Accidents abroad - who pays?
Before every trip, it is worth taking out vacation and travel insurance. Time and again, tourists who have had an accident are left to pay part of the treatment costs. According to Suva, the consequences of insufficient insurance can be devastating.
Anyone who does not have supplementary insurance in the form of vacation or travel insurance usually has to pay a large part of the high treatment costs themselves in the event of an accident. According to Suva, around 70,000 accidents occur abroad every year. Vacationers often unknowingly end up with a private doctor or a private hospital. There, they are treated as well as they are used to in Switzerland, but often at much higher costs than in this country.
Expensive private clinics abroad
In principle, employees who work at least eight hours a week are also insured against non-occupational accidents through the employer's basic insurance. According to Suva, this accident insurance covers practically the same benefits in all EU and EFTA countries as if one were insured in one of the countries via corresponding social benefits. However, the insured amount is not sufficient for countries with high medical costs such as the USA, Canada, the United Arab Emirates or for Japan.
Suva also points out that many hotels in classic tourist areas make arrangements with private clinics and private doctors. "It can quickly happen that an insufficiently insured accident victim has to pay for services amounting to several 10,000 Swiss francs," says Roger Stalder, team leader abroad at Suva.
Check travel insurance before the vacations
People are therefore well advised to get an overview of their vacation and travel insurance before they go on vacation. All costs for emergency medical services, medicines or hospital stays are covered, and as a rule rescue operations or return transport to Switzerland are also guaranteed worldwide. "The benefits can vary greatly depending on the provider," says Roger Stalder. Before traveling, he recommends clarifying exactly how you are insured and always having the emergency number of your accident insurance ready when abroad.
According to Suva, it will pay the same medical costs as in the EU/EFTA countries as if you were covered by social insurance in the corresponding countries. In the case of medical expenses in other countries, Suva will pay at most twice the amount of the costs that would have been incurred for treatment in Switzerland.
Source: Suva
