The cheapest private health insurance in Spain

The cheapest private health insurance in Spain

As a rule, every resident of Spain is insured through the legal Seguridad Social. However, the scope of services and medical care is only at a basic level. If you want more extensive medical care, the doctor can choose freely, even during routine examinations, it is very simple and much cheaper in Spain to take out additional private health insurance. We help you find the right & cheapest private health insurance.

For expats we offer the cheapest and cheapest private health insurance in Spain.

Everything about private health insurance in Spain

In Spain, health insurance through the government (Seguridad Social) is completely separate from the private insurers. If you want to be sure that you are properly insured against health costs in Spain, take out additional Private Health Insurance.

Most people in Spain are therefore both insured through the government and have private health insurance separately. Fortunately, private health insurance premiums are usually much cheaper than in other countries.

Advantages of private health insurance over the coverage of the Spanish government through the Seguridad Social are:

  • Private room and bathroom for hospital admissions + bed for partner to spend the night
  • No or short waiting times to see a specialist or to be operated / treated
  • Direct access to specialists; you do not need to be referred by a general practitioner, but you can make an appointment directly (exception is the physiotherapist).
  • You do not need to be an official resident of Spain or work in Spain as long as you spend most of the time there
  • Free choice of doctors, specialists and hospitals within the Cuadro Médico, which is very complete and extensive
  • Right to a “second opinion” in case of life-threatening illnesses

How to choose the right insurance package

Once you have decided to take out private health insurance, it suddenly turns out that the range of insurance is very large and the premiums vary enormously. What are these premium differences in? What's really important when choosing health insurance?

  • You must be clear about the main reason for taking out this insurance. Today, private health insurance is often a requirement to become a tax resident in Spain. In that case, you must take out health insurance that has NO personal contributions or deductibles, otherwise you will still not meet the requirements. In Spanish they call this “sin copago”.
  • If you do not need the policy for your residence application, you are free to go for the lowest premium, which is usually for the packages with a personal contribution / risk or you can choose to pay a little more and no to have own contributions.
  • In addition to medical care, do you also want coverage for the dentist or is that not necessary for you? Keep in mind that dental coverage is never free, except for a number of basic coverage that are free, you pay a reduced rate for necessary treatments or procedures at the dentist. For children there is usually an interesting discount on the installation of braces and their maintenance.
  • Beware of policies that are too cheap, as this can mean that cover is excluded. Always ask carefully what is excluded.
  • Can the insurer unilaterally cancel the policy if the customer becomes seriously ill and therefore entails high costs for the insurer? In Spain, unfortunately, there are insurers who really do this. The customer pays premiums for years while he / she practically does not use the policy, but when the customer suddenly has to use the policy a lot and the costs increase, the insurer will cancel the policy unilaterally. Our insurer is not allowed to and does not do this. The only reason for unilateral cancellation is if the customer does not pay his premiums.
  • If you want to have a completely free choice of doctors, specialists or hospitals, there are policies that allow this. The premiums for these types of policies are considerably higher and this is usually not necessary because you already have a wide choice of the best specialists via the medical directory of the insurer.
  • Do you want to be able to see a doctor not only in Spain, but also in the rest of the world, because you travel a lot? There are policies that cover regular doctor visits outside of Spain and not just first aid.

What should in any case be taken into account?

  • Most private insurers only accept new sign-up customers up to the age of 67. After that it is difficult or impossible to insure yourself privately, so do this in time!
  • Private insurers are allowed to discriminate on the basis of age or medical history. They only accept very healthy people and completely exclude all existing medical complaints from coverage. High blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc. are reasons for not being accepted for this insurance.
  • If you have a medical history, it is advisable to ask your treating doctor for a medical report in English, with stamp and signature.
  • All private insurers have a waiting period (“carencia”). This is a period in which you are NOT YET entitled to full coverage. This period differs per insurer between 10-12 months and usually excludes the following cover in the period: operations, hospitalization, childbirth, expensive examinations (cat scan, etc.). Only if you come from another Spanish private insurer (recently) then these waiting times will be waived, except for the delivery.

You will undoubtedly still have many questions after reading this. That's what we're here for, to guide you and help you make the right choice for you and your family.

Request your no-obligation quote for the cheapest private health insurance in Spain here.

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