In­sur­ance, visa and safety in­form­a­tion

During a stay abroad within the European Union or in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, you are covered by health insurance via the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). However, there is only basic insurance coverage, i.e. access to medically necessary services of the public health care system. If necessary, check with your insurance company whether the coverage provided by the EHIC is sufficient for you personally. Depending on the destination country and pre-existing conditions, additional insurance may be advisable, especially if medical repatriation or special medical procedures are required. Also repatriation costs in case of death are usually not included. It is possible that the insurance coverage in the destination country does not correspond to the minimum standards you are used to in Germany. The statutory German health insurance will only cover the treatment costs that are incurred in Germany for that treatment. In addition, you will usually have to pay in advance in the event of treatment, unless it is at a hospital contracted by your health insurance company in Germany.

However, the European Health Insurance Card does not apply to health care providers in the private sector.

If you are staying abroad outside the area of validity of the European Health Insurance Card, you will need health insurance abroad. International health insurance is offered by various private providers. Some statutory health insurers also offer corresponding supplementary insurances. The range of benefits is very different. Therefore, inform yourself well about the different providers and the respective conditions. The cheap travel health insurances with limited validity offered on the market are not sufficient for a stay abroad of several months!

Please note: Sometimes (e.g. in the USA) your host university offers its own insurance packages for students and these are mandatory for exchange students. In this way, the universities want to ensure that you have sufficient insurance cover and that students do not get into an emergent situation. You will usually receive information on this during the registration process at the partner university.

When doing your research, be sure to also take into account pandemic clauses, travel warnings in place before leaving the country and, if applicable, return regulations.

Important for interns:
If you are doing a voluntary internship abroad and receive remuneration for this, it is possible that you will have to obtain health insurance directly in the destination country. Discuss your specific case with your health insurance company. If you have to insure yourself temporarily in the host country, it may make sense to temporarily switch to "Anwartschaft" in Germany in order to receive the same conditions after your return.

Your liability insurance must cover damages you cause during the stay abroad - regardless of whether you are at work/at the host university, or acting privately in the host country.

Different liability regulations apply in different countries participating in transnational learning mobility for internships. Interns therefore run the risk of not being covered. Make sure that your liability insurance at least covers damage you cause in the workplace. This coverage might or might not be provided by your host institution. Be sure to inform yourself extensively. If the national regulations of your host country do not mandatorily require such protection, it cannot be demanded by the host institution. You would therefore have to arrange it privately. Even if the employer covers damage you cause at work, this does not necessarily guarantee that you are covered for private damage. In this case, inform yourself about possible additional insurances.

The difference between (statutory) health insurance and accident insurance is that health insurance covers initial medical care in the event of accidents, but does not cover consequential damage that may result from the accidents (e.g. invalidity). In order to be covered for consequential damages, accident insurance is essential. When taking out accident insurance, you should always make sure that it is NOT travel insurance and that the insurance covers private accident events AND those at the workplace/study location during the entire mobility period.

As an intern, you will need insurance that covers damage from workplace accidents. In many countries, employees are covered for workplace accidents by their employer. However, the extent to which transnational interns are covered by the same insurance may vary among countries participating in transnational learning mobility programs. Please check if there is workers' accidence insurance coverage.
If your host institution does not provide such coverage (which cannot be required if it is not mandated by the host country's national regulations), you must ensure that you obtain such insurance privately.