EKTA Schengen insurance review
Is EKTA a legitimate Schengen visa insurance provider? EKTA issues certificates that meet the Article 15 minimum and are accepted by Schengen consulates: its entry Start plan covers $50,000 (with a 25% deductible), well above the €30,000 floor. But every plan caps a single claim at $3,000 regardless of that headline number, and coverage drops sharply for travelers 60 and older. It's a smaller, budget-focused insurer than AXA or Europ Assistance, so check the fine print before buying.
EKTA consistently prices at or near the bottom of our comparison table. That's real, but the policy wording has caveats that don't show up in the headline coverage number, and here's what to weigh before choosing it purely on price.
What it actually is
EKTA is a budget-focused Schengen visa insurer offering a certificate that meets the Article 15 requirements, issued instantly by email after purchase. Its entry Start plan covers $50,000 with a 25% deductible; Gold ($150,000) and Max+ ($500,000) carry no deductible. It's a smaller operation than AXA, Europ Assistance or Heymondo, with fewer plan tiers and add-ons. Minimum insurable age is 2 months, so it also works for insuring an infant on the same trip. EKTA's underwriter, Auras Insurance LLC, also sells its own product under the AURAS brand at a flat $1.50/day; the two share one policy framework, so read our AURAS vs EKTA comparison and the AURAS review before choosing between them.
Source: EKTA's own Policy Wording of Voluntary Medical Expense Insurance for Travelers Outside Their Country of Permanent Residence, checked 2026-09-12.
Where it wins
Price. EKTA is consistently one of the lowest daily rates on our comparison table, and its sticker rate can change, so check the live price before you assume it is final.
Fast issuance. Like the other providers on this page, the certificate arrives by email within minutes of payment, so it works even on the day of your appointment.
Well above the legal minimum. Even the entry Start plan's $50,000 cover clears the €30,000 Article 15 floor with room to spare, and Schengen-wide validity plus repatriation are stated explicitly, satisfying the requirement the same as every other provider here.
Where it falls short
A nationality exclusion, and Russia and Belarus excluded as places of cover. Clause 7.6.16 of the Policy Wording lets the insurer return the premium minus 40% if the insured is a citizen of a "Sanctioned Country" or a jurisdiction it designates as high-risk, and clause 4.10.5 excludes the territories of Belarus and the Russian Federation. "Sanctioned Country" is not defined in the text, and we have not verified which nationalities EKTA accepts at checkout. Check the wording against your own passport before buying.
$3,000 cap per claim, no matter which plan. This is the detail the headline coverage figures hide: EKTA's Policy Wording sets a USD 3,000 per-occurrence sub-limit on every program, Start through Max+. A single hospitalization or medical event tops out at $3,000 in reimbursement; the $50,000/$150,000/$500,000 numbers describe the total ceiling across your whole trip, not what one claim actually pays. Of the other five providers on this site, only AURAS (which shares EKTA's underwriter) has a comparable $3,000 per-occurrence cap; AXA, Europ Assistance, Heymondo and SafetyWing publish no per-event cap that low relative to their headline coverage.
Not EU-regulated. EKTA is underwritten by Auras Insurance LLC, headquartered in the Comoros and regulated by the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority, not by EU financial regulators. The policy explicitly states EKTA does not voluntarily submit to EU regulatory oversight. Disputes are resolved through binding arbitration in Anjouan, and the policy includes a class-action waiver. If you value the protections of EU-regulated insurers like AXA or Europ Assistance, this is a materially different risk profile worth understanding before you buy.
25% deductible on the cheapest plan. The entry Start plan carries a 25% deductible: if you actually need to claim, you cover a quarter of the cost yourself. Gold and Max+ have no deductible but cost more per day. Of the other providers on this site's comparison table, only AURAS carries a deductible on its base plan (a flat $100 per claim, far smaller than a 25% share), so this is worth weighing against EKTA's lower sticker price.
Coverage drops sharply at age 60. Regardless of which plan you buy, EKTA's policy applies an age-based override table for travelers 60 and older that replaces the plan's headline limit entirely: for example a 65-70 year old is capped at $9,000 coverage with a 20% deductible, even on a Max+ policy nominally covering $500,000. The limit keeps shrinking and the deductible keeps rising in each higher age band. See our seniors' insurance guide before buying EKTA if you're over 60.
4-day waiting period if bought while already abroad. If you purchase EKTA while already outside your home country, coverage doesn't start until the 4th calendar day after purchase. This matters if you're buying last-minute while traveling, since the certificate will list a start date 4 days in the future, which could complicate a visa application made the same week.
