School insurance is used by about 80 percent of Polish students, according to industry estimates. Group policies are cheaper, but so are the compensations, which is why some parents prefer to look for individual protection. Is school insurance mandatory? What should you look for when buying a policy? And can you insure yourself twice – both at school and independently?
The beginning of September, the return to school, the teacher announces: “We'll bring money for insurance tomorrow”. It's usually a one-time and not very high fee – about PLN 100 – so among all the September expenses, some parents accept it without much thought. However, it is worth considering whether it will be more beneficial to take advantage of the offer proposed by the school or to look for an individual policy. Both solutions have their advantages and disadvantages.
According to estimates by the Polish Insurance Association (PIU), about 80 percent of Polish children benefit from the so-called school insurance. (all facilities, i.e. schools, but also nurseries and kindergartens). The Financial Ombudsman's Office states that these are the most common personal insurances in Poland.
– I insure my car out of habit, because our parents used to insure us, too – says Kaja, the mother of a fourth-grader.
However, it is worth remembering that so-called school insurance is not obligatory.
– In Poland, there is no obligation imposed by law on parents or educational institutions to insure children and school youth against the consequences of accidents (NNW) or other events – we learn from the Financial Ombudsman's office. – The only exception here is the organization of a trip or event abroad, where the school is obliged to insure participants against the consequences of accidents and the costs of treatment abroad.
At school or individually
Why is it worth considering anyway? Because school insurance is commonly concluded and in the form of a group, it is simply cheaper than in the case of individual contracts. The premium is average and rather low, and the form of concluding the contract is convenient for parents.
But there are also disadvantages. – Group insurance, most often offered in schools, has a smaller scope and lower insurance amounts. These are more standardized products – explains Agnieszka Durska, spokeswoman for the Polish Insurance Chamber.
That is why parents sometimes prefer to look for insurance on the free market. The advantages of an individual policy include the ability to choose a personalized offer (additional options, higher insurance amounts, extending the scope of protection, e.g. for competitive sports), the ability to compare several offers or obtain more comprehensive information about the policy.
Both solutions can also be combined. – Some parents buy insurance at school and then buy individual insurance, especially when they sign their child up for extracurricular activities at sports clubs – says Durska. – You can have several NNW policies, and the payments from them are added together. Comprehensive protection provided by an individual policy costs around PLN 15-20 per month – this includes the insurance sum of up to PLN 100,000 and many additional options.
Cost? Depends on the package
In practice, school policies are still very popular. – They are bought by parents of both the youngest children, nursery, kindergarten, and school, high school children – Durska lists. – It is also a product that students are eager to buy.
Parents emphasize that they are primarily concerned with a sense of security. – Especially since these amounts are small. I buy them every year, just in case – says Ewelina, a mother of two daughters.
– It's useful! Every infectious season, my little ones end up in hospital, and the insurance company pays compensation for hospitalization. Fortunately, we didn't have to use the insurance for other reasons – adds Paulina, mother of a two- and four-year-old.
How much does it cost? – In the kindergarten we got 4 packages to choose from between 90 and 230 PLN, they differ in scope and amount of compensation paid. I don't know the offer from the nursery yet, but last year there were packages between 60 and 100 PLN – explains Paulina.
Other options
Kaja insured the child individually, in her bank. – It's not a lot of money, for us it's probably 105 PLN per year. And you never know if it might come in handy.
It has come in handy twice so far – when a child broke their arm and when a cut under the lip had to be stitched. – Each time we received PLN 500 and PLN 200 in a voucher to a chain of bookstores. If there were any additional costs related to the treatment, for example private doctor's visits, they also cover them – lists Kaja.
In practice, school policies are still very popular.Chinnapong/Shutterstock
– For several years now, we have been observing that more and more parents are using individual insurance – says Agnieszka Durska from PIU. – They want to match the insurance to the child's needs, insure it for a higher sum. Parents are aware that school insurance is a very comprehensive protection for children, not only against the consequences of accidents, but also help in many other matters.
What additional options are available? – They concern, for example, a child's stay in hospital, reimbursement of school trip costs, reimbursement of medication costs, tutoring if the child is ill for a long time, third party liability insurance in private life, psychological assistance, legal, technical and psychological assistance if the child experiences hate on the Internet, a tick bite, competitive sports, assistance.
What to pay attention to?
What should we consider when buying insurance for a child? We ask about this at the Financial Ombudsman's office.
– First of all, when choosing personal accident insurance we should pay attention to the insurance amount. It is important to remember that the insurance amount is important due to the amount of the potential benefit. For example, if we insure a child for PLN 50,000, it does not mean that the insurer will pay such a benefit after every accident. The insurance amount is only the maximum payment (e.g. in the event of death), and if only health damage occurs, we will only receive a certain percentage of the insurance amount. For example, if after a broken leg the doctor determines a 3% health damage, then with an insurance amount of PLN 50,000, we will receive PLN 1,500.
In addition, when comparing insurers' offers, you should also pay attention to the insurance sum. other elements of the school insurance packagewhich determine the scope of real child protection, such as:
– one-off benefits for events not resulting in damage to health (sprains, dislocations or bruises of arms or legs, dog bites or insect or tick bites), – scope and amount of reimbursement of medical treatment costs after an accident, – possible rehabilitation costs after an accident, – benefits in the event of sudden or serious illnesses, – other additional assistance benefits, e.g. assistance in the event of online hate.
When choosing a policy, it is also worth paying attention to: disclaimers insurers used in contracts. For example, insurers often exclude their liability for events during extreme sports and competitive, professional sports. For example, if our child receives a sports scholarship, the consequences of accidents related to the sports they practice will not be covered by the school insurance policy. In such a case, you must additionally insure the child individually or as a group through a sports club, where competitive or professional sports will be additionally insured.
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