Travel Insurance Requirements
All visitors to Bosnia & Herzegovina must have a valid standard comprehensive travel insurance when entering Bosnia & Herzegovina. Although the border agents may not always ask for it, the law stipulates that travel insurance must be presented at the border control. The standard travel insurance must cover the amount of €30,000 or $50,000. Why such discrepancy between USD and Euros, it is not clear.
Health Insurance Card of your home country probably cannot be used to access healthcare services in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Before travelling to Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is very strongly recommended that comprehensive travel insurance is obtained which will cover all overseas medical costs, including medical repatriation/evacuation, repatriation of remains and legal costs. Before you depart, check with your insurer about the extent of your coverage in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Know that your government will probably not cover any of your medical costs.
The safest option is to be FULLY covered with travel insurance for all medical conditions and planned activities.
Pre-existing Medical Conditions
People intending to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina with an existing medical condition are advised to consult a doctor before making travel plans and travelling. The comprehensive medical insurance taken out should also be tailored to the individual’s medical condition. Failure to declare any pre-existing medical conditions would invalidate insurance cover.
Activities
It is important to check for any exclusions and, in particular, that the policy covers the person for the activities that they would undertake. Failure to declare a planned major activity would invalidate insurance cover. A standard travel insurance policy will usually include cover for camping, dancing, fishing, ice skating, kayaking, swimming, surfing, trekking, and recreational sports such as football or basketball.
High-risk Activities
Sports activities such as rock climbing, hang gliding, scuba diving, sky diving, bungee jumping, jet skiing, horse riding, white water rafting, ziplining, winter sports or skydiving are usually not included in standard policies. Use of quad bikes, mopeds and motorcycles is usually not covered as well. For these purposes a high-risk insurance will probably be required.
Things to be mindful of and discuss with your insurance agent:
- Mental health conditions: some policies may exclude cover for treatment related to a pre-existing mental health condition.
- Elective medical treatments: most policies exclude cover for elective medical treatments such as medical spas, dental or cosmetic surgery work.
- Age restrictions: check whether there are any age-related restrictions when you are buying a policy. Specialty travel insurance coverage may be needed for people over 75 years of age.
- Driving: if you’re renting a car, check if there is any coverage provided.
- Most travel insurance policies do not cover events that happen after you have drunk excessive alcohol or taken recreational drugs or other substances.
- Some policies only offer limited cover for claims related to or caused by a natural disaster (such as an earthquake or tropical cyclone) or civil unrest.
- You may not be covered for claims that arise from an incident (such as strikes or other industrial action) that was known publicly when you booked your trip and/or bought your travel insurance policy.
- Terrorist acts: most policies offer only limited cover for terrorist acts. The risk for such an event in Bosnia & Herzegovina is low.
Additional Info
In the event of a medical emergency, contact your travel health insurance company immediately. Hospitals in Bosnia and Herzegovina typically require upfront payment, regardless if you have travel health insurance. Ensure that you have accessible funds to cover upfront fees and adequate travel health insurance, including evacuation.