Health Insurance - Crete

Hello Jen,

Welcome to Expat.com😀

Please note that your thread has been moved to the Greece forum, where I believe you will be able to gather more information from other members.

In the meantime, you can request a free quote from one of our insurance partners here >

https://www.expat.com/en/insurance/europe/greece/

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@edwat6

Hi! A bit late in replying, as I just saw your post. I don't know if you have been covered or not yet, or if you are still navigating things...

If the latter, I would love to help!

@edwat6

Geiasou!

welcome to beautiful Kriti.

When we applied for our golden visa, we were required to take out a very minimum insurance policy. It’s about €150 a year with that you access the public health system..

getting Private supplemental medical  insurance has been challenging for us as we are over 70.

You have many options since you are 60.

Piraeus Bank has a good affordable premium plan.

@edwat6 It’s really worth speaking directly with the Aliens Department at the local police station where you’ll apply for the FIP visa. They’re usually quite clear about what level of health insurance they expect to issue the certificate, and surprisingly helpful in explaining what they want to see.

@Magikalife

  I wouldn't suggest bank assurance cos they usually don't follow the proper procedures and when you have a hospitalisation they ask for the health history and you could end up surprised in a bad way

@Lekkas

Tell me more... You are saying that, for instance, Alpha Bank version of Generali insurance is somehow inferior?  I thought it was a good choice- I read the plan documents and thought it a good value and liked being able to go to the bank to change coverage rather than having to work with the Generali people on the phone.  Are you saying that the coverage is somehow inferior to regular Generali insurance?  Any informed advice is appreciated.  Do you have bank sponsored health insurance?

@edwat6

The required health insurance is very basic- catastrophic alone will do, so it is hard to go wrong.  You can choose insurance through a bank, a broker, and by calling the companies and signing up with them on the phone. You simply have to prove to the Greek government that you will not become a public charge and use public funds for your health once you are here- that is the purpose of the insurance requirement. I chose Generali insurance offered through Alpha Bank, which I'm happy with, but I see below that someone says that bank sponsored health insurance is possibly inferior in some way. I've had it a year and am satisfied thus far.

@paregerou

Well usually this is what happens:

Bank employees are under immense pressure to 'push' insurance products. However, not all of them possess the necessary certifications or the required expertise. Consequently, when an insurance policy is issued, there are often many omissions and errors; for instance, a proper pre-insurance medical check is frequently overlooked.

This means that during a future claim, when the insurance company conducts a thorough audit for pre-existing conditions, they may refuse to pay compensation, apply exclusions, or even exercise their right to cancel the contract entirely. Finally, you do not deal with your own dedicated advisor but rather with the insurance company's call center; bank employees usually cannot assist you effectively, and certainly not outside their standard working hours. This is something an independent insurance advisor would never do, as they are available at any time to provide guidance. also an insurance agent can help with building a unique plan by emerging different contracts from different companies.