International Student Medical Insurance Basic Coverage
For students traveling abroad for studies, the costs of medical treatment can be brutal. Students traveling to the United States, in particular, might be shocked at the cost of uninsured medical care. For these students studying outside their home country, international student insurance offers several plans, which offer basic medical benefits.
Having proof of insurance is a prerequisite for enrollment in most U.S. colleges and universities. For international students (F1 visas) and their dependents (F2 visas), low-cost international student health insurance plans with a range of deductibles are available. The plans are also valid for students who have enrolled in study abroad programs in countries other than the United States.
From a list of benefits and plans, you can choose the one that works best for you. You can choose deductibles from a range of $0 to $2500, and choose to be covered for a period as short as five days and as long as three years. Most plans allow you to renew the plan as long as you are a student.
Dependents can also be insured along with the student. International student health insurance plans generally provide basic coverage such as doctor visits, hospital admission, prescription drugs, and emergency medical evacuation. Unlike visitor plans, most international student insurance plans cover previously existing conditions and pregnancy.
Selecting an insurance plan can be confusing for you, and to help you along, agencies which administers international student insurance plans, provides a Compare option. With this, you can view the relative merits and demerits of different plans at a glance.
Also, if a student sends the company a list of university requirements, insurance companies suggests cost-effective plans that offer the required coverage. These plans can also be less expensive than university health plans. In some of the plans, students can also purchase additional coverage for hazardous sports, on payment of an additional premium.
To better facilitate the process, the plan can be purchased by the method that suits the applicant best – online, fax, or mail. Payment can be made using money orders, checks, credit cards, or wire transfer. For cash-strapped international students, the cashless or direct claims settlement options of international student health insurance plans are a big plus.
The underwriters for these international student health insurance plans are established companies Nationwide, AIG, and Lloyd’s, to name a few. These companies are rated highly by A.M. Best Company, which is widely regarded as the company that rates insurance companies most accurately.