Travel insurance and assistance
A Schengen visa cannot be issued without travel assistance. Even where no consulate asks for it, a single day in a foreign hospital can cost more than the whole trip, and AMO pays almost nothing abroad.
Required for a Schengen visa
At a glance
- Who needs it
- Anyone applying for a Schengen visa, and anyone travelling outside Morocco
- What it pays
- Emergency medical costs abroad, medical repatriation, and repatriation of the body in case of death
- Typical cost
- From about 100 to 300 MAD for a short stay. About 450 to 900 MAD for a six-month or yearly contract
- Key deadline
- Call the assistance number before you pay for any care
- Where to get it
- Assistance companies, insurers, banks, travel agencies and online
When travel insurance is required
- Schengen visa. The certificate must show cover of at least 30,000 euros for emergency medical care, hospital treatment and repatriation for medical reasons or death. It must be valid in every Schengen country and for the whole stay.
- Other visas. Rules differ from one country to another. Some consulates ask for a certificate, and student or long-stay visas often require health cover for the entire stay. Read the consulate's list before you buy.
- No visa, or no requirement. Cover remains worth having. In North America, hospital bills run to thousands of euros a day.
- Organised trips and pilgrimages. Ask the travel agency which assistance contract is included in the package, and get the certificate and the emergency number before you leave.
Contracts sold by Moroccan assistance companies are designed for visa applications: the certificate is issued at once, in the form consulates expect.
What travel assistance covers
| Guarantee | What it usually includes |
|---|---|
| Medical costs abroad | Emergency care and hospital stays up to the ceiling of the contract, paid directly by the assistance company when you call it first |
| Medical repatriation | Transport to a suitable hospital or back to Morocco, when the company's doctors decide it is necessary |
| Death | Repatriation of the body to Morocco and the related formalities |
| Family | Early return if a close relative dies or is hospitalised. A relative's journey to your bedside if you stay in hospital |
| Legal help abroad | Lawyer's fees and an advance on bail after an accident |
| Luggage, delays, cancellation | Optional, or sold as a separate contract |
Travel assistance is not full health insurance. It deals with what is sudden and unforeseen. It normally excludes illnesses you already had, planned treatment, routine pregnancy care, and accidents in risky sports unless you add an option.
Ill or injured abroad: call before you pay
Cost
The price depends on the zone, the length of the stay and your age.
| Contract | Indicative price in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Short stay in the Schengen area, a few days to a month | About 100 to 300 MAD |
| Six-month or yearly contract, Europe, each stay limited to 90 days | About 450 to 650 MAD |
| Six-month or yearly contract, worldwide | About 700 to 900 MAD |
| Traveller over 70 | Around 20% more |
These figures come from price lists published by assistance companies. Check the current price for your age and destination.
Ask whether the premium is refunded if the visa is refused. Many contracts refund it on proof of the refusal.
Choosing and using it
- The zone covers every country on your route, stopovers included
- The dates cover the whole stay. For a multiple-entry visa, take a yearly contract
- The medical ceiling: 30,000 euros is the minimum for a visa, and it is low for North America
- The deductible per claim
- The age limit, and what the contract says about illnesses you already have
- Sports and activities you plan
- Whether you need luggage or cancellation cover
- The emergency number, and that it answers at any hour
If something happens abroad
- Unless a life is in danger, call the assistance number before you go to a hospital.
- Give your contract number and say where you are.
- Follow the company's instructions: it directs you to a hospital and guarantees payment.
- Keep every bill, prescription and medical report.
- Send your refund claim within the time set in the contract.
Assistance contracts in Morocco: car and medical
Assistance is also sold for use at home. These contracts provide a service that the company organises. They do not pay you cash.
- Car assistance. Towing after a breakdown or an accident, repair on the spot, onward travel or a hotel for the passengers, sometimes a replacement vehicle. It is usually added to the motor policy for a few hundred dirhams a year. Check from what distance from home it applies, how many call-outs are allowed each year and whether old vehicles are accepted.
- Medical assistance. An ambulance, transfer between two cities or two hospitals, and a doctor's visit at home. It is useful for families who live far from a large hospital.
- Funeral assistance. Transport of the body within Morocco and the related costs.
Moroccans living abroad have their own contracts, which bring the body home and help during holidays in Morocco: see repatriation and assistance contracts.
Questions
Do AMO or my complementary policy cover me abroad?
AMO pays abroad only for unforeseen emergencies, on the basis of Moroccan tariffs, which is a fraction of a foreign bill. Some complementary policies add cover abroad within a ceiling. Neither brings you home. For a trip, travel assistance does the job.
I have a multiple-entry visa valid for two years. What should I buy?
A yearly contract, renewed each year, that covers an unlimited number of trips with each stay limited to 90 days in a row.
I am over 70. Can I still be covered?
Yes, at a higher price. Some contracts stop at 75 or 80, so check the age limit before you pay.
I am pregnant, or I have a chronic illness. Am I covered?
A sudden emergency is normally covered. Routine pregnancy care, childbirth and the foreseeable consequences of an illness you already had usually are not. Ask for the exclusions in writing before you leave.
My flight was cancelled and I lost my hotel booking. Does travel assistance pay?
Not unless you bought cancellation cover. Assistance deals with medical emergencies. For the flight itself, claim from the airline.
Do visitors to Morocco need travel insurance?
It is not a general condition of entry, but private clinics ask for payment in advance. See foreign residents and visitors.