This information was rectified by the Government in decree 42517-MGP-S published this past week in the official newspaper La Gaceta.
The only condition requested by the Executive is that it (minimum) cover the costs of accommodation for 14 days and medical expenses that may be generated by the COVID-19 disease.
These hedges were calculated at $ 4,000 (¢ 2.4 million) and $ 20,000 (¢ 11.8 million), respectively.
According to the decree, in the event that the insurance with international coverage does not meet any of these requirements, the foreign visitor must purchase additional travel insurance offered by one of the insurers authorized by the Costa Rican General Superintendence of Insurance and duly registered by said authority.
It also entrusts the Costa Rican Tourism Institute in verifying compliance with the minimum requirements.
With this, the Executive amends the original decision of the Ministry of Health that favored the purchase of a policy only from the National Insurance Institute (INS) and that excluded other insurance companies operating in Costa Rica, or international alternatives, from the offer.
The INS policy was put on the market with a price range from $ 240 to $ 840 for a week of stay in Costa Rica, which caused protests from representatives of the tourism sector, considering the “disproportionate” rates. It also generated the claim of the country’s private insurers sector, arbitrarily leaving them out of the offer.
Added to this was the warning from the General Superintendence of Insurance (Sugese) about the possible breach of international treaties, as well as the departure from the recommendations on competition that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) makes.
