If not then your visa application will be rejected or at best delayed until you buy a policy that does pass the Schengen Test.

If you are travelling to any of the European nations listed below from a country that requires you to have a Visa, the Embassy will demand that you hold a valid travel insurance policy to cover your stay which must be acceptable to the Schengen Treaty. If your policy is not acceptable then your Visa application may be rejected or at best delayed until you obtain a policy from an Insurer that is Schengen Friendly.

The Schengen Treaty was originated in Luxembourg in 1985 to create an agreement between European States to permit free travel within and to eliminate cross border controls and to create an external border around all European states that signed up to the treaty. The purpose of the Agreement is to eliminate border controls at the shared international borders of these States. Foreign visitors require only one visa for the entire Schengen Area and will be able to move freely between these countries. However, you always have to apply at the Embassy or Consulate of the country, which is your primary destination.

Insurers from within the European Union and Switzerland have agreed to the Treaty terms of easy settlement of claims and hospitals and providers are assured that their bills will be paid promptly whereas past problems have occurred with hospital bills being long over due and sometimes unpaid by obscure insurance companies in non European countries who do not share the common goals and interest of the Union.

They will only accept a valid travel insurance policy for your intended stay in the Schengen country from an Insurance company that is based within the European Union or Switzerland and has agreed to be bound by the Schengen Terms and NOT from an Insurer outside of Europe.

This means Insurance you take out must be from an Insurance company based within Europe or Switzerland and not from your home country outside of Europe. For example insurance policies from American Insurance Companies are not acceptable.

The following are all Member States of the Schengen Agreement, which came into effect on March 26, 1995:

More information on the Schengen Agreement is available at the Website of the European Union. For further information and to make sure your travel insurance policy is Schengen-Friendly you can, always, contact us.