Hi Everyone,
I just received a "Get Ready for Your Trip" email from American Airlines and looked through the Travel Restrictions. There was a section stating that all travelers to France need Health Insurance to cover 30,000 Euros. Is anyone familiar with this? This must be pretty new, although this is my first trip there since the pandemic. I traveled to Switzerland and Italy last year no problem though.
Leaving on Thursday, so if this is true I have to get to work.
Thanks.
Dianne
I am going to Paris in two weeks so this makes me a little nervous. Have not heard anything about mandatory health insurance.
For some reason, I thought that health insurance was strongly encouraged but not yet mandatory,
I hope that some experienced and knowledgeable forum members will answer you soon.
Don't know if this is accurate or not:
Hello Dianne
I am flying Delta and I went to their site. Same message as yourself about needing health insurance to cover 30,000 Euros but Delta did not send to me. Said something about updated March 2026 so it must be new that health insurance is required and no longer optional.
I will be calling Allianz tomorrow.
Unless one has comprehensive out of country emergency medical insurance through one’s employer, credit card (factoring in pre-existing conditions coverage), or other ongoing resource, I would think all travellers would be wise to get coverage. Residents of EU (+ Norway and perhaps 1 or 2 others) countries have a form of reciprocity when travelling to other EU countries but that doesn’t help the rest of us. My spouse’s hospital bill in Aix-en-Provence for a 5 day stay last October after a collapsed lung was €7000. Not to mention he was not cleared for air travel for a number of days after discharge so there were additional expenses and non refundable costs covered.
Claire, a 5 night hospital stay in the US would be $500,000 so it's all perspective. I will say our "urgent care" equivalent trip to the doctor in France was about 100 euro; reimbursed promptly by the GeoBlue international medical plan we purchased for our trip. The policy cost was more than our medical expenses, but had it been something significant like you and your husband experienced, is clearly why everyone should get a policy such as you did and we did.
KD believe me I know:) Canadians are taught from a young age to not cross the shared border, for even a day trip, without emergency medical insurance. Yes Urgent Care in Europe is quite inexpensive. My spouse’s post discharge x-ray was €27. But why pay 1000s in any denomination for an emergency hospitalization if insurance is available to provide coverage?
Claire, absolutely agree.
I am on the phone waiting to speak to a Delta Rep. I have a 20 plus minute wait. I could get a call back but my ring is broken and I missed a previous call. I am listening to some really awful loud music.
I agree that it is best to have health insurance but I believed it to be optional and only now am I finding out that it is required.
I want to confirm with a Delta Rep that it is required and see what they might suggest.
I have paid for Allianz flight insurance when I booked my flight with Delta but I am guessing that I am going to have to call Allianz directly to add health coverage.
