Are you going to Russia?

Before buying travel insurance for your trip to Russia, consider these points:

• The cost of your trip or holiday – Unforeseen events sometimes mean you have to unfortunately cancel your holiday; if that’s the case, it’s reassuring to know that you may be able get your money back
• The activities you’re likely to be doing – If you’re planning anything really extreme, we can offer you extra cover if needed
• Will you need additional snowboarding or ski travel insurance?
• The total cost of your baggage
• Whether you are covered for civil unrest or not
• Also, don’t forget to check the latest travel advice for Russia from the FCDO

What is covered with travel insurance to Russia?

As standard, our policies cover for over 50 sports and activities, so you can get up to more on your holiday. We also offer a range of benefits, some of which include:

• Medical expenses and hospital benefit
• Personal accident and liability
• Cancelling and cutting short your holiday
• Abandoning your trip
• Delayed departure
• Accommodation cover
• Personal belongings and baggage
• Personal money, passport and travel documents
• Legal expenses
• Optional winter sports activity cover or extreme sports travel insurance
  

To ensure you have the best possible holiday to Russia, we’ve put together some important information that you might want to know before your trip.

Do I need a visa for Russia?

Yes – as a British citizen with a valid passport, you will need to apply for a visa to travel to Russia. Make sure that you apply for your visa well in advance as it can sometimes take a bit of time to be processed. You can find more details about Russian visas and entry requirements here.

Healthcare in Russia

Public and private healthcare services are available to travellers in Russia. Previously, the UK and Russia had an agreement that meant UK residents were able to use their European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) to access healthcare in Russia. However, this is no longer the case, so you must make sure you have the appropriate medical travel insurance cover.

More about healthcare in Russia here.

Can you help if I need medical treatment while in Russia?

Yes – all our policies come with access to our 24-hour emergency assistance team, so there will always be someone here to help you if you become ill or are injured while abroad.

If you need emergency medical assistance just give our emergency medical team a call any time, day or night.

Did you know that…?

• Russia is big. It’s the biggest country on Earth, spanning nine time zones and accounting for 11% of world’s land area and 10% of its arable land. It has borders with 15 countries. You could fit Britain into it more than 67 times.
• Moscow, Russia, is home to more billionaires than any other city. There are 84 billionaires currently living there, with a net worth of US$366 billion between them. That’s more than the total GDP of Switzerland!
• Russians celebrate New Year twice. Like most of us, they see in the new year with a hangover on January 1st. Then they have another bash for New Year marked by the old Julian calendar – not officially in use since 1918 – which falls on January 13th.
• The world’s most prevalent assault rifle, the AK-47, was designed in 1949 so that Russian soldiers could operate it while wearing gloves in Arctic conditions. Its inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov said he’d have preferred to have invented a lawn mower.
• The Trans-Siberian railway needed 200 bridges and 33 tunnels just to skirt around the bottom of Lake Baikal in Russia – the world’s oldest, deepest and purest freshwater lake. It contains around a fifth of the world’s liquid surface fresh water.
• Widely regarded as one of the greatest ever video games, it’s not by coincidence that Tetris has a strong Russian flavour. It was designed by Russian Alexey Pajitnov in 1984 and was the first game software to be exported from Russia to the world.
• Russia’s most recognisable hat, made of fur with ear flaps that can be tied down around the chin or up on the hat, is called an “ushanka” or “ear hat”. Ushankas made of mink fur keep Russian chins and ears warm when the mercury dips to -70°C