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International Travel Medical Insurance | FAQ's
Benefits • Exclusions • FAQ's • Premiums • Apply Online
- Am I eligible for the Atlas Travel plan?
- When does coverage become effective and when does it end?
- Does the Atlas plan provide any home country coverage?
- What if I plan to participate in a sport that’s excluded?
- What are the pre-notification requirements?
- Can I extend or renew my coverage?
- What if I need to cancel?
- What is a Beneficiary?
- How do I get a visa letter and my insurance documents?
- If I have already departed my home country, can I still apply?
- On the application, what is "date or departure from home country" and "date of return to home country"?
- What is a deductible?
- How are claims paid?
- What provider can I go to?
- What is Pre-certification?
- What does Usual Reasonable and Customary (URC) mean?
Am I eligible for the Atlas Travel Plan?
If you are traveling outside of your Home Country and are at least 14 days old, you are eligible for coverage. If you are under age 70, you may select your Overall Maximum Limit, ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000. If you are age 70 to 79, the Overall Maximum Limit available is $50,000. If you are age 80 or older, the Overall Maximum Limit available is $10,000. The minimum coverage period is 5 days and the maximum initial coverage period is 12 months.
When does Coverage Become Effective and When does it end?
Your coverage becomes effective on the latest of the moment we receive your Application and correct premium (if Application and payment is made online or by fax), 12:01am US Eastern Standard Time on the date we receive your Application and payment (if Application and payment is made by mail), the moment you depart from your Home Country, or 12:01am US Eastern Standard Time on the date you request on your Application. Your coverage will end on the earliest of: 12:01am US Eastern Standard Time on the last day of the period for which you have paid a premium, 12:01am US Eastern Standard Time on the date requested on your Application, or the moment of your arrival upon return to your Home Country (unless you have started a Benefit Period or are eligible for Home Country Coverage).
Does the Atlas Plan provide any home country coverage?
Yes. Under certain circumstances, the Atlas Series will provide limited Home Country Coverage.
Incidental Home Country Coverage – The Atlas Series will provide you 15 days of incidental coverage for trips to your Home Country for every 3 months of coverage purchased. Incidental visit time must be used within the three-month period earned, and you must continue your international trip in order to be eligible for this benefit, which covers Medical expenses only. Return to your Home Country must not be taken for the purpose of obtaining treatment of an Illness or Injury that began while traveling.
Benefit Period Medical Coverage – A Benefit Period begins on the first date you receive a diagnosis or treatment of a covered Illness or Injury while outside your Home Country and lasts for 180 days. If you started a Benefit Period while this insurance was in effect, you are covered only for Medical expenses for the duration of the Benefit Period, regardless of whether you are at home or abroad.
End of Trip Home Country Medical Coverage – If you are covered under the Atlas Series and outside of your Home Country continuously (except for covered Incidental Trips as described above) for six (6) months or more you may purchase an additional 30 days of End of Trip Home Country Medical Coverage.
Home Country Defined – If you are a US citizen, your Home Country is the United States, regardless of the location of your Principal Residence. If you are not a US citizen, your Home Country is the country where you principally reside and receive regular mail.
What if I plan to participate in a sport that is excluded?
The Optional Hazardous Sports Rider is available for the adventurous traveler. This Rider adds coverage for the Amateur sports, listed in exclusion #19. The maximum policy limit under this rider is the Overall Maximum Limit you select. The Accidental Death and Dismemberment benefit is deleted during the course of the activity.
What are the prenotification requirements?
All Hospitalizations, Surgeries, Emergency Evacuations, Emergency Reunions, Trip Interruptions, Repatriation of Remains, Computerized Tomography (CAT Scan) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) must be Pre-notified. Simply call, or have your Physician call, HCCMIS. with all information relative to your claim. Be sure to have your ID number available. If you do not Pre-notify, medical expenses will be reduced by 50% and all other expenses will be forfeited.
Can I extend or renew my coverage?
After your initial purchase, you may extend your coverage (5 day minimum) up to a maximum of 12 months from the initial effective date. Provided there is no break in coverage, you will not be required to re-satisfy the Deductible and Coinsurance nor will benefit limits be reset.
If you are covered under Atlas International, after 12 months of continuous coverage you may renew your coverage for up to 12 additional months. If 24 months of continuous coverage is maintained, a final period of up to 12 months may be purchased. Deductible and Coinsurance must be re-satisfied as of each renewal date.
