Property, vehicle and health insurance

Property insurance: the local companies don't have a very good reputation when it comes to paying out, usually need all sorts of intrusive information, are expensive and don't offer very good cover.  I use a UK-based underwriter for insuring my properties: their policies aren't cheap (but are cheaper than the BG quotes I received), the cover is very comprehensive, and they offer new-for-old cover (which the BG companies I asked for quotes had never even heard of). They also turned out to be very helpful when I had to make a claim, even reminding me that I'd omitted things that I could claim for. My premiums didn't increase the following year.

Vehicle insurance: policies are available, as in the UK, in the categories of "Third party" and "Fully comprehensive" (aka "Kasko"). Cover and premiums vary, based on the insurance agent (ie what commission they charge) plus the age and value of the vehicle. Third party cover literally that and nothing else; Kasko cover whatever risks you want covered and what percentage of the insured value you want to be covered.  As an example, my wife drives a Suzuki Ignis 4x4 bought from new but now 7 years old.  Third party cover is 272 leva this year; she has Kasko on top, with the insurance company valuing the vehicle at 18,000 leva and the policy covering 80% of that in case of theft/total loss - at a premium of 680 leva.

Public Health insurance: don't know, we're both covered by the NHIF (BG equivalent of the NHS)

Private health insurance: don't have any - if we need private treatment, we pay for it ourselves.

"And with health insurance, can a person emigrating legally to Bulgaria like an EU citizen or D visa holder, have just private health cover, or do they need to be paying into the public healthcare system also?"

If you're working here you're required to pay income tax, pension and Social security contributions.

"And if just a private healthcare policy is enough and that's all a person had, would they need to pay for any emergency or none emergency treatment or consultation received in a public healthcare facility if they weren't already paying into the public healthcare system?"

This explains your entitlement: https(colon)//ec(dot)europa(dot)eu/social/main(dot)jsp?catId=1103&langId=en&intPageId=4432

@European360

I don't have any property insurance.

I have the legally required car insurance (about 300 lv).

We have public health insurance at just under 40 lv per month, per person (as unemployed). This gives free or nearly-free public treatment and subsidized treatment at most private hospitals. Plus EHIC for use in EU.

I don't have private health insurance. (But I have public health insurance, and most private hospitals are affiliated with the Bulgarian health system.)

You need health cover in order to complete your residence formalities, but once you're a resident you are free to have public or private (or no) insurance. I've never used a public hospital here, I always go to private ones.

@European360   hi there we also dont have property insurance  we tried on our last property to claim for roof damage when wind broke it up no luck so never again we are in the bulgarian health system free for pensioners my daughter is coming 51 and uk gave her the right to claim her bg health which they did it in her own right as she is dependent on us we pay two or three lev to se dr or specialist and then some towards medication private insurance we dont know about but bg health system you wont be allowed to join if you still have N.H.S. in uk you cannot be in two and i think you have to show either to get residence if im not correct someone will say but this is correct for us 3 hope it helps

There is so much that can happen/go wrong in a house that in my view insurance is absolutely essential.  Local BG companies aren't really in the same league as those in other countries, but either way it's important to understand exactly what you're buying before you find out the hard way that you haven't got a particular risk covered.  Over the years the cost of insurance does add up, but if there's an earthquake (we ARE in the Balkans, you know) or major domestic catastrophe like a house fire, then you'll be only too glad that you have it. And if your water pipes happen to burst or leak and cause damage to the apartment below, you'll soon be wishing that you'd forked out for that "unnecessary" policy...

Ok I've just made a good post on this thread and a moderator has more or less instantly deleted it. Please can this moderator identify themselves and explain their actions?

Or this forum is worthless as a community if sadistic power hungry moderators are in this way able to abuse the power and trust they have been given.

@European360

It's up to the moderators - and the organisation which owns this site - to decide which posts are or aren't acceptable; often posts are "suspended" if it's felt that they should be passed up the chain for a determination. At the end of the day, we're playing on someone else's pitch and with their ball, so they make the rules - that's what we agree to when we sign up. By and large, this site is pretty easy-going and I didn't see anything objectionable in your posts.

Hi Jim

Thanks for the reply.

I think any good forum if they delete a post should make this visible and the identified moderator who deleted it should have to leave an explanation for why they deleted it.

My second post on this thread was deleted by an unknown moderator about one minute after I posted it, for who knows what reason. This is really bad in my opinion, lacks transparency and is open to abuse. So trust with members becomes impossible without transparency.

You are right in that on any forum it's the admin and moderators playground and bat and ball.

Even if the regular posters on here started their own free to open Bulgaria expat forum on forum motion, I guess the admin and moderators could do as they wish there.

The lesson learned is I'm uncomfortable being a member of a forum where unidentified moderators can delete and disappear members posts without trace and no log and explanation as to why, I find it very creepy

Sorry for the confusion, below is the post from the stray dogs thread regarding my probable error. Bl##dy smartphones!

Regarding any treatment in public hospitals in European countries, I have read even if the patient is insured they may have to pay something for their treatment, that's why in some countries people get a Public and private health insurance policy.

I guess the level of cover I purchase would depend upon how much it would cost me to have treatment for eg a broken arm, without any insurance at all, or just the basic public NHS insurance. 40 levs per month to keep the public hospitals going sounds reasonable and a good cause even if I don't ever need to use them.

"Right so why has my deleted by an anonymous moderator post (below) on my property vehicle and health insurance thread from about an hour ago just turned up on this thread??!!!!!

Is someone playing a game in moderator land?

Or did I post it to the wrong thread?

Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I've kind of lost track myself!

Oh dear

😄.

Nevertheless for trust and transparency purposes I would like to see this forum adopt a policy of when deleting a members post - permanently showing a post by which member has been deleted, and which moderator deleted it and why.

But I sincerely apologise if on this occasion the error was mine.

    "Health and house insurance are two things one would wish they had in times of trouble, but when they have them may go years without claiming on, but when they stop them, need to claim on.I can understand not getting Bulgarian house insurance if the industry is corrupt and your property and contents not worth much.If I was a resident in Bulgaria I wouldn't want to be turning up in a Bulgarian hospital in an emergency without their NHS/ public insurance, even if it's a once in 15 years event. Though perhaps some treatments would be affordable for the uninsured and be capped at a certain price, as they are in Ireland. "        -@European360

    -@European360"