Travel Insurance for Foreigners in Ukraine: Does It Cover War Risks?

02.10.2026, 11:36 visitukraine.today

Does Travel Insurance Cover War Risks in Ukraine? What foreigners need to know about medical insurance, exclusions and policy terms

Standard travel insurance in Ukraine does not always cover injuries and medical expenses related to the war. Before travelling, foreigners should check the exclusions in their insurance contract and find out whether the policy provides separate coverage for war risks.

For a foreign tourist, insurance may be necessary not only in the event of illness or an everyday accident. During martial law in Ukraine, travellers must also take into account air attacks, explosions, falling debris, damage to civilian infrastructure and the possible need for evacuation.

Read also: How to Spend Winter 2026–2027 in Ukraine

The Ukrainian Carpathians have tourism infrastructure comparable to resorts in Poland and Slovakia and are located far from the frontline. Nevertheless, the number of foreign tourists at Ukrainian resorts remains low. One reason is that insurance companies often do not cover war risks, while travellers are reluctant to visit a country where they cannot determine in advance whether their medical treatment would be covered in an emergency.

This was reported in an interview with Dilo by Taras Lozynskyi, First Deputy Head of the State Agency for Tourism Development. According to him, before the war, Polish tourists travelled to Truskavets and Skhidnytsia for health and wellness holidays. They still visit these destinations, but in smaller numbers. Ukrainian ski resorts also receive tourists from Romania and Moldova, although their share remains small. The State Agency for Tourism Development identifies the issue of war-risk insurance as one of the reasons for the decline in visitor numbers.

For a foreign traveller, this means that choosing a destination depends not only on the price, hotel quality or distance from the frontline. It is also important to understand what type of protection will apply in Ukraine and under what circumstances an insurer may refuse to pay a claim.

Planning a trip to Ukraine? Get travel insurance with war-risk coverage from Visit Ukraine and check the policy terms before departure.

Having a medical insurance policy is not a general mandatory requirement for foreign citizens crossing the Ukrainian border. Nevertheless, Ukrainian tour operators recommend that foreigners arrange insurance before travelling, as medical treatment, hospitalisation, medical transportation or evacuation may involve significant expenses.

The State Agency for Tourism Development contacted the National Bank of Ukraine to obtain information about insurance companies that can insure the lives and health of foreigners in Ukraine. The NBU is the regulator responsible for issuing licences to insurers.

According to the NBU, insurers’ reporting does not contain a separate category specifically for foreign tourists. Companies operate under insurance classes, including accident, injury and occupational disease insurance, medical insurance and insurance in case of illness. If an insurer holds a licence for the relevant class, it may insure life and health, including the life and health of foreign citizens.

Insurance companies must publish up-to-date information on their websites about the services they provide, including insurance for tourists from abroad. The NBU does not maintain a separate register of companies that insure foreigners specifically, but it publishes a list of insurers holding the relevant licences. You can view it in the NBU spreadsheet.

Therefore, it is important not to look only for a special “insurance for foreigners” label. Instead, check the insurer’s licence, the policy’s territorial scope, the list of insured events and the procedure for requesting assistance.

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What Does a Standard Policy Cover?

Standard travel insurance is generally designed to cover common events that may occur during a trip. Depending on the contract, it may cover sudden illness, an everyday accident, a doctor’s consultation, emergency assistance, outpatient treatment, hospitalisation or prescribed medication.

However, most basic travel insurance products contain exclusions related to war. The contract may exclude military action, armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, civil unrest, missile strikes, explosions, shelling and their consequences.

This means that a standard policy may cover treatment after an everyday accident at a hotel but exclude an injury caused by a blast wave or falling debris after an attack. Similarly, an insurer may refuse to cover hospitalisation if the injury was caused by an event expressly listed among the policy exclusions.

Pay particular attention to general wording excluding losses connected with “war”, “military action” or “extraordinary events”. Look for references to war, hostilities, civil unrest, terrorism, foreign enemies, invasion, and nuclear, biological or chemical events.

It is important to understand whether the exclusion applies to all consequences of an attack or only to participation in hostilities. Read the policy carefully to determine whether it provides full coverage or only coverage for passive risks.

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A passive war risk refers to protection for a civilian who is injured not because they took part in hostilities, but because of an event connected with the war. Depending on the contract, it may cover injuries caused by explosions, shelling or falling debris, emergency treatment, hospitalisation and evacuation from an affected area. At the same time, this type of coverage generally does not apply to active participation in hostilities, service in the armed forces, work as a military contractor or deliberate travel to areas of active hostilities against official recommendations. Before travelling, carefully check which events and exclusions are specified in your contract.

Insurance with war-risk coverage is designed for travel to countries or regions where additional security risks exist. It may combine standard medical insurance with compensation or assistance following events connected with war.

Depending on the contract, this coverage may include injuries caused by blast waves, falling debris, fires following an attack, damage to civilian infrastructure, missile strikes or drone attacks. Such events are often referred to as passive war risks because the insured person did not participate in hostilities but was affected as a civilian tourist.

A special policy may also provide emergency treatment, hospitalisation, medical transportation, evacuation or repatriation. However, the scope of coverage depends on the insurer, so it should not be assumed that every policy described as providing “war-risk coverage” has the same terms.

For a foreign tourist, it is important that the contract clearly states which events qualify as insured events. The general name of the product is not enough: read the coverage description and exclusions carefully.

Before purchasing insurance, check:

Check territorial exclusions separately. Some special policies do not apply in temporarily occupied territories, areas of active hostilities or locations where access is restricted by government decisions. Restrictions may also apply to military personnel, journalists, volunteers and others travelling to Ukraine for purposes other than ordinary tourism.

If you are planning to spend your entire trip in the Carpathians, mention this when choosing insurance. If your itinerary includes Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro or other cities with different levels of risk, make sure that all of them are included in the policy’s territorial coverage.

Do not wait until you reach the border to check your policy. Some contracts only become effective after payment and issuance of the insurance certificate. Certain risks may also be subject to additional conditions or a waiting period.

Travelling to Ukraine? Get travel insurance with war-risk coverage from Visit Ukraine and make sure it matches your itinerary.

An insurance policy may not apply if you travel against the official advice of your government. Policy terms may include wording such as government advice, advise against all travel, all but essential travel or “areas against government advice”. Before travelling, open the latest notice issued by the relevant foreign ministry and check the risk level for every destination on your itinerary.

Pay particular attention to whether the insurer considers the advice in force on the date the policy was purchased, the date the trip begins or throughout the entire stay. For example, the FCDO expressly warns that travel insurance may become invalid if a person travels against its advice, while the governments of Australia and Canada advise against travelling to Ukraine because of war-related risks.

The final answer depends on your own contract. It should state whether coverage is automatically cancelled, which territories are affected and which date must be used to verify the government travel advice.

Save an electronic copy of your policy on your phone and keep an offline version of the document. Write down the assistance service telephone number, as access to email may be limited during power outages or mobile internet disruptions.

In the event of illness or injury, first contact the emergency services on 112 or 103 if the situation requires urgent assistance. Then notify the assistance service according to the procedure set out in your contract.

Not all hospitals accept payment by foreign cards, so check in advance whether the insurer pays the medical facility directly. If you need to pay for services yourself, keep the medical report, invoices, receipts, prescriptions and confirmation that you contacted the insurance company.

During an air raid alert, follow the instructions of medical staff. Hospital operations may chang