Fewer plan tiers. EKTA doesn't offer the range of add-ons that larger insurers like AXA or Europ Assistance provide.
No Trustpilot track record. Unlike the other providers on this comparison (Heymondo and SafetyWing both hold a 4.3 "Excellent" rating, AXA 3.3, AURAS 3.2, Europ Assistance 1.3), EKTA has no rated Trustpilot profile at all, checked directly. That's not the same as bad reviews; there's simply no third-party customer-satisfaction signal to point to either way, which matters if you're weighing service track record alongside price.
Visa refusal refund is a paid add-on, not automatic. Unlike AXA and Europ Assistance, which refund the insurance premium on a documented visa refusal, under conditions, EKTA only offers this as a separately-purchased "Visa Cancellation" option, and even then it reimburses the visa application fee you paid the embassy, not your insurance premium, and requires an official embassy letter as proof.
Trustpilot presence checked directly on trustpilot.com, 2026-09-13.
Who it's actually for
Younger travelers on a tight budget. EKTA makes sense if your main priority is the lowest possible sticker price and you're confident you won't need to make a claim beyond the visa certificate itself. Most applicants never use the policy for anything more than that.
Not a good fit for older travelers. If you're 60 or older, EKTA's advertised plan limits (Start $50,000, Gold $150,000, Max+ $500,000) don't apply to you: a separate age-based table overrides them regardless of which program you bought, and it gets sharply worse with age:
| Age at time of travel | Cover limit | Deductible |
|---|---|---|
| 60–65 | $10,000 | 10% |
| 65–70 | $9,000 | 20% |
| 70–75 | $8,000 | 30% |
| 75–80 | $7,000 | 40% |
| 80–85 | $6,000 | 50% |
| 85–90 | $5,000 | 60% |
| 90–95 | $4,000 | 70% |
| 95–100 | $3,000 | 75% |
| Over 100 | $2,000 | 80% |
Source: EKTA policy wording (Auras Insurance LLC), clause 5.6 · Checked 2026-09-13
In practice, a 65-year-old buying EKTA Gold (advertised at $150,000 cover with no deductible) is actually capped at $9,000 with a 20% deductible once this table applies. That's a large enough gap from the advertised figure that it changes the decision, not just the fine print. If you're insuring anyone 60 or older, AXA or Europ Assistance are much safer picks.
General note: If certificate recognition, refund guarantees, EU regulatory oversight, or a larger insurer's track record matter to you, AXA or Europ Assistance are the safer picks over EKTA's lower price.
How we scored this: 2.6/5
We score every provider we review on the same five weighted criteria, built from the facts in our provider table — this isn't an average of customer reviews.
| Criterion | Weight | EKTA's score |
|---|---|---|
| Consulate/certificate trust | 30% | 2.5/5 |
| Coverage breadth & regulation | 25% | 2/5 |
| Price | 20% | 4/5 |
| Independent reputation (Trustpilot) | 15% | 2.5/5 |
| Refusal-refund protection | 10% | 2/5 |
EKTA has the cheapest entry price of the five providers this score was calibrated on (AURAS, added on 2026-10-02, prices at a similar level), which is the main thing pulling its score up. Pulling it down: the underwriter is a non-EU-regulated Comoros entity whose own policy wording explicitly disclaims EU consumer protection, every tier carries a $3,000 per-occurrence sublimit regardless of the headline coverage figure, the "visa cancellation" benefit is a paid add-on that reimburses only the embassy fee (not the premium, unlike AXA or Europ Assistance), and there's no Trustpilot profile at all to check independently — the 2.5/5 reputation score is a neutral placeholder for that absence, not a rating.
Scoring methodology, weights and every provider's score: Policy/providers.json (internal). Computed 2026-09-21 from the facts and sources cited above.
Bottom line
EKTA meets the legal requirement at one of the lowest prices available, but the $3,000 per-claim cap, the steep age-60+ coverage cliff, and the paid (not automatic) visa-refusal add-on mean the headline coverage number overstates what you'd actually get back in a claim. It suits budget-first applicants confident they won't need to claim more than the certificate itself, over risk-averse travelers or anyone 60+. Check the full comparison table and current reviews before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
Is EKTA a legitimate Schengen visa insurance provider?
Is EKTA the cheapest Schengen visa insurance?
Does EKTA offer a refund if my visa is refused?
Does EKTA's coverage limit apply per claim or for the whole trip?
Does EKTA's coverage limit change for older travelers?
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