Welcome to the International Student Insurance Blog, providing you with news and information about international student insurance, international travel help and advice and much more!
Insurance can be quite a tricky subject especially when you are dealing with multiple countries. It is common for overseas travelers to find a travel insurance that will cover you outside your home country- but what about when you return home?
With the vast number of international insurance plans, you need to choose a plan that provides the appropriate coverage- whether internationally or back home. If you do not have a domestic plan already in place, you will want to consider a plan with end of trip home country coverage. This is normally an optional benefit that provides additional coverage in your home country.
This option is especially important since the first thing you will want to do when you return home will NOT be to look for insurance! Remember that great restaurant you regularly went to up the road? Or, that friend you haven’t seen in what feels like ages? Whether you spend the time at home recovering from jet lag, or just taking in the moment where you understand everything that is going on around you- you will also want to have the piece of mind that you are covered for the unexpected.
There are some international travel plans that will allow you to add end of trip home country coverage for a limited number of days. Some plans require that you’ve purchased a minimum number of months abroad to make you eligible for the end of trip home country coverage benefit. Other plans will cover you up until a certain number of days after returning home. This coverage is important so that you will have enough time to take-it-easy and find a long-term solution.
One popular option is the Travel Medical insurance plan. This plan has the option to add end of trip home country coverage. If you are covered outside of your Home Country continuously for at least 6 months you can add an additional 30 days of End of Trip Home Country Medical Coverage.
Health insurance is not only a smart idea for international students to have but it can protect you from financial burden if an unexpected illness/injury should happen.Most students are young and healthy and will rarely have medical issues.However, it’s a smart idea to have a comprehensive medical plan in place to protect you.
The Student Secure plan is a very comprehensive and affordable student health plan for international students both, inside and outside the US.Student Secure comes in two levels, budget and select. The plan provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient medical coverage up to $250,000 (budget) or $300,000 (select).
The plan also includes maternity, mental health, prescription drugs, sports coverage, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, doctor office visits, etc. You have the option to pay for it all at once or on a monthly basis.
After you purchase this plan, you will immediately receive a confirmation e-mail. In this e-mail, it will contain your insurance card, letter of coverage, receipt and policy details.
Are you planning to study in the USA, or anywhere else in the world? Then most likely you will be looking for a health insurance plan that provides coverage your school and government agencies (for visa applications) will accept? Then look no further as International Student Insurance provides you with the Student Secure plan, designed specifically for students who are studying around the world, outside of their home country.
The Student Secure offers two plan options, the Student Secure Select and Student Secure Budget – both offering the same great benefits, however the budget (as the name suggests) offers slightly lower coverage amounts and greater out of pocket expenses when you seek any medical treatment.
The plan provides comprehensive benefits but also provides you with peace of mind so that you know you will have a good plan just in case something happens! Benefits covered include:
If your school has a strict insurance requirement that your international student health insurance plan have a waiting period of no more than 6 months for pre-existing conditions – please visit our Student Secure 6 Month plan which is designed for you!
The Atlas Travel Medical Insurance plan provides international travel health insurance coverage to those who are traveling outside of your home country. Available in 2 plans which include:
The Atlas America and Atlas International plans offer coverage to both US and Non-US Citizens and can be purchased from a minimum of 5 days up to a maximum of 1 year with renewability options available for up to 3 years in total.
The plans also offers benefits such as:
* Medical Expenses/ Doctor Visits
* Hospital Room and Board
* Prescription Medication
* Emergency Evacuation
* Lost Luggage Coverage
* Repatriation
* and much more……
The Atlas plan range are ideal for those traveling around the world that want a range of high quality travel insurance benefits, and that fact that you can renew the plan for up to 3 years makes it flexible enough for those that need longer coverage. If you are a student, however, please also consider the Student Secure Health Insurance plan as this offers greatly enhanced benefits and is designed just for students.
Further information about the Atlas America and Atlas International plan can be found online:
There can be some confusion in deciding which insurance plan is right for you and your trip. To help you decide you’ll want to consider the benefits that each plan offers and what would be most important to you.
Trip cancellation policies cover the actual trip itself and typically provide coverage for personal effect. They also provide you with insurance coverage in case the unexpected happens and you need to cancel your trip. Trip cancellation plans typically provide limited benefits for medical services in case of emergency. One plan that works well for people located inside the US (including non-US citizens) and traveling elsewhere is the RoundTrip International Health Insurance plan. These types of plans usually work well for short-term trips, since you can only purchase up to 90 days of coverage.
