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Insurance in Costa Rica

Insurance coverage in Costa Rica

Here are some of the major insurance options that you need to know and consider:

•    Medical and Health insurance
INS usually offers most of this insurance to the public. However, you still have the option to avail of insurances offered by other international insurance companies. There’s a possibility that these companies offer more health insurance coverage than the INS. Being a foreigner, you can always avail of such because no matter where you are located in the world, you are always covered by that insurance which could go as high as $5 million in lifetime limit.

If you still want to avail of health insurance from a company based in Costa Rica, then you will need to choose between CCSS and INS only since their policies are flexible. Also, most, if not all hospitals in Costa Rica recognizes this insurance coverage.

Here’s an overview of each insurance package.
INS: The company provides medical insurance to the public. The limit has been set to nearly $18,000 a year and does not cover the pre-existing conditions and medical check-ups. If there’s a need for eyeglasses, dental work and cosmetic surgery, the insurance will pay for it provided that this need was imminent due to accidents. Basically, about 70 percent of the entire insurance coverage goes to purchase of prescription drugs, doctor visits, medical examinations, treatment and payment of doctors. The patient has a free hand to choose his or her doctor. Annual premiums run between $500 and $1,000 for men ages 59 and above while it will be between $850 and $1,300 for women. As for the younger population, the rate is about $300.

The limit is noticeably low compared to other progressive nations like the United States. Intensive care unit rates can go as high as $3,000 and with an annual benefit of $18,000 this means that the insurance runs out in just 6 days. In your case, as a foreigner, it would be best that you have another internationally-covered insurance to make up for the other days that INS could not cover.
CCSS: This is a government-sponsored medical insurance plan. Most Costa Ricans who can’t afford the INS coverage can avail of this. Government employers are mandate to pay for this coverage. The coverage is of the same scope as INS. However, the patient does not have the opportunity to choose his or her doctor. CCSS assigns the doctor and hospital to the patient. Decent care is provided but you will eventually endure long queues.

Monthly payments can run between $35 and $60. Therefore, it’s basically the primary choice for middle to lower class families.

•    Vehicle insurance
You will be paying for a third-party insurance coverage once your get your license plate for your own vehicle. In fact, once you renew your license, you are also renewing the insurance of your vehicle. The rate is relatively low but you can always avail of greater coverage from INS (such as insurance from fire, accidents and theft among others).

•    Homeowners insurance
You can avail of this insurance. If forcible entry has been discovered in your home resulting to loss of items, then the insurance company will cover the supposed amount of the lost items. You will need to pay the annual rate of almost 2 percent of the entire value of your home property. This could be expensive especially if you have a lot of valuables in your home.
There’s also an insurance coverage that protects your property from natural disasters like earthquake or storms or unavoidable incidents such as water damage and accidental fire caused by neighbor’s properties.

•    Life insurance
This is certainly one of the most important insurance coverage that you need to have. INS Life insurance currently offers this program in dollar rates. Before, the rates were set at local currency which caused a lot of problems due to sudden inflation adjustments. Double indemnity is given for accidental death. INS coverage may differ with international insurance companies that over wider benefits.
 

 Of course, as much as possible you wouldn’t want to avail of these benefits if you could help it. No one would want an untoward incident to happen although it still pays to be careful.
 

Newsflash

Real estate projects in Costa Rica’s beachfront
Several positive changes are taking place in a number of beachside areas in Costa Rica. This may be due to the fact that a lot of local and foreign visitors flock the area to have a great time with their families and friends, basking under the heat of the sun and swimming in the blue waters.
In the past years, all you can see are small stores and restaurants set up on these areas. However, a large grocery market has been put up last year in El Llano, just under 30 minutes away from Playa Tamarindo. This signifies great progress in the area. Not only that, several grocery stores are about to be set up in other neighboring beach towns such as Supermercado de Pacifico and Supercompro. In fact, several high profile government officials will be present to do the ribbon cutting of these establishments.
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