Do I need private travel health insurance when travelling abroad with TK?

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What is the EHIC and where can it be used?

Travelling within Europe with the EHIC

When travelling in most

European countries

you have health insurance cover through your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). You will find the EHIC on the back of your TK eHealth card.

Your EHIC entitles you to the standard medical care available in the European country where you are staying, for example if you need to see a doctor or dentist or be treated in a hospital. However, the range of services and the share of costs may differ from the benefits you know from Germany. In some countries, you may have to pay co‑payments or part of the treatment costs yourself.

Private travel health insurance can reimburse many of these extra costs and is therefore a useful addition to TK’s cover - even when you travel within Europe.

You can find detailed information in German about which services in your destination country may lead to additional costs in the

information sheets on health insurance abroad

published by the German Liaison Office for Health Insurance Abroad. Please note that we are unable to quote specific amounts.

Long-distance travel outside Europe

For trips to countries outside Europe - for example to Africa, the USA, Canada, South America, Australia or Asia - private travel medical insurance is essential. TK is not allowed to cover medical treatment costs outside Europe, so you would otherwise have to pay for treatment yourself.

Cover your share of the costs for treatment abroad with supplementary insuranceWith supplementary insurance, you can reduce your share of these costs. You can find supplementary insurance that suits your needs on online comparison sites for example.