Insurance

Our role

We are not an insurance company and we do not issue policies. We help you understand what you need, compare the terms of licensed insurers and use the policy correctly when it matters.

Most often you need our help when something has already happened: a clinic, documents, translation and dealing with the insurer. There we stand beside you the whole way.

Is it compulsory

For a tourist, travel insurance is generally not required to enter Georgia. But a policy may be required when applying for a visa or a residence permit.

When entering by car, however, third-party liability insurance is compulsory and is issued at the border. We describe that on a separate page.

Rules change, so we always check the requirements in force for your trip in advance.

Why it is worth it even when not compulsory

In Georgia treatment has to be paid for by foreigners. A simple visit to a doctor is not expensive, but a hospital stay or an operation becomes a significant sum.

In the mountains an injury or illness often means evacuation - by helicopter or a special vehicle. Without insurance that is very expensive.

A policy that covers this is a small cost compared with the whole trip. Our advice is simple - travel insured.

Travel insurance in brief

A travel policy usually covers emergency treatment, hospital stays, evacuation and repatriation. Some also cover luggage and trip cancellation.

The key is what it does not cover: active sports, chronic conditions, incidents linked to alcohol. Those exclusions are in the small print.

We explain this in detail on the travel insurance page - what to check before buying a policy.

Mountains, skiing and adventure

Many standard policies do not cover skiing, hiking above a certain altitude, rafting or paragliding. Yet that is exactly what people come to Georgia for.

If your route includes Gudauri, the Kazbegi glacier or the jeep road to Tusheti, we check the policy terms for those activities separately.

Sometimes extra cover on an existing policy is enough. Sometimes another policy is better. We decide that together.

Arriving by car

If you are coming in your own car, you must take out Georgia's compulsory insurance at the border. The European green card does not automatically apply here.

A hire car carries the hire company's insurance, but with an excess and exclusions. What it covers is written in the contract.

When crossing into a neighbouring country, the car needs that country's insurance. We check this according to the route.

Insurance on a hire car

A hire company's basic insurance has a high excess - you still pay a large share of any damage. Full cover reduces the excess or brings it down to zero.

Some credit cards include hire-car cover, but not in every country and not for every car. We read the card's terms in advance.

Tyres, glass and the underside are often not included even in full cover. On Georgia's mountain roads that is a practical risk, and we always tell you so.

Policy territory

A policy applies by territory: "Europe", "worldwide" or specific countries. Some "European" policies include Georgia, some do not.

This matters especially if Armenia, Azerbaijan or Turkey are on your route. One country may be covered, another not.

We compare the policy territory with every country on your route before you cross a border.

Evacuation from the mountains

After a serious injury in Svaneti, Tusheti or on the Kazbegi glacier, the road to a hospital takes hours. Sometimes a helicopter is needed.

Such an evacuation is very expensive without insurance, and not every policy covers it. The limit for evacuation must be checked separately.

On a mountain route the insurer's hotline and the local guide have each other's contacts. That way decisions are made quickly.

Toothache while travelling

A travel policy usually covers only emergency dental care - pain relief - and with a small limit.

Planned treatment - an implant, a crown - is not covered. That is a matter of medical tourism.

Tbilisi has good dental clinics, and in an emergency we arrange a visit the same day.

Planned treatment

If you are coming to Georgia for treatment - dentistry, aesthetics, a check-up - travel insurance does not cover it. It is only for unexpected events.

Insurance against complications can sometimes be bought separately. Some clinics offer their own guarantee or insurance.

We describe medical visits in the health section. Here we only say that a travel policy is not meant for this.

Digital nomads

Many remote workers live in Georgia. For them there are special policies covering long stays in several countries.

Such a policy is flexible, but it does not always have direct billing with local clinics. Often you pay first yourself.

If you are staying more than a year, local health insurance is often more practical. We compare both.

Repatriation

In a serious case a policy often covers medical transport home and a ticket for an accompanying family member.

It is the most expensive but rarest part. That is why people often do not think about it until they need it.

In such a case we help coordinate with the insurer, the clinic and the airline - these are the hardest days.

When to buy

The best time is as soon as you book, especially if you want cancellation cover. Before the trip begins - without fail.

Some insurers issue a policy while you are already abroad, but with a waiting period - the first days are not covered.

If you are already in Georgia without insurance, get in touch. We will find a local option.

Health insurance for residents

If you live in Georgia for months or years, a travel policy no longer fits. You need health insurance that also covers routine visits and tests.

Georgian insurance companies offer policies to foreigners too. The terms and clinic networks differ, and we help compare them.

A policy is sometimes compulsory for a residence permit application. We plan this together with the relocation and immigration sections.

Clinics and networks

Tbilisi and Batumi have modern clinics where doctors often speak English or Russian. In the regions the choice is smaller.

An insurer has its own network of clinics where billing is direct. Outside the network you pay first yourself and then claim reimbursement.

