This page is built to live on your phone: take a screenshot, or save it to your bookmarks – and open it when something goes wrong. It holds the steps for the first half hour of an emergency abroad, in the order worth following. Read it once in a calm moment – in a real situation, it'll already feel familiar.
- Life-threatening emergency: call the local emergency number first (in the EU: 112) – then, as soon as you can, the insurer's assistance hotline.
- For everything else that goes wrong: your first call is the insurer's assistance hotline – it arranges, directs and pays.
- Always: document everything – photos, documents, invoices; and never sign anything you don't understand.
THE CARD – save it like this
① LIFE-THREATENING? → local emergency number: 112 (across the EU). Then the insurer's assistance hotline.
② EVERYTHING ELSE THAT GOES WRONG (illness, accident, theft, baggage, car) → the insurer's assistance hotline – you'll find it on your policy; call before you arrange anything yourself.
③ BEFORE YOU CALL, HAVE READY: policy number · name, date of birth · where you are (country, city, accommodation) · what happened, when · a number you can be called back on.
④ DOCUMENT EVERYTHING: photos of the scene/damage · every medical paper and invoice · official reports (police / airline PIR / resort staff).
⑤ DON'T: don't sign any statement in an unfamiliar language without an interpreter · don't admit liability · don't arrange high-cost treatment or travel home while bypassing the assistance hotline.
⑥ FOR THEFT, ALSO: block your bank card immediately · file a police report · for documents: the Hungarian Consular Service.
Why this order?
①–② give you the decision tree: in a life-threatening emergency, the fastest local help comes first – for everything else, it's the hotline, because it arranges things and pays on the insurer's behalf (why). ③ speeds up the call: prepared, a single call is enough. ④ is the basis of your claim (documents article). ⑤ protects against the typical mistakes that can't be undone afterwards. ⑥ is the condensed version of the theft scenario.
Make it personal before you leave
The card really comes alive once you fill in your own details – write in your phone's notes app: the insurer's name and assistance hotline number · your policy number · your EHIC number · your bank's card-blocking number · your accommodation address. Those five lines are worth their weight in gold when something goes wrong – and points 6–7 of the pre-trip checklist ask you to prepare exactly this.
For your travel companions too
Share the card with your travel companions – often, in an emergency, it's not the person affected who takes action, but whoever is standing next to them. On a family trip, older children should also understand: who we call, where the policy is. In a group, every chaperone should have it (school trip article). A printed version tucked in an inner suitcase pocket earns its keep too – it works without power or signal.
Frequently asked questions on this topic
Why shouldn't I call my family first?
Call them too – just second. The first call goes to the hotline because that's where the organising starts: a care provider, a payment pledge to the hospital, an interpreter. Your family's support is irreplaceable – but when it comes to organising hospital care, the assistance service is the professional.
What if I have no signal or internet access?
Your accommodation's reception desk, a restaurant, the resort staff's phone – the hotline can be called from anywhere. The printed card (policy number + numbers) is your backup for exactly this kind of situation: it works without power.
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