Travel medical plans usually provide more enhanced benefits for medical services and they will not cover the actual cost of the trip itself. They do however; provide a limited benefit for “trip interruption”. The Atlas International plan provides coverage outside your home country for inpatient and outpatient services, prescription drugs, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, doctor office visits, etc.. This plan allows you to choose your maximum coverage limit (from $50,000 to $1,000,000) and your deductible (from $0 to $2,500). You can purchase as little as 5 days or up to 12 months of coverage. This plan can also be renewed for up to 3 years.
What are insurance ratings and why are they important to me?
Nothing is more important to a policyholder than the financial strength of their insurance company. You should always make sure that the plan you purchase is underwritten by a carrier with a great rating. By doing this, you can feel confident that your eligible claims will be paid. In fact, this is even a requirement to obtain most visas, including the J-1 visa.
Some of the world’s largest insurance carriers, such as Lloyds of London and IHI, provide clients with peace of mind knowing that they have a stable and secure carrier behind them. The Atlas Travel and Student Secure plans are underwritten by Lloyds of London. Lloyd’s of London is the largest and oldest insurance market in the world, with 317 years of experience insuring individuals and corporations internationally. Rated A (Excellent) by AM Best Company, and A (Strong) by Standard and Poor’s.
One plan that is insured by Lloyd’s of London is the Citizen Secure plan. This plan is a comprehensive annually renewable plan. It provides up to $5,000,000 worth of coverage and includes coverage for doctor office visits, prescription drugs, maternity, surgery, hospitalizations, diagnostic testing, lab work, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, etc. You have various deductible options: $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000 that you can choose. This plan comes in two levels, Citizen Secure and Citizen Secure Economy. The main difference between the two plans is that the Citizen Economy plan has capped benefits (this means each benefit has a certain limit it pays up to). This plan will cover you all over the world and you can chose to include or exclude the US and Canada in coverage
Insurance benefits and terms can be tricky to understand at first even to seasoned insurance buyers. However, it’s important to understand fully what your policy covers and doesn’t cover. If you don’t, you may be caught in a situation where your policy doesn’t cover it and you may have a high medical bill to pay all yourself.
Let’s take for example, maternity benefits. These benefits will vary in most insurance policies you look at. Some policies may cover it after a 12 month waiting period, some may cover it right away and others might not cover it at all. You also want to make sure how much it covers and what the actual limit it is covered up to. For instance, the Citizen Secure policy offers maternity benefits after 12 month of continuous coverage. Covered maternity benefits include pre-natal, delivery and post-natal care. The insurance company will pay 50% of the next $100,000 worth of eligible expenses after the deductible, then 100% to a lifetime maximum of $250,000. On this policy the deductible is per certificate period and you must meet it before the insurance company will pay towards your eligible expenses. You will also have coinsurance if you choose not to go within the PPO. If you choose to go within the PPO, then you would have 0% coinsurance.
Maternity benefits for the Student Secure policy are quite different. If you are not pregnant before the policy is effective, then you receive full maternity benefits from the first day your policy starts. Covered maternity benefits include but are not limited to pre-natal, delivery and post-natal care as well as expenses for miscarriage and complications of pregnancy. Like all benefits on this policy, maternity benefits are first subject to the deductible and coinsurance. The deductible for this policy is $100 per injury or illness. Coinsurance is dependent upon which level you purchase. On the budget level, the insurance company will pay 80% of the next $10,000 worth of eligible expenses (after the deductible), then 100% to the overall limit ($250,000). On the select level, the insurance company will pay 100% of eligible expenses (after the deductible) up to the overall limit ($300,000) if you go within the PPO or to the student health center.
Finally, the Atlas Travel series policy does not offer maternity benefits. However, if you are already pregnant then this may be the only option we offer. The Atlas series does offer coverage for complications of pregnancy up to the 26th week. This is defined as illnesses whose diagnoses are distinct from pregnancy, but are adversely affected by pregnancy or cause by pregnancy, and not associated with a normal pregnancy. Like the other two plans, benefits are subject to the deductible and coinsurance. With this policy, you have the freedom to choose your deductible (ranging from $0 up to $2,500) and your policy limit (from $50,000 up to $1,000,000). Coinsurance is 100% of eligible expenses while outside the U.S. and inside the U.S. (if you go within the PPO).
