Extended medical insurance in the Dominican Republic is extremely important if not mandatory. The differences from the standard insurance that you buy when apply to a visa or buy with a tour are huge. From this article you will learn everything about this not a simple topic.

Table of contents:

Is health insurance required in the Dominican Republic?

Let’s start with the fact that for a tourist visa to the Dominican Republic and for those who have entry without a visa, health insurance is required. Insurance is mandatory when crossing the border of the Dominican Republic.

It is important to know:

Although insurance is mandatory for crossing the border, in fact it is almost never asked. My wife and I were asked for insurance only 1 time for the last 8-10 entries to the Dominican Republic.

I hope everyone understands the importance of having health insurance, at least the standard one. It is not expensive, literally from $ 5 per person. And if something happens, it will pay off immediately for a lifetime. Medicine in the Dominican Republic is expensive, not like in the USA, but still.

My opinion is that it is better that insurance is not useful, but it will be. Than vice versa. Remember, you are not buying health, you are buying peace of mind.

Medical insurance in the Dominican Republic
With good travel insurance to Dominican, it’s hard to ruin a vacation.

Differences between standard medical insurance and extended insurance

With a high degree of probability, 95% of incoming tourists have health insurance with them. But most will have standard health insurance.

  • And if you bought a package tour, then insurance is included by default in almost every tour

Just keep in mind that this is basic or standard medical insurance. But then I will tell you which cases and situations will be insured and which will not. You will also learn how basic health insurance differs from extended health insurance. Well, in the end, it’s up to you.

Standard health insurance and extended

Below are items that will not be covered if you only have standard insurance. But in the case of extended insurance, almost all of these cases are included:

  • You will be surprised, but sunburn. It is believed that adults themselves are obliged to control the receipt of ultraviolet radiation. Sunburns are considered an insured event in the basic insurance only for children under 14 years of age. You can read about the weather and the sun in this article.
  • Injuries received in any active sports: surfing, kiting, trekking in the mountains.
  • Accident injuries: scooter, car.
  • Your flight is delayed or cancelled. By the way, any extended insurance is ready to reimburse you for the cost of tickets in this case. How to buy cheap air tickets to the Dominican Republic.
  • Lost luggage
  • Payment for COVID-19 treatment in the country where you come for vacations
  • Payment for calls and taxis to the hospital in case of an incident
  • Any complication of the ongoing pregnancy and the call of the doctor will be at your own expense. Provided that you have basic insurance.
  • Also, the basic insurance does not include treatment for exotic diseases, the chance of catching them in the Dominican Republic is low, but it is. For example, malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus. Read about the dangers in the Dominican Republic for tourists here.

Interesting to know:

My wife and I got dengue fever 7 years ago in Singapore. We had basic insurance. Today this disease is easily diagnosed and there is a treatment, almost no lethal cases are recorded. But we paid out of our own pocket $3800 each for a 7 day course. And if we had extended insurance for $ 35, we would not have paid anything.

All of the above will not be an insured event if you have standard medical insurance in the Dominican Republic. And if extended, then all these items are included in the insurance.

Extended medical insurance in the Dominican Republic
For example, if you hurt your leg when falling from such a palm tree, then the basic standard insurance should work. That’s if you’re wondering, I’m on Coson Beach, in the north of the Dominican Republic.

It is important to know:

The only item that is not insured in both regular and extended insurance is injuries received while intoxicated. This is the case in every country in the world.

Extended medical insurance in the Dominican Republic: where to buy?

You have already understood where to get the usual insurance. You buy it when you make a visa, buy a package tour, or just buy it at your insurance agency, where you insure your car and house. It will all be standard insurance. But then I’ll tell you exactly about the extended one.

all about insurance in the Dominican Republic
But already when swimming in a cascade of waterfalls. In case of any injuries, the basic insurance does not apply. This is considered active.

Extended insurance can be purchased:

  • In any travel agency that sells package tours.
  • Any major insurance company.
  • On the Internet on specialized resources. There are a lot of companies that sell insurance online. Google it, there are many options.
    • The biggest plus of this option: you can buy at the last moment on the way to the airport.
    • No need to go anywhere, the voucher will be sent to your mail.
    • And the prices are the same as in travel agencies in your area. Not more expensive for sure.

Excellent service specialized in travel insurance

I will tell only about one, not as an advertisement, but because I myself use it all the time. This is one of the largest travel insurance resources around the world. It has three main advantages, and one that simply puts them above the competition:

  • A huge number of additional insurance cases in contrast to the basic insurance
  • You choose the package yourself: extreme vacation or not.
  • But this is generally mega cool and there are no analogues on the market.
    • You can choose a package where you will be reimbursed for damages, even while intoxicated. Since in the GOLD and MAX + package, the insurance company does not monitor whether there was alcohol in the blood in the event of an insured event.

It is important to know:

This extended insurance covers you and your family from any accidents while on vacation.

You can choose insurance on this resource: EKTA. Everything is intuitive and simple. The link will also be at the end of the article.

Medical insurance: total

list of insured events
The risks of riding even on such a beautiful moped are not included in the basic insurance. But included in extended insurance.

And about the pros and cons of holidays in the Dominican Republic, read in a separate article.

In conclusion: you have already understood that every tourist must have health insurance in the Dominican Republic. Almost everyone has a standard one. Whether to buy an extended one is up to you. But you read that there are a huge number of situations when basic insurance does not work. And the Dominican Republic is an exotic country where there are exotic diseases and so on.

I wish you a peaceful sleep and that insurance would never come in handy!

Resources to help you plan your dream trip to Dominican Republic

  • Flights at the best prices with discounts
  • Car rental: DiscoverCars – a largest international resource
  • Hotels and apartments:
    • Hotellook – compares hotel prices among dozens of booking platforms and offer you the best price.
    • Booking – large online booking platform.
    • Agoda – even more accommodation options in Dominican Republic.
  • Vacation packages:
    • Expedia – best deals from Europe.
    • CheapOair – cheap packages from all US cities.
  • Tours, excursions and extreme activities:
    • GetYourGuide – more than 800+ tours and water activities.
    • Viator – 3500+ tours and excursions in Dominican.
  • Comprehensive travel insurance: EKTA
  • Internet and Calls:
    • Airalo – eSIM with internet package.
    • Drimsim – universal SIM card (or eSIM) in any country in the world.
  • Taxi and airport transfers: Intui.Travel