Frequently Asked Questions

• Territory: Where does my travel insurance apply?
  
  Your travel insurance coverage is valid WORLDWIDE, except in your home country or your country of residence.
  If you are traveling in the USA and you decide to visit Canada also, you continue to be covered through AVI.
• Home country, country of residence?
  
  Your home country is the country where you are used to living.
  That is the country where you will be evacuated in case of serious medical illness/accident.
  In most cases, this is the country where your parents live.
  The country of residence is the country where you live temporarily.
  Let's take the following example : you study in France but you have the Belgian citizenship and your family lives in Belgium. Therefore France will be considered as your country of residence while Belgium is your home country.
  In case of a serious medical illness/accident, you will be evacuated to Belgium.
• Duration of coverage
  
  Your insurance coverage period begins upon your departure from your home country and ends upon your arrival back in your home country.
• What shall I do in case of an emergency?
  
  In case of an emergency, you have to call our Alarm Center at the toll-free emergency phone number you were given.
  One is valid for the USA and Canada, another one is valid for all countries other than the USA and Canada.
  Please refer to your ID insurance card and Security Pass'port.
• When and why shall I call the Alarm Center?
  
  In case of medical evacuation
  In case of hospitalization, the Alarm Center can contact the hospital and directly confirm the guarantee of payment so that you do not have to pay upfront for the medical services rendered,
  In case of family visit : if you are hospitalized more than 3 days, one family member is authorized to fly to your sickbed ; if the hospitalization is likely to last more than 7 days, we will authorize 2 family members to fly to your sickbed.
  In case of emergency return home : if one of your family members (father, mother, sister or brother) is in a life-threatening situation, we will arrange and pay for the air ticket to fly you back home, if your original return ticket cannot be used.
• How do I contact the Alarm Center? Shall I pay?
  
  In the USA / Canada, call the -800 toll-free number. You will not pay for the phone call.
  For all the other countries, please call collect. The alarm center will accept the charges of your call.
  However in some countries, collect calls are not accepted. In such a case, after you place your call, please ask for an itemized invoice with the phone number you called as well as the price of the phone connection. We will reimburse you accordingly.
• Can I go to the doctor of my choice?
  
  Yes, you can go to the doctor of your choice. This doctor can call the Alarm Center in order to verify your coverage at which time we will provide that office with the billing address.
• If I pay my doctor in cash, how soon do I get reimbursed?
  
  Usually it takes three or four weeks for claims to be processed. However, claims can be processed and paid much earlier, depending on how soon the file - with all the necessary paperwork - is received by the claims office.
• How can I get reimbursement?
  
  The different means of reimbursement are the following:

  • checks in US $, in Swiss Francs or in Euros
  • bank transfer
  • when you are traveling abroad and that you have no bank account, we can credit your credit card.
    
• Which illnesses are covered?
  
  • Any illness which is not pre-existing, that is which was not contracted before you left your country and before the effective departing date of coverage.
  • Any illness which is not congenital.
  • Consequences of HIV or Hepatitis C are NOT covered.
• Which accidents are covered?
  
  Any kind of accident is covered except accidents related to competitions or high-risk sports(such as bungie-cord jumping, parachuting, etc.) or accidents which are consecutive to voluntary acts : alcohol intoxication, use of narcotics, riots or assaults...
• Are car accidents covered?
  
  Car accidents are covered ONLY in the following cases:

  • as a passenger
  • while driving an automobile in a professional or school supervised driver's training program
  • as an Au-Pair or a long-term trainee working at hospitality facilities, who is likely to drive in the scope his/her duties.

  Nevertheless please note that car accidents are covered only in excess of any other auto insurance coverage available to pay for medical care.
  This means that AVI International acts as secondary insurance carrier to:

  • the car insurance of the driver responsible for the accident in which you were a passenger,
  • your car insurance if you have rented a car as an Au-Pair or trainee,
  • the car insurance of the driver responsible for the accident in which you were involved as an Au-Pair/Trainee-driver.

  
  Please be advised that your liability as a driver (personal injury and damages to a third party) is not covered as per the terms of our policy. We strongly advise you to check with your car rental company for this extra coverage (PLI Personal Liability Insurance).
• Is dental care covered?
  
  Any emergency dental care (infection of tooth/gum or abscess) is covered according to the length of stay abroad. Please refer to your policy for limitations.
• In case of an accident is my dental care covered?
  
  In case of an accident, your dental care is covered too. Please refer to your policy for the maximum granted.
• In case of medical evacuation, can my boy/girlfriend be evacuated with me?
  
  Yes. Provided he/she is also covered with AVI International, bought the insurance when you did and lives in the same country as you, you will both be evacuated.
• If I am treated and the usual medication is not available in the country I am visiting, can AVI International deliver them to me?
  
  Sure, this benefit is listed among the basic travel medical benefits. In case of an emergency, we can forward urgent messages as well.
  IMPORTANT NOTE : The purchase of medications and shipping costs remain nevertheless at your own expense.
• In case of medical evacuation, what is covered?
  
  All the medical evacuation related expenses are covered by AVI International.
  All charges pertaining to a medical evacuation or the repatriation of remains (including transportation casket) are covered UNLIMITED.
• In case of hospitalization, how long does it take to authorize one of my family members to fly to my sickbed?
  
  Any hospitalization must be reported to the alarm center. In so doing, the alarm center can contact the hospital in order to know the duration of your hospitalization.
  As soon as we know that you are likely to stay more than 3 days at the hospital, we make the flight arrangement for one of your family members.
  If the hospitalization is likely is be more than 7 days, we organize the flight for 2 family members to fly to your sickbed.
• What happens if I am disabled as a consequence of an accident?
  
  The first assistance services consist in taking care of your medical treatment in the host country. When medically possible, we will organize the medical evacuation to your home country and grant you with a disability compensation according to the percentage of disability rated by a Medical Expert, once your condition is stable and consolidated.
  In our wish to be fair as much as possible, we have chosen to apply the French schedule of work accidents, which is currently the most profitable to the insured.
• Is an assault abroad covered?
  
  Yes, an assault is considered an accident.
  In addition, if you are assaulted and some of your personal properties are stolen, you will also benefit from the luggage coverage.
• What is the purpose of the Third Party Liability Coverage included in the Security Pass'port?
  
  If you unfortunately break something in a department store, your third party liability is engaged.
  Thanks to the third party liability insurance, AVI International will pay on your behalf the damage you caused.
  If you flood the bathroom because you have forgotten to draw the shower curtain correctly, your third party liability is also engaged. In that case also, we will pay the damage you caused on your behalf as a secondary insurance carrier after the home owner insurance policy, if any.
  While roller-skating, if you knock over a pedestrian, we will pay all the medical expenses of the victim.
• When is my luggage covered?
  Your luggage is covered while traveling to and from your program and during your stay abroad according to the dates of coverage you declared to AVI.
  The AVI International luggage insurance applies to property taken along from home as well as bought by traveling. It extends to luggage checked and taken in charge by the transportation carrier in relationship with the insured's passenger ticket.
  In case of loss by the transportation company, you must immediately submit your claim to the transportation company, because the primary coverage is provided by this company. AVI International acts as a secondary insurance carrier.
  If the transportation company denies your claim based on the fact that you did not file a claim or that the claim was not filed in time, we will also deny your claim since we are secondary to the transportation company.
  In all other cases of luggage loss, you must immediately report the loss to the police and provide us with a copy.