Health & Protection in Slovenia

Slovenia is a Central European country known for its majestic mountains, dramatic landscapes, beautiful hiking trails and recreational ski resorts. If you have decided to move here, then you should also prepare yourself for all possibilities; even the unpleasant ones. The secrets of being safe in a distant, unfamiliar land are prevention and protection. Achieving those two is pretty easy as long as you have adequate health care and insurance, which many expats tend to take for granted. It is crucial that you have medical coverage while working abroad and let us give you some information on how you can secure yourself in Slovenia.

Getting Insurance

As an employee, it is compulsory that your company provide you with health care while you are working in Slovenia. It should be included in your relocation package along with other benefits and appropriately explained by a human resource officer during your contract signing. Your employer should also be accredited by the Bank of Slovenia, an institution in charge of regulating and supervising the operations of all insurance companies in the country.

You can also purchase different types of policies from the list of international and local providers in Slovenia. Remember, no matter how immediate having insurance is, you need to study the scope of their coverage carefully to identify which one can meet your specific needs. Clements Worldwide is one of the top choices for expats who are looking for an international health care. There is also a local company called Zavarovalnica Triglav  who offers different types of coverage for finances, car, home, travel, life and health.

Importance of Insurance

Slovenia’s beautiful outdoors can also cause health risks if you are not aware of the common causes. Regardless if you are taking a short jog in the woods or spending a night camping under the moon, there still environmental hazards such as mosquitoes, Lyme disease (causes rashes accompanies by fever), and TBE or tick-borne encephalitis carried by an insect called klop which burrows under the skin. Tap water in Slovenia is safe to drink, but if you are going on a hike, do not drink from the ponds and lakes especially during the summer season since it may case cholera or diarrhoea.

With proper awareness and adequate health care, you can lessen the chances of being seriously ill in Slovenia. You can maintain good health with the help of your medical coverage by getting vaccinated, going to regular check-ups and having your physician request daily vitamins that’ll boost your immune system. If ever things go south, and you need emergency service, having insurance is your first lifeline. You can rest assure that you will receive medical aid anytime, and anywhere you are.

Local Insurance in Slovenia

Being an EU country, you can expect that Slovenia’s medical service is almost the same with other European countries. All locals and expats who are residing or working in Slovenia are required to contribute to the compulsory health scheme where they will receive a free electronic medical card that they need to present to take advantage of the free and subsidised health care services. You will find dravstveni dom (health centres) and klinični (clinic) in almost every major cities which operates between 7 am to 7 pm. It is also very necessary for you to keep a list of all the emergency numbers in Slovenia that you will find handy during an urgent need: 144 for ambulance/rescue, 133 for police, 122 for the fire department and 140 for mountain rescue.

International insurance is still one of the most thought for option for expats in Slovenia. Compared to the local or public coverage, multinational companies can provide you health care anywhere you are in Slovenia or even if you are travelling. They also design their policies to meet the individual needs and lifestyle of every expat who are in a different country.