Healthcare in Germany
Germany one of the world’s oldest national healthcare systems and is ranked very high in terms of quality of care. In the event of an emergency, you can rest assured that any medical condition can be treated promptly and efficiently. Because German citizens are required by law to have health insurance, hospitals expect every patient (including visitors) to be properly insured. While it is not required by law for visitors to Germany, it is highly recommended.
Emergency Numbers
Germany uses the standardized EU numbering system for taking emergency calls. While the North American emergency number 911 may work on some mobile phones, it will not work on landline or phone booths. Learn these numbers before you travel and be prepared in the event of an emergency.
Fire & Medical Emergencies: 112
Police: 110
Insurance
It’s not fun to think about, but emergencies happen everyday and the best we can do is be ready for them. We recommend taking out some form of health insurance before traveling to Germany. In the case of a medical emergency, you won’t be left thousands of Euros in hospital bills.
Travel insurance generally covers not only health emergencies, but also theft, loss baggage and other travel related incidents. If you’re coming from the United States, chances are very high that your health insurance will not travel with you. A separate policy that specifically covers EU travel is recommended.
We use World Nomads travel insurance when we travel and have had to file two claims with them over the last 10 years. The first was when some valuable electronics were stolen during an overnight bus trip in Thailand. The second time involved getting immunizations and malaria medication while planning our African travels. Each time World Nomads was very quick with re-imbursement and everything went very smoothly. We haven’t used any other travel insurance so we can’t recommend or endorse any others.
World Nomads Website (opens a new tab)
Note: We earn a small referral fee when you use the above link to order your policy. Don’t worry, it doesn’t increase your final purchase price!