§ Health & insurance

Certificate of insurance

also called confirmation of cover · insurance certificate

The document that proves you are insured and states your policy number and cover dates, as opposed to the long policy wording that explains the terms.

Right, in plain English

The short document that proves you are insured, showing your policy number and cover dates, as opposed to the thick policy wording that explains all the terms. When a hospital, visa office or landlord asks for proof of cover, this one-pager is what they want. It has nothing to do with a certificate of tax residency, which proves where you pay tax, not that you hold insurance.

Someone's visa application asks for proof of health cover meeting a minimum amount, and they send the full policy booklet by mistake. It gets bounced because the reviewer wanted the certificate that states the cover figure plainly, and the required amount has to appear on it in black and white.

Why it matters

A hospital, a visa office or a landlord may ask for proof of cover, and this one-page certificate is what they want, not the full policy. Visa applications in particular often specify a minimum cover amount that must appear on it, so the wording has to match.

Not to be confused with

The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.

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