Private healthcare in Spain

I am also busy getting health care fir Spain, especially since it is a requirement nowadays for EU citizens moving to Spain to show a health care insurance policy (apart from proof of income).

A couple of my recent experiences:

1) There are a lot of international insurers, and increasingly more, who will be happy to take your money. They may not be the best solution nor the least expensive ones, so shop around.

2) Often quotes are valid for about 6 weeks.

3) A few insurers will accept you with pre-existing conditions but many not. Still the number grows that will allow for such customers as it is an exploding market given the demographics of baby boomer retirees.

4) Also get quotes locally through agents, especially these specialized in expats from your specific country. Often the local agents (which operate nationally) can offer great deals.

5) The following 'international companies I foudn to offer insurance in Spain: BUPA (from Germany), Axa (from UK), Interglobal,  (from UK), Allianz (from Germany), Aetna (from USA), Cigna (from USA) etc..

6) BIPA promised on their site that they accept pre-existing conditions but in reality they do not in Spain as they outsource their products to a local insurer called Sanitas. They are also very slow to respond and do not read emails well so do not give complete responses. They are also very bureaucratic. Interrglobal. Cigna is still a beginner (as are all US companies) in this market so thei came over as rank amateurs, not knowing their stuff well and being slow to respond. They also do not accept pre-existing conditions so are risk averse. Interglobal is a refreshingly different company.

First of all they truly accept pre-existing conditions ike they advertise and are probably a market leader in this area. Their quotes are fats and complete and they ask pertinent questions and are very informative in emails and on phone. They still give one the feeling that they really want your business. Their prices also seem quite reasonable.

I also asked quotes locally with Hypotienda and Cogesa. Both were a bit slow to respond, which is typical in Spain, but Hypotienda is quite impressive till now in that it started asking more pertinent questions before quoting. Cogesa just mailed me a standard low quote, without taking into account pre-existing conditions as was requested, so they read the quote request onky half.

This is all for the moment. I will tell more when I get through this orientation into Spanish health care.

By the way, make sure your insurance includes private clinics here, not just state clinics. State clinics are antique and very poorly equipped. By the way, many doctors working there also work in private clinics but of course with top notch material then.

Pharmacies abound here and a lot can be gotten there over the counter that would be impossible to get in the UK without prescription. You can also make deals with many clinics here to become a patient on a subscription basis so for a fixed fee. Very inexpensive.

Ask if you need any clarification. I know how hard it is to get well informed about moving here. It will save you a lot of time and money to be well prepared.


Peter