What repatriation cover actually means
On Sanitas Residents Visado, repatriation means the transfer of the insured’s remains to their country of origin in the event of death, together with an escort’s travel. It is not medical evacuation, and it is not the same as emergency assistance abroad. Those three get confused constantly, and they matter at very different moments.
What is included
Transfer of the insured’s remains to the country of origin, following death, and the travel of an escort accompanying them.
Funeral and burial expenses are expressly not covered. The cover moves a person home; it does not pay for what happens after that.
The clause carries its own conditions and sub-limits, which are set out in the policy documents issued with your own policy. If this cover is one of the reasons you are arranging insurance, ask us and we will go through that clause with you before you commit.
One word, three different covers
People arrive expecting one of these and find another. Set side by side, the difference is immediate:
| When it applies | What it does | On these policies | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repatriation of remains | After a death | Moves the insured’s remains to the country of origin, with an escort’s travel | Included — this is the repatriation cover |
| Medical evacuation | While you are alive and ill | Moves you to another country for treatment | Not what the repatriation clause provides |
| Emergency assistance abroad | On a trip outside Spain | Covers emergency treatment while travelling, within its own limits | A separate cover with its own rules — not a repatriation limit |
If it is medical evacuation you actually want, say so before you arrange anything. It is a straightforward conversation to have early, and an expensive assumption to carry into a policy.
Emergency assistance abroad, briefly
Because it is easily mistaken for repatriation, three things are worth knowing about how it works:
- Prior authorisation is required, except in a life-threatening emergency.
- Conditions you already knew about before the trip began are excluded. It is trip cover, not a way to arrange planned treatment abroad.
- It has its own maximum trip length and its own annual ceiling per insured person, both set in the policy documents issued with your policy.
It is shaped around trips. Repatriation is not shaped around anything you plan.
Being moved into the network is a fourth thing again
If a life-threatening emergency is treated at a hospital outside the Sanitas contracted network, Sanitas must be told as soon as possible so that it can transfer you into a network centre once your condition allows.
That is a move within Spain, into the Sanitas network. It is not evacuation to another country and it is not the repatriation cover. It is worth knowing now rather than discovering it in an emergency — how care is arranged covers the rest of that process.
Residents and Platinum
Sanitas Residents Visado
Repatriation of the insured’s remains to the country of origin on death, with an escort’s travel. Funeral and burial expenses are not covered.
Sanitas Residents Platinum Visado
Repatriation with an accompanying traveller’s ticket is listed among the covered services. Confirm the exact scope against the documents issued with your own policy — two clauses that share a name do not necessarily match.
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Check the cover on your own policy
Tell us the dates of birth and the start date you have in mind. An adviser will confirm which Sanitas visa policies are open to each person and go through what the documents say, subject to eligibility and underwriting.
Rather ask a question first? Contact an adviser.