If you've searched the internet for health insurance that covers expats in Azerbaijan then you are most likely for looking for established UK based health insurance companies that can cover your medical costs in Azerbaijan.
Living as an expatriate in Azerbaijan you want to avoid any unwanted and unexpected medical costs. In some countries these can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds for serious conditions.
Our advice when shopping around for private medical insurance that covers expatriates living in Azerbaijan is to speak to a health insurance broker. Health insurance is very complicated and if you want absolute certainty that Azerbaijan is covered you should consult with a health insurance broker who can explain which providers will cover medical costs for expatriates in Azerbaijan and which will exclude it.
There are many advantages to using a broker but the largest 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 brokering services.
- Do you live in many different postcodes? Some will give you a cheaper 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 vital information.
- If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your 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 medical condition and want to know which policy provider 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 Azerbaijan, 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 much quicker to speak to one medical insurance broker which will know which providers on the market offer cover for expats in Azerbaijan and under what terms they do or don't cover it.
Azerbaijan Information
Tourism in Azerbaijan has been an important sector of the Azerbaijani economy since the 1990s. According to Azerbaijan's Center for Economic and Social Development, the country is in 39th place among 148 countries in tourism competitiveness indicators. The World Travel and Tourism Council reported that Azerbaijan is among the top ten countries with the greatest increase in visitor exports from 2010 to 2016. The country had the world's fastest-developing travel and tourism economy (a 46.1% increase) in 2017. To promote tourism, Azerbaijan sponsored Atlético Madrid jerseys reading "Azerbaijan – Land of Fire". In 2018, a new tourism brand and a slogan "take another look" were introduced.
Tourist visas can be obtained from an Azerbaijani embassy or electronically online without an embassy visit. In 2016, a tax-free shopping system was introduced to attract foreign shoppers. Purchases must be made up to 90 days before export to be eligible for the tax refund.
In January 2017, Azerbaijan introduced its electronic visa for a single-entry visit of up to 30 days. The e-visa is available to tourists from 93 countries, who can apply on the e-visa website. A visa is not required for citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States (except Turkmenistan and Armenia) who intend to visit Azerbaijan within 90 days.
Over 1.4 million tourists visited Azerbaijan in 2008. In 2017, a record-high number of 2,691,998 foreign citizens visited Azerbaijan. Visitors to the country in 2017 came from the following countries:
Most of the visitors were from Europe, Asia, and North America. There were 1,818,258 foreigners in Azerbaijan in 2017. The overwhelming majority were citizens of the Russian Federation, Georgia, Iran, Turkey and UAE. “Azerbaijan expects a massive flow of tourists from the Arab countries, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, much less will come from Ukraine and Belarus, and only a small flow from European states.
Azerbaijan began tourism-development planning for 2002–2005 and 2010–2014. The programs compiled tourism statistics, particularly its effect on the GNP. The Ministry of Tourism made a development study from 2008 to 2016 to increase accommodations and attract foreigners.
In March 2018, Ministry of Culture tourism head Aydin Ismiyev expressed a desire to develop Halal tourism. The following month, the 17th international tourism and travel exhibition (AITF 2018) opened. Azerbaijan also provides culinary tourism.
In addition to the capital, Baku, Azerbaijan has a number of resort areas with varied climates and a variety of flora and fauna. Notable areas are the cities as Ganja, Nakhchivan, Gabala and Shaki Shaki is noted for its architectural heritage: the 1763 Palace of Shaki Khans, mausoleums and fortresses. Nakhchivan was a centre of traditional medicine and has salt mines and mausoleums. Lankaran, near the Caspian Sea, has a history dating back to the 10th century BC.
Baku has a number of historic and architectural monuments. The Old City is its ancient core. In December 2000, the Old City (including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower) was named Azerbaijan's first UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Walled City of Baku (Icheri Sheher) hosts over 50 historic and architectural monuments, including Synyg Gala (the Broken Tower). The Palace of the Shirvanshahs, built at the beginning of the 15th century, is a hallmark of Azerbaijani architecture. The complex contains the palace, the Shirvanshah's residence, a mosque with minarets, a bathhouse, and the residence of Seyid Yahya Bakuvi. Construction began in 1441 and was completed in 1558.
The Maiden Tower, in the south-western part of the walled city, was built in two stages. Its bottom part, 13.7 metres (45 ft) high, is dated by most experts to the 6th–7th centuries BC. The tower has a total height of 29.7 metres (97 ft), with a diameter of 16.5 metres (54 ft). The wall is 5 metres (16 ft) thick at the bottom, tapering to 4 metres (13 ft) at the top. The tower has of eight tiers and a 21-metre-deep (69 ft) well. It was built by 12th-century architect Masud ibn Davud, who was probably the father of the architect of the Mardakan Round Tower. Its foundation is believed to be a Sasanid-era Zoroastrian site.
The Ateshgah of Baku is a temple in the south-western Suraxanı raion on the Absheron Peninsula, 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Baku. West of the Caspian Sea, it was built by Hindu, Sikh and Parsi traders from the Indian subcontinent during the 17th and 18th centuries. Ateshgah is a fire temple, with its central stone shrine on a pocket of natural gas. The present structure was built around 1713, and the central shrine was funded by the merchant Kanchanagaran in 1810.