If you've searched Google for private health insurance that covers expats in Afghanistan then you are most likely for looking for trusted UK based health insurance companies that will cover your medical expenses in Afghanistan.
Living as an expatriate in Afghanistan you want to avoid any nasty unexpected medical costs. In some countries these can amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds for serious conditions.
Our advice when shopping around for private medical cover that covers expatriates living in Afghanistan is to speak to a health insurance broker. Health insurance is extremely complex and if you want absolute certainty that Afghanistan is covered you should consult with a broker who can explain which policy providers will cover medical expenses for expatriates in Afghanistan and which will not.
There are many advantages to using a insurance broker but the biggest by far is that you're using their expertise at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than by you so it costs you no extra to use their services.
- Do you reside in many different postcodes? Some will give you a cheaper policy premium than offers. A broker will be able to advise whats best.
- Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance policy? A broker will know this critical information.
- If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your insurance policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different insurance policies?
- You've lean't you're at risk of developing a certain condition and want to know which insurer offers the largest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you huge amounts of time and effort.
You can call around every medical insurance provider you can find and ask if they provider cover for expats in Afghanistan, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.
Its far far quicker to speak to one health insurance broker which will know which policy providers on the market offer cover for expats in Afghanistan and under what conditions they do or don't cover it.
Afghanistan Information
Tourism in Afghanistan had revived to approximately 20,000 visitors annually by 2016 despite decades of war. Prior to the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghan embassies issued between 15,000 and 20,000 tourist visas annually.
Afghanistan has four international airports, which include the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul; the Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airport in Mazar-i-Sharif; the Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar; and Khwaja Abdullah Ansari International Airport in Herat. It also has a number of regional airports, such as Bamyan Airport, Bost Airport, Farah Airport, Fayzabad Airport, Ghazni Airport, Jalalabad Airport, Maymana Airport, Khost Airport, and Kunduz Airport.
The Band-e Amir National Park is located in the Bamyan Province of Afghanistan. There are several modern hotels in Bamyan, which is the capital of the province. The site of Buddhas of Bamyan is also located in this province. Some people visit Bamyan in the winter for skiing trips.
Tourists can visit many parks and other places in Kabul. The Ghazi Stadium often hosts football matches. Next to the stadium is an indoor skating ground called Skateistan. There are two bowling alleys, one is named Bravo Bowling and Cafe while the other is named Striker Bowling. There are also two indoor water parks, and several snooker and billiards clubs in different parts of the city.
The Abdul Rahman Mosque, which was completed in late 2009 and officially inaugurated in July 2012, is one of the largest mosques in Kabul. It is adjacent to the Zarnegar Park in the Wazir Akbar Khan section of the city, not far from the Serena Hotel.
The Gardens of Babur is a historic park in Kabul. It is the resting-place of the first Mughal emperor Babur. The gardens are thought to have been developed around 1528 AD (935 AH) when Babur gave orders for the construction of an avenue garden in Kabul, described in some detail in his memoirs, the Baburnama. Lonely Planet describes the park as "the loveliest spot in Kabul".
The Darul Aman Palace sits directly across from the Afghan Parliament in the southeastern section of the city. As of 2019, the palace is still under renovation. Tourists may visit the inside of the palace once the renovation is fully completed.
Habibullah Zazai Park is the largest amusement park located in and around the Ahmad Shah Baba Mena, which is in the far eastern part of Kabul. The park sits on a hillside and provides large walking space with great views of the city. Another such park is called the City Park, which is much smaller.
Kabul Zoo has around 280 animals, which includes 45 species of birds and mammals and 36 species of fish. Among the animals there are two lions and a khanzir (pig), which is extremely rare in Afghanistan. As many as 5,000 people visit the zoo during the weekends.
The National Museum of Afghanistan sits next to the Darul Aman Palace in the southeastern section of the city. The museum's collection had earlier been one of the most important in Central Asia, with over 100,000 items dating back several millennia. With the start of the civil war in 1992, the museum was looted numerous times resulting in a loss of 70% of the 100,000 objects on display. Since 2007, a number of international organizations have helped to recover over 8,000 artifacts, the most recent being a limestone sculpture from Germany. Approximately 843 artifacts were returned by the United Kingdom in 2012, including the famous 1st Century Bagram Ivories.