If you've searched the web for health insurance that covers expats in Croatia then you are probably for looking for established UK based health insurance providers that will cover your medical expenses in Croatia.
Living as an expat in Croatia you want to avoid any unwanted and unexpected health care costs. In some countries these can amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds for serious medical conditions.
Our advice when looking for private medical cover that covers expatriates living in Croatia is to speak to a health insurance broker. Health insurance is very complex and if you want complete certainty that Croatia is covered you should talk with a broker who can explain which providers will cover medical costs for expatriates in Croatia and which will exclude it.
There are many advantages to using a broker but the biggest by far is that you're using their expertise at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than by you so it costs you no extra to use their services.
- Do you live in many different postcodes? Some will give you a cheaper premium than offers. A insurance broker will be able to advise whats best.
- Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance policy? A broker will know this vital information.
- If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your insurance policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different insurance policies?
- You've developed a certain condition and want to know which policy provider offers the largest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you so much time and effort.
You can call around every health insurance provider on the market and ask if they provider cover for expats in Croatia, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.
Its far far quicker to speak to one health insurance broker which will know which policy providers on the market offer cover for expats in Croatia and under what conditions they do or don't cover it.
Croatia Information
The history of tourism in Croatia dates back to its time as part of Austria-Hungary when wealthy aristocrats would converge to the sea, but had expanded greatly in the 1960s and 70s under the economic policies of the former Yugoslavia. Today, Croatia is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, with a total of 19.6 million tourists visiting in 2019.
Tourism in Croatia is concentrated in the areas along the Adriatic coast and is strongly seasonal, peaking in July and August. Eight areas in the country have been designated national parks, with an additional eleven as nature parks. Currently, there are ten sites in Croatia on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
Since 2012, the year before Croatia joined the EU, the number of annual tourist arrivals increased by nearly 6 million. Economists argue that Croatia's joining the EU made them a more desirable tourist location due to reinvestment in their economy, more open trade barriers, and lessened customs control.
Tourism is fairly well-developed in Croatia but has room to develop further. Only 15% of the coast, the main tourist attraction in Croatia, is urbanized, and many plans are in progress to gradually develop Croatia's tourism sector even more. The Croatian Tourism Development Strategy has a goal to make Croatia a globally recognized tourist destination for all seasons, and is working towards that goal by making more luxury accommodations, including hotels and tourist services, or renovating older ones. Croatia also has one of the UNWTO's Sustainable Tourism Observatories, part of the organization's International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO). The observatory is considered a commitment to monitoring and building sustainable tourism.
The west coast of the peninsula of Istria has several historical towns dating from Roman times, such as the city of Umag, which hosts the yearly Croatia Open ATP tennis tournament on clay courts.
The city of Poreč is known for the UNESCO-protected Euphrasian Basilica, which includes 6th-century mosaics depicting Byzantine art. The city plan still shows the ancient Roman Castrum structure with main streets Decumanus and Cardo Maximus still preserved in their original forms. Marafor is a Roman square with two temples attached. One of them, erected in the 1st century, is dedicated to the Roman god Neptune. Originally a Gothic Franciscan church built in the 13th century, the 'Dieta Istriana' hall was remodeled in the Baroque style in the 18th century.
The region's largest city Pula has one of the best preserved amphitheatres in the world, which is still used for festivals and events. It is surrounded by hotel complexes, resorts, camps, and sports facilities. Nearby is Brijuni national park, formerly the summer residence of late Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito. Roman villas and temples still lie buried among farm fields and along the shoreline of surrounding fishing and farming villages. The coastal waters offer beaches, fishing, wreck dives to ancient Roman galleys and World War I warships, cliff diving, and sailing. Pula is the end point of the EuroVelo 9 cycle route that runs from Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea through Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.
The town of Rovinj contains well-indented coastal areas with a number of small bays hidden within dense vegetation, open to naturists. Although the beaches are not specified as naturist, naturists frequent them.
The interior is green and wooded, with small stone towns on hills, such as Motovun. The river Mirna flows below the hill. On the other side of the river lies Motovun forest, an area of about 10 square kilometres in the valley of the river Mirna, of which 280 hectares (2.8 km2) is specially protected. This area differs not only from the nearby forests, but also from those of the entire surrounding karst region because of its wildlife, moist soil, and truffles (Tuber magnatum) that grow there. Since 1999, Motovun has hosted the international Motovun Film Festival for independent films from the U.S. and Europe. Groznjan, another hill town, hosts a three-week jazz festival every July.
One of the most varying regions, the entire Kvarner gulf provides striking scenery, with tall mountains overlooking large islands in the sea. Opatija is the oldest tourist resort in Croatia, its tradition of tourism ranging from the 19th century.
The former Venetian island towns of Rab and Lošinj are popular tourist destinations. The island of Rab is rich in cultural heritage and cultural-historical monuments. Rab is also known as a pioneer of naturism after the visit of King Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson. The island offers nature, beaches, heritage, and events such as the Rab arbalest tournament and the Rab Medieval festival – Rapska Fjera. With around 2600 hours of sunshine a year, the island of Lošinj is a tourist destination for Slovenians, Italians, and Germans in the summer months. Average air humidity is 70%, and the average summer temperature is 24 °C (75 °F) and 7 °C (45 °F) during the winter.