After 36 months of continuous coverage under Atlas International, or 12 months of continuous coverage under Atlas America, or any break in coverage, a new plan must be purchased. A new Application is required and you must re-satisfy your Deductible, Coinsurance and Pre-existing Condition provisions.
Extensions or renewals must be made online with payment by credit card. For additional information on extending or renewing your plan, please visit the Student Zone.
What if I need to cancel my insurance?
If for any reason you wish to cancel your policy, you must submit your cancellation request in writing to us in order to receive a refund of premium. To be eligible for a full refund, the request for cancellation must be received prior to your effective date. Cancellation requests received after the effective date will be subject to the following conditions:
- a $25 cancellation fee will apply; and
- only the unused portion of the plan cost will be refunded; and
- only members who have no claims are eligible for premium refund.
What is a beneficiary?
The Atlas Travel plan includes benefits that provide payments in the event you should pass away while covered under the plan. The beneficiary is the person who you designate to receive these funds should this happen. Typically you would put down your mother, father, brother, sister or husband or wife as a beneficiary - however you can put any name you wish to be your beneficiary, including your estate.
How do I get a visa letter and my insurance documents?
Once you have applied online for coverage and selected the "online fulfillment" option, you will receive all your insurance documents immediately to your email address. Within a few hours of applying you will also be able to log into the "Student Zone" and access all your documents again, including a special visa letter that you can print off and show as proof of coverage for a visa application you may have. If you do not process your application online, you can send your application by fax or mail and we will process it within 24 hours of receiving the application and the funds clearing. We can then email you immediately with your documents or mail them out to you which will take 5 to 7 business day to arrive in the USA and up to 10 business day to arrive outside the USA - you can of course pay extra to have your documents sent to you via overnight delivery.
If I have already departed my home country, can I still apply?
Yes, if you have departed your home country you can still apply for coverage.
On the application, what is "date or departure from home country" and "date of return to home country"?
When you apply for coverage, you will see the requests for the date of departure from home country and date of return to home country. If you have not left your home country, you simply complete this information of when you plan to depart and return to your home country (or in other words your start and end date of coverage. If you have already left your home country you just need to view these fields as your start and end date of coverage - so the date of departure from home country would be your plan effective date and your date of return to home country is your plan expiration date.
What is a deductible?
A deductible is a one-time payment per period of coverage that you will need to make if you ever use the insurance. For example, if you have a $100 deductible on your Atlas Travel Insurance plan and you need to visit a doctor, you will need to pay the first $100 and then your coinsurance before the insurance will cover any doctors expenses. You can set the deductible level where you would like and your options are $0, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 and $2,500.
How are claims paid?
Outpatient claims are handled in the following manner:
- Inside the USA - In Network
When you visit a provider that is part of the plan network your insurance bill can typically be paid direct, without the need for an insurance claim form. This setup is, however, dependent on the particular provider and so you will need to ask the provider when you are receiving treatment. - Inside the USA - Out of Network
When you visit a provider that is outside the network, you will need to pay for all services up front and then submit a claim form for reimbursement. - Outside the USA
When visiting a provider around the world, please pay for the services up front and then submit a claim form for reimbursement.
If you are hospitalized for an emergency or planned hospitalization you will need to call the 24 hour emergency assistance number located on the back of your insurance ID card and they will assist you further with settling the hospital bills.
What provider can I go to?
You are free to visit any provider you wish under the Atlas Travel Insurance plan. There are, however, advantages when inside the USA to staying within one of the approved provider networks as when you stay within the network, your coinsurance will be 100% once you have paid your deductible (if you have one). You can locate a provider near to you by visiting:
http://www.InternationalStudentInsurance.com/network/
What is Pre-certification?
Pre-certification is when you, or your attending physician call the 24 hour assistance number with information about your case and condition if you have any of the following:
Hospitalizations, Surgeries, Emergency Evacuations, Emergency Reunions, Trip Interruptions, Repatriation of Remains, Computerized Tomography (CAT Scan) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
What does Usual Reasonable and Customary (URC) mean?
Usual Reasonable and Customary is a term that insurance companies use to describe a limitation on their responsibility to pay for eligible medical expenses. Basically, URC refers to the fee typically charged by a provider for a specific procedure in a specific geographic area. So if a particular procedure typically costs $5,000 in the New York City area, and most providers customarily charge about $5,000 for that procedure, the insurance company will not pay your provider in New York City $10,000 for the same exact procedure. Instead, they will limit their payment amount to "Usual Reasonable and Customary" - in this example, $5,000.
Learn more about the Atlas Trave Medical Insurance plan:
The Atlas Travel Plan - International Travel Medical Insurance
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