In todays world, we are traveling much more and mobility from country to country are at all time levels. That is the same for international students, who are now traveling much more than ever before – not just to their host country, but then beyond that. That is why, as an international student, you want an insurance plan that is easy to use and manage.
Luckily, InternationalStudentInsurance.com allows you to fully manage your insurance plan online, from anywhere in the world – all you need is a connection to the internet and your certificate number. With these two simple things you just need to visit our “Client Zone” online at:
….and enter in your certificate number and either date of birth or a special password you have setup previously. Once you have done this, you will be launched into the online zone which allows you to:
- View and Change Claim Information
- Download a copy of your ID Card
- Download a confirmation “visa” letter
- Update your personal information
- Search for providers
- Get up-to-date travel information
- and so much more….
If you want to save yourself some money and do not want to purchase your schools international student health insurance plan, then you are at the right place. The Student Secure will meet and exceed most school insurance requirements and is generally much more affordable starting at just $33/ month for US Citizens studying abroad and $40/ month for International Students studying around the world.
To comply with your school, most will make you complete a waiver form which will have to be completed and signed by your insurance company. We offer this service quickly and easily with a 24 hour turn-around – here is how it works:
Purchase your plan online
Download your waiver form from your school and complete as much information as you can
Fax the waiver form to us at +1 904 212-0412
Please make sure you include your certificate number and the number you want the form faxed back to
That is it! Within a 24 hour period we can have your insurance in place and your compliance form faxed to your school!
If you have any question about the process or need helping purchasing your plan please contact us.
Almost all health insurance plans have a deductible or co-payments. A deductible is the amount the insured (you) must pay before the insurance company will pay towards your expenses. And a co-payment is the amount that you also must pay out of your own pocket; although a co-payment is typically a per service fee or per doctor office visit. For some plans, you will find that they have both a deductible and a co-payment. Usually with these plans, the deductible is for your larger expenses (i.e. emergency room visits, hospitalizations, diagnostic testing) and co-payments are for smaller expenses (i.e. doctor office visits, prescription drugs, etc.). Most domestic health insurance plans are typically set up in this manner. However, for international students some or most health insurance plans out there have a deductible that applies to the entire plan. In this case, it would apply to doctor visits, prescriptions, tests, hospitalizations, surgery, etc. The insurance company would not start paying towards your expenses until you’ve met the deductible.
So, how does this affect you? Well, let’s say you went to the doctor for a minor sickness (i.e. cold, flu, etc.). When you first purchased your health insurance plan you choose a higher deductible, $2,500, to offset the premium cost each month. If your plan only has a deductible and is not a co-pay type plan then you would pay the full amount of your visit out of your own pocket. You would need to pay the first $2,500 worth of eligible expenses in order for the insurance company to start paying towards it. On the other hand, let’s say you got injured and you needed to go to the emergency room. After all of your tests, MRI’s and doctor consultations your bill totaled $10,000 (assuming all are eligible expenses). This means that you will pay the first $2,500 of your $10,000 bill. After that, it depends on the way your health insurance plan is setup and whether or not it has coinsurance. Coinsurance is usually a percentage that you are required to pay after the deductible. Let’s say for example purposes your plan had 80/20 coinsurance up to $5,000 (all eligible expenses) then 100% coinsurance up to the overall limit. After the $2,500 deductible you would be required to pay 20% of the next $5,000 worth of eligible expenses or approximately $1,000. So, your total responsibility would be about $3,500. The insurance company would pay the rest or $6,500. This may or may not be a lot of money for you but for most international students it would be. So, when choosing your deductible it may make sense to choose a lower deductible with slightly higher premium costs each month.
For the plans we offer, the deductible and coinsurance will vary. For international students, the Student Secure Select plan offers 100% coinsurance for eligible expenses after the deductible if you go within the PPO or to the student health center. The Student Secure Budget plan offers 80/20 for eligible expenses after the deductible up to $5,000 then 100% up to the overall policy maximum. The deductible for this plan is $100 per injury or illness or it’s reduced to $50 if you go to the Student Health Center. This plan reduces a lot of your out-of-pocket expenses and provides coverage for doctor office visits, prescription drugs, maternity, diagnostic testing, x-rays, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, etc. It will also meet most school’s health insurance requirements. You can check our school database for further information.
