Travel insurance for Russian citizens abroad

The beginning of the tourist season will be marked in Russia by a sharp rise in the price of medical insurance for traveling abroad.

How informs Kommersant, referring to participants in the insurance market, the cost of a policy for Russian citizens traveling abroad will increase by 20% -40%. Today, the price of an annual policy, according to the Sravni.ru marketplace, is 1-2 thousand rubles.

Andrey Kopytok, Deputy General Director for Personal Types of Insurance of Yugoria Insurance Company, explains that the main reasons are the rise in prices for the services of foreign medical providers and the increase in the number of insured events due to the increase in the average length of stay of Russian citizens abroad.

Ilya Galperin, a representative of Absolute Insurance, said that Turkish clinics had already warned Russian partners about a 20% price increase. And Vitaly Knyaginichev, Head of the Retail Business Directorate at Ingosstrakh, recalls that the exchange rate also affects the cost of an insurance policy, because all the insurer’s expenses are denominated in foreign currency.

Another reason for the rise in price is the use of the VZR policy instead of VHI by relocators, experts say. Insured Russians can treat both current and chronic diseases abroad, says Alexander Tsyganov, professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Now tariffs are being increased by those companies that do not have enough balance between tourists and relocators in the portfolio, confirms the director of the Euroins Travel Insurance (formerly ERV) branch Yulia Alcheeva: “Companies will still adjust tariffs upward if the share of relocators in the portfolio is grow, and the direction becomes unprofitable.

In the first quarter of 2023, according to the FSB, Russian citizens made 4.9 million trips abroad, that is, 26.6% more than in the same period last year. However, ATOR, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, explains that this figure includes a significant proportion of those who moved across land borders for personal purposes. Russians made only 2.47 million trips to 20 popular tourist destinations in the first quarter.

Earlier, our publication wrote that the tour operator “Pegasus” reported: from May 26 programs start for Russians for a summer vacation in Greece, which will last until October 27. Despite the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia, in the first four months of 2023, Russians began to show an active and greater interest in Greek and Italian resorts compared to last year. We talked about visas, prices and terms. Last year, due to difficult logistics, there were few Russians in Greece. However, experts suggest that this year the situation will improve.

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