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Health & Insurance

The Department of Foreign Affairs recommends that all students going abroad should be covered by comprehensive health and travel insurance policies. NUI Galway urges you to follow this advice.

European Health Insurance Card

If you are an Irish resident, you are entitled to necessary healthcare in the public system of any EU/EEA member state or Switzerland if you become ill or injured while on a temporary stay in that country, but to avail of this, you must make sure to carry a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). One card is needed for each individual or member of the family. You can apply for the card through your local HSE Office.

You should note that the EHIC does not cover the cost of treatment in a private setting, and that entitlements through the public health system may vary from country to country. It is advisable to consult the website http://www.ehic.ie/ for more detailed information; in particular, you should click on the link “Healthcare Services in other EU/EEA Countries” to ensure that you are aware of the cover and possible limitations that will apply in countries where you will be studying or travelling during your Erasmus visit.

Private Health Insurance

It is recommended that you take out some form of private health insurance policy to cover you while you are studying abroad. You should not rely on the cover provided by the EHIC as this may be quite limited. Public healthcare systems vary from country to country, and few countries pay the full cost of healthcare for holders of the EHIC. The EHIC does not cover the cost of repatriation. In addition, illness or an accident abroad may mean extra travel and accommodation costs.

If you are covered by your parents’ private Health Insurance plan, you should confirm the actual level of cover you will have while abroad. This can be done quite easily by contacting the health insurance company directly. Make sure that you keep a record of any emergency numbers that they give you in case you have to make a claim. A small number of students have had to use these facilities; having the details makes things much easier and quicker.

Alternatively, there are a number of companies that offer special health/travel insurance packages for students studying abroad.

Should you find yourself in circumstances where you will have to make a claim, you should contact the insurance company immediately to notify them of your situation.

This website is for information only. Every effort has been made to ensure that the material on it is accurate at the time of going live. However, the University is not bound by any error or omission therein.

International Affairs Office
National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.
Phone: +353 (0) 91 493749, Fax: +353 (0) 91 494562, E-mail: erasmus-office

nuigalway.ie
This page was last updated Thursday, April 14, 2011