bob_day

Having made our permanent move to Spain 6 weeks ago and not being employed here we need to get ourselves some private medical cover. Having carried out forum and web searches I have come up with several companies which provide coverage but am none the wiser as to which would work for us. Excepting for BUPA international who have just quoted over 4,000 euros pa for the two of us. Which seems incredibly expensive to me, although it is the most comprehensive plan probably far in excess of our needs.

There is myself and my wife, both in 50s, fit and healthy with no pre-existing conditions. We live between Sayalonga and Competa and so would need facilities in this area.

I've seen various threads praising and condemning Sanitas and Prevision Medica but how do they compare price/facilities.

Also when meeting our gestor she mentioned medical insurance from Allianz. Never seen them mentioned on the forum does anybody have any experience of their service?

Thx

whitelinen

Sanitas is a BUPA company.

Both my family and many Spanish friends are with Sanitas.

We have always had excellent service and so far have never heard anyone say a word against them.

However we are Valencia so maybe look on Sanitas and Allianz site and see what hospitals they use in your area.

valenciatim

Make doubly sure that you use the Sanitas.es website, the prices seem to be different!

Fred James

Prevision Medica is your best bet in that area. They are very cheap because they really only cover people living in Malaga province and the facilities they use are all in Malaga province.

One of the clinics they use is Clinica Rincon who have clinics in Nerja, Torre del Mar and Rincon de la Victoria.

Their premiums are not related to age and the cover does not reduce, nor the premiums go up, when you get to 65.

We pay about €1300/year for the two of us.

You can get an online quote and a copy of the policy in English.

http://www.previsionmedica.es/en/index.php

ForHotspot

Hi Fred,
Is there a similar one to yours other than sanitas in the Alicante province?
Thanks

Mitzyboy

Sanitas for a couple in their mid fifties is around €1200 a year, but as mentioned, make sure you go to the Spanish site.

Fred James

Sorry, I haven't heard of one. Someone local may know.

Fred James

Another important point to check is whether there is a charge for a visit/procedure/tests etc.

Some companies charge up to €20 for this and it can make a big difference if you end up requiring ongoing tests/treatment/consultations.

Prevision Medica sell you "tickets" for €1.30 which you use each time.

ForHotspot

Thanks Mitzy. I didn't realize that sanitas is cheaper.

digdug

i'm with sanitas too, bit younge than yourself, but mine is €38 per month, just for me. thats the health plan classic, which includes basic dental care.
their website is easy to use, and they'll get an english speaker to ring you back.
DD

Fred James

Another thing to check is the limitations to the cover.

Is ITU covered and are the drugs used in ITU covered? These can cost thousands!

Is Chemotherapy covered inc the drugs?

Are there limits on the cost of "prosthetics" (the bits they leave inside - intentionally)? A simple stent is €2900.

ForHotspot

I just have a look at what I was quoted. How come yours is a lot cheaper? I was quoted 61.90 euros per month or 703.76 per year just for myself for the classic plan. Also there's no normal dental cover except for emergency (ie the normal yearly cleaning is NOT included).

digdug

is it just for yourself or 2 people? what age are you?
mine came directly off the website, plus about €1.50 when it came to the contract. i'm not sure about the complexity of my dental cover, i was informed it was 'basic' but i could upgrade for extra, which i declined. my documents just arrived today, but only in spanish, so havent been arsed looking at them yet.
DD

bob_day

Had a price from Prevision Medica which was 45 euros each per month for their Medical policy which is their most comprehensive cover. Seems there is a special offer on which gives 30% discount from their normal price. Adding full dental cover increases this by 7 euros each per month.

Managed to get a couple of quotes off the Sanitas website and these were in total 564 euros and 1,254 euros for basic and classic cover respectively. I hunted around but couldn't see what the coverage difference between the two is for such a large increase in price. Didn't see how much adding full dental cover would be.

Given that other than an ear infection from a dodgy pool I haven't been to the doctor for over 20 years I'm kind of inclined to go for the Sanitas Basic, subject to a conversation with them. We basically want to cover ourselves against the worst case rather than day to day medical needs which we are very unlikely to use.

Dentistry now that we will use and is a must.

Fred James

From what I have seen of dental policies they are pretty useless as they have so many limitations and they only pay a small part of the cost.

Read the policy very carefully and get a list of exactly what is covered.