year.
Families usually pay between 20 and 35 euros annually.
Some providers charge on a daily basis, especially for longer trips. A 30-day basic tariff without USA/Canada cover can cost around 37.50 euros.
With USA/Canada cover, premiums often rise by 50 to 100 percent.
The age of the insured person plays a role. From the age of 65 or 70, many insurers impose surcharges.
These can increase the premium by 25 to 50 percent.
Some tariffs include a deductible, often 25 or 50 euros per claim. Tariffs without a deductible are usually only a few euros more expensive.
These tariffs are often the better choice. Check whether your current health insurance is sufficient.
Compare the benefits carefully. A cheap tariff with exclusions can become expensive in the event of an emergency.
Pay attention to the definition of “medically necessary” repatriation. An annual travel health insurance can be cheaper for frequent travellers.
Checklist: Choosing the Right Travel Health Insurance for 30 Days
With this checklist, you can find the right protection for your trip of up to thirty days. It helps to consider important points.
In an emergency, you are optimally covered 100 percent.
Duration of validity: Does the maximum duration of, e.g., 63 days, align with your 30-day trip?
Scope of cover: Is your travel destination (including USA/Canada if necessary) covered?
Extent of benefits: Are outpatient/inpatient treatments insured at 100 percent?
Repatriation: Is medically advisable repatriation included, no questions asked?
Excess: Is there a deductible and how much is it (ideally zero euros)?
Dental treatment: Are pain-relieving dental treatments and simple dental prostheses covered (often up to 250 euros)?
Emergency number: Is there a German-speaking emergency number available 24/7?
Pre-existing conditions: How are acute aggravations of existing conditions managed?
Also check whether travel health insurance for Europe offers special conditions. Often, there are cheaper rates available.
The question of whether you need travel insurance in general is usually answered with yes.
nextsure: Your partner for tailor-made protection
As a digital insurance portal, nextsure offers you transparent solutions. We help find the right travel health insurance for your 30-day trip.
Our experts analyse your needs individually. We compare a multitude of rates for optimal protection.
This ensures you obtain the best conditions. We have over 10 years of experience in the insurance market. [:10]
Benefit from our digital platform and simple completion processes. In just three steps, you can secure your protection. [:]
Have your insurance situation checked free of charge. Receive specific optimisation suggestions. [:]
More useful links
The Auswärtige Amt provides comprehensive travel and safety information, including health aspects.
You can also find specific health information for various travel destinations at the Auswärtige Amt.
The Federal Ministry of Health offers important information on prevention, especially for the summer and travel season.
The latest statistics on tourism and travel behavior are published by the Federal Statistical Office Destatis.
FAQ
Benötige ich für eine 30-tägige Reise innerhalb der EU eine Auslandskrankenversicherung?
Ja, das ist dringend empfohlen. Die Europäische Krankenversicherungskarte (EHIC) deckt nur Leistungen ab, die auch Einheimische erhalten, und oft fallen hohe Zuzahlungen an. Ein medizinisch sinnvoller Rücktransport wird nicht übernommen, was Kosten von über 10.000 Euro verursachen kann.
Was passiert, wenn ich meine 30-tägige Reise aufgrund von Krankheit verlängern muss?
Gute Auslandskrankenversicherungen leisten auch dann weiter, wenn die versicherte Reisezeit aufgrund einer akuten Erkrankung überschritten werden muss, bis Sie transportfähig sind. Prüfen Sie die genauen Bedingungen Ihrer Police, oft ist dies auf 30 bis 60 Tage begrenzt.
Sind Vorerkrankungen bei einer Auslandskrankenversicherung für 30 Tage mitversichert?
Akute und unvorhersehbare Verschlechterungen bestehender chronischer Erkrankungen sind in der Regel mitversichert. Geplante Behandlungen oder Behandlungen, mit denen aufgrund der Vorerkrankung zu rechnen war, sind meist ausgeschlossen. Klären Sie dies vorab mit dem Versicherer.
Deckt die Auslandskrankenversicherung für 30 Tage auch Aktivitäten wie Wandern oder Skifahren ab?
Normale Freizeitaktivitäten wie Wandern oder Skifahren sind üblicherweise abgedeckt. Risikosportarten können jedoch ausgeschlossen sein oder einen Zuschlag erfordern. Überprüfen Sie die Versicherungsbedingungen oder fragen Sie beim Anbieter nach, wenn Sie spezielle Aktivitäten planen.
Wie erhalte ich im Notfall Hilfe von meiner Auslandskrankenversicherung?
Die meisten Versicherer bieten eine 24/7-Notrufhotline in deutscher Sprache an. Dort erhalten Sie Unterstützung, Informationen zu Ärzten oder Krankenhäusern und Hilfe bei der Organisation eines Rücktransports. Speichern Sie diese Nummer vor Reiseantritt ab.
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen einer Einmalpolice für 30 Tage und einer Jahres-Auslandskrankenversicherung?
Eine Einmalpolice gilt nur für die konkret versicherte Reise von 30 Tagen. Eine Jahres-Auslandskrankenversicherung deckt alle Reisen innerhalb eines Jahres bis zu einer bestimmten Maximaldauer pro Reise (z.B. 45, 56 oder 63 Tage) ab. Für eine einzelne 30-Tage-Reise kann eine Jahrespolice oft günstiger sein und bietet Flexibilität für weitere Kurztrips.
