Travel insurance for Russia that consulates actually accept

Here's the trap: your "worldwide" travel policy probably doesn't cover Russia. Allianz, AXA, Zurich, AIG, IATI, Heymondo and most other big Western insurers carry sanctions clauses that quietly exclude Russia — the cover page says worldwide, the fine print says not here. Show one of these at the consulate and the application gets rejected. Fly with one anyway and you're uninsured on the ground, which in Russia means paying a private hospital bill in full, in cash, on the spot.

What's actually required, by route

"Recommended" for visa-free entrants is doing real work here: Russia has no reciprocal healthcare agreement with the West, and a hospital stay without a compliant policy is billed directly to you.

The two insurers that work

Two Russian insurers are built for exactly this problem: Solidarity (Солидарность) and Ingosstrakh. Both are buyable online in English with a foreign card, both cover €30-35k, and both are consulate-accepted — no exclusion clause to trip over, because Russia is the market they were built for. Ingosstrakh bills hospitals directly, so you're not fronting cash and filing for reimbursement later. A 10-day policy runs roughly $15-30, about $1.1-2 a day.

If you want Western-style claims handling and stronger evacuation coverage instead, SafetyWing Nomad and World Nomads both cover Russia — confirm the underwriter at the point of purchase, since terms shift. Expect $50-110 for the same 10 days.

What trips people up

• Renewing an existing "worldwide" policy and assuming it still covers Russia — check for the word "Russia" by name, not the word "worldwide."
• Skipping insurance on an e-visa because nobody mentioned it — it's a mandatory kdmid requirement, same as the consulate route.
• Treating visa-free entry as insurance-optional — it's recommended for everyone and mandatory for some nationalities.