SOS International (SOS) administers the Danish tourist health insurance scheme on behalf of the Danish Government. Read more about SOS on their website: www.sos.dk.

Holders of a Danish CPR number and a yellow health insurance card are covered by the public tourist health insurance in the event of acute illness, injury or death during the first month of a vacation within the EU or EEA.

The public tourist health insurance covers all EU Member States as well as the EEA countries of Andorra, the Azores, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, the Isle of Man, Iceland, the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, Liechtenstein, Madeira, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican State.

If you have a Danish health insurance card, you are covered by the public tourist health insurance if you fulfil the following requirements:

• Your trip lasts one month or less
• The sole purpose of your trip is vacation or study trip
• You travel within the EU and EEA (see In which countries are you covered?)
• You do not suffer from a chronic illness such as high blood pressure.

If you suffer from a chronicle illness, you should always contact SOS International prior to departure, to check if you are covered by the public tourist health insurance.

One month’s cover means that if you e.g. leave on your vacation on the 5^th you are covered up to and including the 4^th of the following month.

If you are in doubt about the cover provided by the tourist health insurance scheme when already abroad you are encouraged to call the emergency service number printed on the back of your card.

You are not covered by the tourist health insurance card if you

• Go abroad on a combined business and vacation trip – regardless of how much of the trip is business related
• Go abroad to study or on business
• Travel outside of EU or EEA (see In which countries are you covered?)
• Go abroad to seek or apply for work.

The public tourist health insurance scheme covers the following expenses:

• Standard medical assistance and medicine prescribed by a doctor, medical equipment and aids.

• Admission to hospital on doctor’s orders, hospital treatment including operations. Note that the tourist health insurance only applies to standard class hospitals in the relevant country. If you are admitted to a hospital of a higher class than standard, you may be required to pay a surcharge of DKK 5.000-10.000 pr. day. If you are hospitalized, you should always contact SOS International emergency call centre as soon as possible. Never sign admission papers or any other documents without the acceptance of SOS International emergency call centre.   

• Transport costs to the nearest suitable treatment facility.

• The cost of phone calls or other forms of communication with the SOS International emergency call centre from abroad.

• Extra ordinary home transport costs from Greenland and the Faroe Islands to Denmark. Note that for the cost to be covered, transport home must have been prescribed by a SOS International doctor.

• Extraordinary home transport costs in the event of death.

• Hotel stays on doctor’s orders, in cases in which treatment which would otherwise require hospitalization can be performed on an outpatient basis.

• Hotel stays on doctor’s order after a hospital discharge until the patient can be transported home from Greenland or the Faroe Islands to Denmark.

• The cost of catching up with a pre-planned travel itinerary in the event of a delay as a consequence of bed rest on doctor’s orders.

If you require medical attention during your vacation call the SOS International emergency call centre on the phone number printed on the back of your yellow health insurance card. Alternatively you can ask service assistants at your hotel, your travel guide, etc. to help you get in contact with a doctor.

In the event of a serious illness or accident which require admission to hospital it is very important that you, your next of kin or the attending doctor, contact SOS International emergency call centre as soon as possible on telephone number: +45 70 10 75 10.

If the hospital or the attending doctor requires a payment guarantee contact the SOS International emergency call centre. 

If you are in doubt about what the public tourist health insurance covers, you should always check with SOS International prior to departure. You should also always contact SOS International if you require medical attention during your vacation abroad.

Expenses NOT covered by the public tourist health insurance include among others:

• Repatriation for medical reasons. For this reason, you are strongly encouraged to take out an extra private health travel insurance that covers medical related home transportation.  

• Dental treatment, physiotherapy, chiropractor treatment, etc.

• Treatment of chronic illnesses, or illness from which you suffered prior to departure, and for which you, with reasonable likelihood might expect to require medical treatment during your trip.

• Healthcare assistance in the ninth month of the pregnancy or induced abortion.

• Loss or damage of dentures, spectacles, hearing aids, etc.

• Continued medical treatment, despite an assessment by the SOS International doctor in consultation with the onsite doctor in charge that further treatment can be completed after the patient’s return to Denmark

• Communication costs with other parties than SOS International.

• Substitute travel

If you suffer from a chronicle illness, you should always contact SOS International prior to departure, to check if you are covered by the public tourist health insurance.

The yellow health insurance card assures that the expenses for which you are entitled to cover will be refunded after you return to Denmark. You may, however, be required to pay for medical services and medicine yourself while on holiday. If this is the case, do not forget to get a receipt for presentation when you get home. You will have your expenses refunded upon arrival to Denmark when you have completed and submitted a claim form to SOS together with the original receipts and documents. Remember to make yourself a copy.

Note that for EU and EEA citizens it is always a good idea to take the blue EU health insurance card with you on your travels, even though your vacation will not exceed one month. Read more about the EU health insurance card under the heading EU health insurance card

On your return to Denmark after a vacation during which you have incurred medical treatment costs, you are required to complete a claim form and submit it, along with the relevant original receipts and documents, to SOS International. Remember to make yourself a copy. You must submit the form and documents to SOS within six months of the occurrence of injury/illness. This means that if the injury/illness incurred February 6 2010, you must report your claim to SOS no later than August 5 2010.

Note that you are required to complete the claim form and submit it, along with a copy of all relevant receipts and documents, whether you paid the expenses yourself or not.

You can not report your claims by phone. You report and submit your notice claim by using one of the following alternatives:

Fill in an online notice claim using your digital signature (directions and form only available in Danish)

Fill in the online notice claim without using a digital signature (directions and form available in Danish only)

Download the notice claim on the SOS International website (pdf. available in multiple languages). Print the form and fill it in, then fax, or scan and attach the document to an e-mail, or mail it to:

SOS International a/s
Attn: Den Offentlige Rejsesygesikring (The public tourist health insurance).
Nitivej 6
2000 Fredriksberg

It is your responsibility to ensure that SOS receives the required documentation and receipts. SOS will not start processing your case until it has all the required documentation and receipts.

When completing the claim form:

• Make sure you answer all the questions on the claim form. Failing to do so will extend the processing time as SOS will have to procure answers to the questions you have not answered.
• Attach the original receipts and other documents, and other documents include among others prescriptions and medical reports from the foreign treatment facility. Remembering to keep a copy yourself.

Remember that you are required to fill out the claim form and submit it to SOS International within six months after the injury/illness occurred. If you receive a bill from the foreign treatment facility after the six month period has elapsed you are required to submit the bill to SOS within one month from the day you received it.

SOS International a/s
Att: Den Offentlige Rejsesygesikring
Nitivej 6
2000 Fredriksberg 

SOS emergency call centre (24/7 service)
Telephone: +45 70 10 50 50

Fax: +45 70 10 50 56
Email: sos@sos.dk.