Insurance company: 150 tourists a day apply for medical insurance
An insurance company can help drunk Belarusian tourists if their injuries were not caused by drinking.
The body of the Orsha inhabitant who died in Egypt will arrive in Belarus on May 30. He got poisoned on restaurant food, relatives say. The insurance company has refused to deliver the body to Belarus because the death was said to have been caused by alcohol.
“The embassy will assist in the delivery and the body will be in Belarus on May 30. We advise that you should only consume high quality food there and avoid street food. Avoid local alcohol too. And you should get your insurance in Belarusian companies,” Belarusian Consulate to Egypt explained.
The person who died in Egypt had an insurance of… a Russian company, Euroradio has leant. A Belarusian company would have helped, Belarusian State Insurance assured.
“A state of intoxication may still mean that this is an insured case. For example, you could drink a bit and a car may run over you on your way to the hotel. If there is no direct connection between drinking and the accident, the case is insured. 0.3 per mille is our norm,” head of the medical insurance department Lyudmila Kulak explained.
She also mentioned problems connected with Russian insurance companies. They may refuse to take you home and have no connection with the consulate.
“This is a problem. It is not good when our tourists buy tours with Russian or Ukrainian insurance policies. There is franchise and you will have to pay 30 dollars for the service while the rest will be covered by the insurance company. There will be transporting problems if you break a leg or arm – they will take you to Moscow or Kiev,” the specialist explained. About 150 people a day apply for medical insurance, she added.
Belarusian travel agencies often buy tours with Russian insurance policies because they are cheaper, the company “Lentyai” told Euroradio.
“If you buy a tour and board the plane in Moscow or in Kiev, it means that this is a Moscow tour with a Russian insurance policy. We advise that everyone should buy Belarusian insurance policies because it will be much easier if any problems occur,” the travel agency explained.
However, even Belarusian insurance companies will not cover your expenses if you go skiing and do not mention the fact in your insurance policy, Belarusian State Insurance explained. But they will help you if you fall off your bicycle or scooter.
“If it is a single case when rent a bicycle and ride it – it is an insured case.”
About 500 thousand Belarusian tourists travelled to other countries last year. The main destinations were Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Greece and Egypt.
Photo: medsputnik.ru