So when choosing a policy we check whether clinics in the cities where you will be are in the network.

When something happens

First call the insurer's hotline - the number is on the policy. Many policies pay out only if you informed them before treatment.

Then call us. We find a clinic in the network, arrange transport and translate with the doctor.

In an emergency, 112 comes first - life comes before insurance. We inform the insurer afterwards.

Documents for a claim

A claim needs the medical report, receipts, prescriptions and sometimes a police report. All in the original.

The documents are often in Georgian. The insurer may need a translation, and we arrange it.

Keep every receipt, even small ones - the pharmacy, a taxi to the clinic. They are often reimbursed too.

Excess and limit

The excess is the amount you pay yourself before the insurance kicks in. A low excess makes a policy more expensive, a high one cheaper.

The limit is the maximum the insurance will pay. For treatment it must be high enough, especially for evacuation.

These two figures are the main characteristics of a policy. When comparing, we look at them first.

Exclusions

Every policy has exclusions: pre-existing conditions, pregnancy beyond a certain stage, sport, alcohol. This is exactly where claims get refused.

We read the exclusions before you buy and explain them in your language. It takes ten minutes and saves disappointment later.

If you have a chronic condition, we look for a policy that covers it or advise you what to bear in mind.

Wine and claims

Georgia is a wine country, and glasses fill often at the table. But almost every policy excludes incidents that happened under the influence of alcohol.

That means an injury after a supra - a fall on the stairs, a car - may not be reimbursed. The medical report often records it.

Our advice is practical: a driver on a wine day, and a mountain hike on the day after the table.

Pharmacies and medicines

In Georgia there is a pharmacy on every corner, and many medicines are sold without a prescription. But some drugs are known under other names.

Bring medicines for a chronic condition with you, in the original packaging and with a doctor's note. That makes things easier at the border and in the pharmacy.

Keep receipts for medicines bought locally - a policy often reimburses them if a doctor prescribed them.

Copies of your policy

Keep the policy number, hotline and terms on your phone, in the cloud and on paper. Searching your email in an emergency is a bad idea.

We can keep a copy too, if you like. That way, when something happens, we contact the insurer ourselves while you are with the doctor.

Check each family member's policy separately - sometimes a child is on a separate policy.

Families and children

For families there is often a family policy that covers everyone together and costs less than separate ones.

For a child a paediatrician in the network and an emergency service at night matter. In Tbilisi and Batumi these are available.

Travelling while pregnant changes the policy terms especially. We check this separately before you buy.

Older travellers

With age a policy becomes more expensive, and some insurers set an upper age limit. So it is better to start early.

For an older traveller, cover for pre-existing conditions and repatriation matter most. These two points often decide everything.

We plan the route so that a good clinic is close by - especially when you are in the mountains.

Business travel

Company employees often have a corporate policy. We check whether it applies in Georgia and what it covers.

On a long assignment, more than a month, a travel policy may no longer be enough. Health insurance makes more sense.

For a group business visit we check all the employees' insurance in one list.

Property and luggage

Loss of or damage to luggage is often included in a travel policy, but with a limit. Expensive equipment needs separate insurance.

For theft, a claim needs a police report. We help you get it and translate it.

If you buy or rent a flat in Georgia, property insurance is worth it too. That is in the relocation section.

A cancelled trip

Cancellation insurance covers your costs if you cannot come because of illness or another reason. It depends on when you buy the policy.

Often such cover only applies if you bought it soon after booking. Buying late limits the cover.

Our cancellation terms and the insurance terms should be read together. We explain this in the suggestion.

Language and translation

An insurer's hotline sometimes answers only in Georgian or English. In a Georgian clinic the report is in Georgian.

We translate by phone, at the clinic and in documents. Language should never be the reason you lose a claim.

An official translation, when the insurer needs one, is a separate service and we tell you about it in advance.

A refused claim

If the insurer refuses a claim, we first find out why. Often a document is missing, and that can be fixed.

If the refusal is unfair, we appeal in writing. If necessary, we bring in a lawyer.

The best way to avoid a refusal is the right documents from day one. We always remind you.

Three main rules

The policy and the hotline number on your phone and on paper. You will not find it in a hurry if it is only in your email.

Before every visit - a call to the insurer. After every expense - a receipt.

And last: health first, documents second. If a life is at risk, insurance comes afterwards.

What we need from you

Trip dates, route and travellers' ages. What activities you are planning - skiing, hiking, jeeps.

Whether you already have a policy - from home, a card or your company. Often there is no need to buy a new one.

Your state of health, if it matters for cover. This information is confidential.

What it costs

The insurer sets the price of the policy, and it depends on age, length, limit and activities.

Our help with selection and when something happens is a separate service agreed in advance. We add nothing to the policy price.

If you already have enough cover, we tell you so directly. We will not sell you unnecessary insurance.