impeymac

Just taken out cover with Beema for Mrs IM & myself, flying to Qatar soon.

It was a bit strange during the registration process:

• Required a mobile number, but wouldn't accept my UK mobile. Would only accept an 8 digit number beginning with 3,5,6 or 7. Suspect that's a Qatari number, I just made something up. When through to the registration of travelers I was able to enter my correct UK mobile number
• When entering my home address I was required to provide a P.O. Box number. Given my home address was there in full, again I just made something up

To be fair it was generally straight forward, & cost was around £15 for two persons, for a week in Qatar. Irritating given there was no charge previously, but cheaper than the £25pp entry it used to be. The insurance certificate was emailed immediately & seems to display all the relevant details.

nilsfr69

just accept any standard int. travel insurance as any other civilised countries in the world have done for ages... (most of us have them anyway)
why invent the wheel all over again (as happened in so many SEA countries during covid 19 times)

N1Rotate

Agree fully, I can imagine the confusion of AXA UK vs AXA Gulf which was acquired by GIG, for both passengers and the check in agents.

I hope they improve the process soon!

tonymc

According to the HfP article yesterday (3rd Feb) "The situation has now taken a rather silly turn. As of 1st February, anyone entering Qatar (transit passengers are excluded) is required to have travel insurance issued by a company based in Qatar.". I haven't seen anything since then to contradict this article.

lost_in_translation

What's hilarous is I'm just booking a QR flight to DOH currently and I'm being strongly encouraged to add AIG Travel Guard insurance to my booking for £46 which reassuringly has 'Covid-19 coverage included', which I could do to then arrive in DOH and find out that I still need to buy another insurance policy!

FlyingScientist

In fact, it has a much better coverage...

Ben_W

I think adding the charges onto a hotel stay wouldn't affect the majority of visitors who use the health services.

I think as mentioned earlier on, the vast majority of travelers who use the free public health services are those who come on a family tourist visa, and stay in the country for many months. Many residents see Qatar as their home, those from Asian and other Middle Eastern countries. They often have relatives come and stay with them for long periods of time (not in hotels). Many of these are elderly.

I still agree that there's probably a better way of doing this.

IAN-UK

Yet it's pretty obvious the state wishes to avoid targeting the visitors who most use the health services. There are compelling political, social and labour-related reasons for that approach. If the will were there, it would be a simple matter to add a health levy to certain categories of visas - in the way other states, including the UK, target longer stay visitors.

Instead the Qatari government has opted to spread the load as widely as possible. I've no argument with that approach, but its implementation is odd. The state has passed the buck to insurance companies.

I've no idea how willingly those companies have accepted the risk at the mandated premiums, but the involvement of commercial third-parties adds inefficiencies as well as creating a significant administrative burden for visitors. That burden impacts the economy by discouraging tourism.

It would be simpler for the state to raise compensatory revenue for the costs of supplying emergency health services to visitors by a form of direct taxation on those visitors. A single levy on entry collected through air tickets, or a daily tax on accommodation would achieve this end. A great advantage of such an approach would be to remove the administrative burden on visitors, and avoid creating a disincentive to tourism.

But, yes, a hotel tax would remove as contributors many of those benefitting from health services, that might not be a concern to the state



I note that the blurb from the MOPH covers emergency services. I can see arguments brewing between insurance companies and policy-holders over exactly what can be covered as emergency treatment. They'll want to nip health tourism in the bud,

u01sss3

I booked a 25 hour layover in Doha just to see it on a long haul trip. Wouldn't have bothered with the hotel, transport, meals and costs of sightseeing if I'd know this was going to be brought in.
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jason013

That's annoying. Flying on Saturday and will have an 9 hour layover in Doha, planning to do the 3 hour transit tour, and looking at the information it seems like I'd still be required to purchase insurance...

speedbuslhr

Hi all,

I am connecting next week on 2 separate tickets. The plan is to land on one flight and I will have to collect bags, land myself and check in for the next flight immediately. No plan to enter Doha. Will they let me do this without the insurance?

plunet

You probably need the insurance unless you can talk you way out of it at check-in and/or immigration.

Which carriers are you flying with? Could the transit desk be your saviour and check you in for the subsequent flight and redirect your bags?

Schwann

I suspect if the connection is QR to QR (and maybe QR to another OW airline) they'll waive the insurance requirement, much like they did when the Hayya card thing was around.

speedbuslhr

BA onto Qatar so hopefully that will sway them

plunet

BA definitely will NOT check you through, but the transit desk in Doha will almost certainly be able to redirect your baggage for you onto QR without needing to go landside, and check you in for your onwards journey. Hopefully you can get to the desk before your luggage gets onto the belt but even then I understand a baggage agent will go looking for your bags and put them back into the baggage system.

In this case I would say you don't need to buy the insurance, and definitely not in advance. If the worst comes to the worst you can buy online as you are heading for immigration if the transit desk fails you in some way.

If you have a similar return journey QR will check through to BA.

Have a good journey, you'll enjoy QR more than BA!