Travel Insurance In Norway – What You Need To Know 2023

Things you need to know about Travel insurance in Norway – What comes to your mind when you think of Norway? Mountains? Ice, Snow? Are Fridged conditions sometimes as cold as -51 degrees Celcius? Why should anyone want to visit Norway?

Well, the 8,828,771 foreign tourists who visited Norway in a single year were certainly drawn to something – the beautiful Scandinavian culture! Let us talk a little about Norway as a destination, and why you should even bother traveling there in the first place.

TRAVEL INSURANCE IN NORWAY – What You Need To Know

Norway is a country located in the Northern part of Europe and sharing borders with Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The landscape changes tremendously with the seasons but whether in summer or winter, Norway offers a breathtaking view and intense experiences. They have warm and welcoming people and many travelers who have visited this country give high praise to their cuisine. A visit to Norway will give you a chance to explore ‘first hand’ the Norse mythology of Odin, Thor, and Loki.

If you are a citizen of one the Schengen states then you are good to go. Just go right ahead and pack your bags! The authorities in Norway will welcome you with open arms, but if you are not a citizen of one of the  Schengen states, you will need a Schengen visa and a Schengen travel insurance policy is key to getting that visa to visit Norway.

The Schengen states number  25 countries, and some of them are Norway, Finland, Germany, Denmark, and Iceland, just to mention a few.

Travel Insurance In Norway

With a Schengen visa, you will not only be able to travel to Norway, but you will also be granted the opportunity to move freely between all of the countries in the area. This is an excellent way for you to see and feel Europe and its beautiful cultural riches.

Before issuance of your Schengen visa for Norway, the Visa office will require you to provide evidence of travel insurance. The insurance package must include at least two compulsory guarantees: repatriation to the country of residence in the event of serious accident or death and also medical coverage of up to a minimum of 30,000€. There are many amazingly low budget insurance policies that you can get, we have even covered that in a previous article.

The insurance policy needs to be valid for the entire length of your stay in the Schengen states, and then the authorities demand an additional 15 days of validity. There may be additional requirements so please check with your local embassy.

Below are a few things you should watch out for before choosing a travel insurance policy:

  • Check their payouts

Make sure all your expensive personal items like phones and laptops are covered for up to their full value. Some insurance providers only pay out up to a certain limit on each item, regardless of the value of the item. Always check the details of the policy carefully, and ask questions in any area where you are not sure. Because it makes no sense if you only get a limit of 500 dollars per item, and your phone or tablet is worth 1000 dollars. Should that phone or tablet get missing, you may actually get less than 500 dollars from the insurance company especially after you’ve deducted the excess.

Please, it is highly recommended that you do the above because while Norway is a safe country, there are petty criminals everywhere who are looking to take advantage of a traveler’s naivety and excitement in order to pinch their personal effects.

  • Business travel insurance Policy

Some insurance companies offer ‘business cover’. Despite that name, you do not actually have to be on an actual business trip to use this type of policy. Business Travel Insurance Policies are usually offered as an upgrade to the standard policy, and since businessmen absolutely need their communication devices, these policies tend to come with much better cover for gadgets and personal items.

  • Annual policies

If you’re planning a longer holiday, or a few journeys to Norway or any other Schengen state over the course of a year, it will almost certainly be cheaper and less stressful to just buy an annual policy, instead of buying insurance cover for each individual trip. If you will be spending much time in Norway, it is a good idea to ask your insurance broker about this kind of insurance policy.

  • Certain areas Might be Excluded

This isn’t likely to affect you if you’re planning to limit your movement to Norway. But if you’re visiting Norway as part of a longer trip within Scandinavia or Europe in general, it is a good idea to make sure the regions you want to visit are not excluded from your travel insurance policy. Ask questions!

  • Read the small print- Again!

It may be boring, but reading the legal jargon and exclusions (terms and conditions) carefully is essential if you want to avoid a nasty surprise when something happens and then you call your insurer to file a claim. Are you taking your brand new phone to the fjords? Make sure it’s covered. Are you going snowshoeing in the town of Svalbard? Make sure you’re covered by your insurance policy! Its a good idea to state specifically where you wish to go, and what you plan to do, and what you will bring along on the trip.

Since Norway has become a mecca for lovers of winter sports as well as adrenaline junkies, there’s a good chance you’ll end up doing some form of outdoor activity here. Even if you did not plan to do so, or even if you have never done any winter sports, it is quite possible that as you interact with people- many of whom are also visitors, you may become tempted to join in.

Even though the vast majority of insurance policies for Norway exclude winter sports and extreme activities, it is important to aske questions from your insurance broker, so that you know if you are covered, and also exactly what activities they define as ‘extreme sports’.

Most insurance policies will usually allow you to add on a number of sports activities for an extra fee, so make sure you include the relevant activities that you may which to engage in

How to get to Norway?

We cover below several ways by which a person may be transported into Norway. We strongly advise that you keep your duly stamped visa and passport handy with you so as not to find yourself unnecessarily inconvinienced by the the security and immigration person you will meet at the entry points into the country.

  1. Air Transport: Norway has several top class international airports, and you will find regular flights to and from over 140 cities around the world. Check with your local airline to confirm whether you will fly direct, or if they only offer connecting flights, but usually, when flying from the United States you will be able to take a direct flight, while you will usually require a stopover if you are coming to Norway from Australia or New Zealand.

Having touched down in Oslo Airport you can take the Flytoget Airport Express Train to get to the City center. The train is reputed to be fast and efficient, and will usually complete the journey in 20 minutes.

  1.  By train: One of the most popular train connections is that of the Oslo-Copenhagen rail line. This train runs several times a week. There are also plenty of trains going to other Scandinavian countries. Norway has a  highly advanced rail network which will allow you easily access and explore other European cities.
  2. By bus: There are many routes of good, smooth roads that link between Norway and its neighboring countries such as Finland, Sweden, Russia and also Denmark. There are buses departing almost every hour from Copenhagen in Denmark and Göteborg into Oslo in Norway.
  3. By boat: Numerous ferries make the crossing into Norway from countries like Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. These ferries will make it very easy for you to travel with your own vehicle. Check with your local travel agency if you are resident in any of the countries listed above.

Health advise and vaccinations

Although there are no vaccinations that are mandated by law, some sources advise that you be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and polio before traveling to Norway.

  • Weather in Norway

As we have hinted in the introduction of this article, the Norwegian climate is very cold; especially on the coast, and that is attributed to the Gulf Stream. In the summer-time, you will have a better chance of finding warm and pleasant weather in the city of Oslo than in Bergen. In certain parts of Norway, winter temperatures can fall as low as -40°C, and the lowest on record in -51°C.

Therefore, it is absolutely vital that you remember to pack warm clothes, no matter what season you are visiting in, and it is also important that you bring along clothes that are suited to rain.

This little thoughtfulness and preparation could go a long way in preserving your health, helping you to have an enjoyable stay in Norway, and also save you from strain on your insurance policy.

That’s all about Travel Insurance In Norway.

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