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Planning a trip abroad, either as a Visitor, student or business traveler? You must have taken care of all the needs and necessities! But, what about the travel or medical insurance, to cover your risk of unforeseen circumstances? Like many others, you too must have overlooked it or are simply confused.
Punita Jasrotia Phukan points the importance of Travel Insurance, which should be an integral part of your International Travel and where to look for the details regarding your insurance needs.
Whether a person is on a business or leisure trip, the general tendency is to ignore the Visitor/Travel Insurance! Market studies reveal that while we may spend majority of our time fixing the visa appointments and purchasing tickets, a little thought or contribution goes in choosing the Visitor/Travel Insurance. The reason varies from ignorance to leaving things to fate; and some might even reason 'why should I waste my money on this kind of insurance, I would rather spend that money on shopping'.
'I was angry when my son forcibly bought me Visitor insurance. I was sure that I would not fall sick during my short visit to USA, and was angry with him for wasting the money. But due to stomach flu, I fell sick and had to be admitted in the hospital. After a few days of stay, I was cured. But the bill came to $3500! Thanks to the insurance, we did not have to pay anything; the insurance company took care of it,' said Jai Das.
What exactly is Visitor/Travel insurance?
It is a short-term health insurance policy that provides medical coverage for illness or injury during travel or stay abroad. Visitors' medical insurance takes care of your health care expenses like, doctor's fee, hospital charges, pharmacy, lab tests, and other medical related expenses depending on the kind of plan you avail.
So, Why do we need Visitor/Travel Insurance?
Due to the short duration of their visit or the high insurance costs, many Indian travelers tend to buy cheap insurance or no insurance at all! Even though you often get to read about some new cases of Indian Visitors' harrowing experience, all thanks to not buying or buying cheap Visitor Insurance policy, people do not seem to care much. While it's a common mistake committed by the short-term visitors, even the International Indian students or business travelers tend to fall in this category. The worst part is that considering the high cost of their studies abroad, many students buy a cheaper insurance to just get them through and then ends up in deep soup when they fall sick.
Due to the currency differentiator between a US Dollar/Euro compared to Indian Rupees, the cost for buying a US/European Insurance tends to be high for an Indian consumer. Many people tend to reason 'why spend $1000-1500, if things can work out in a much lesser price'. In addition, they get lured into buying and believing that their low priced policy purchased in India will cover their International health cost. But unfortunately most of these insurances cover only the basic ailments; and hence, most of the time, the
person ends up paying from his pocket- the cost of an injury, emergency or hospitalization costs. To save a couple of dollars, many ends up spending thousands of dollars!
So, Traveling with a good insurance policy is a smart thing to do, especially if you are visiting USA. Since the health care system/medical organizations work differently abroad, it's always best to buy insurance that works well abroad.
Where to buy?
Medical Insurance can be bought either from your home country, in US/Europe from an agent or online. However, according to most of the Indian Travelers' experiences, the policy bought in the visiting country works more efficiently compared to the ones bought from your home country based insurance companies.
In case of India, the International traveler can buy his medical insurance through companies like New India Insurance Company, The Oriental Insurance Company, United India insurance or Tata AIG. These are either available online or offered through travel agencies. Since the plans and rates vary from company to company, it's always better to check with them personally. Also, there is no guarantee as to how often they would be updating their websites.
However, a major disadvantage with these Indian policies for US market is that they are not accepted by many of the hospitals and doctors in USA. Hence you would be expected to pay all the expenses upfront and file the claim later on. This also translates into a lot of paper work, correspondence and follow-ups, which can turn frustrating as the time passes by, as many Insurance companies tend to reject the claim or not respond timely.
In case of US based agencies while the Medical Insurance might be more expensive, the advantage is that it will be recognized by a larger number of hospitals and doctors. One can receive instant coverage and instant attention during a medical emergency. In addition, there is the advantage of convenience, instant reachable customer support and a more hassle free claim, which certainly makes it worth buying from US-based insurance companies.
In fact, there are a variety of Insurance companies catering to medical insurance for international visitors, which makes it a relatively easier task. For more information, you can visit websites like
www.visitorscoverage.com, a popular site for Visitor Medical Insurance to read, compare, select, get a quote and make a sensible decision to buy the best suitable plan. It's an easy and quick solution, with no paper work involved, no physical/medical exam required. You can obtain ID cards and coverage instantly or whenever you request. Renewal is also easy. The site serves every Travel Insurance need ranging from visitors, students, Immigrant Plans to US Citizens Traveling International.
A one-stop solution, www.visitorscoverage.com
provides you with the necessary tools to understand, compare and select the right plan providing a secure website for easier and safer transactions. The company also has licensed and knowledgeable experts available 24X7 help you in answering your questions or assisting to file your claim.
Which one to buy?
Choosing the right Insurance is always the biggest dilemma. One needs to keep in mind that the Visitors Medical insurance plan does not work the way your regular health insurance (provided by your employer) works, where you just pay a little bit of co-pay and rest is paid by your company. In case of a Visitor Insurance, medical expenses are payable as per the policy's coverage plan. The coverage plans can provide any services ranging from Medicine/Pharmacy, Emergency visit, surgery and radiology to doctor's office visits etc.
If your concerned about the rates, you should know that the rates depend on various factors like - age, medical history, duration of stay, kind of plan, coverage needed, and premium, with 'age' playing a major factor determining your premium. Apart from this, the rates also depend on the country/company from which one has purchased the insurance.
According to the industry experts, it is better to fully understand your Visitor Medical insurance. Look for details in the coverage, and always pay special attention to the fine print. Depending on the requirement, one should decide whether they need a 'limited' or 'comprehensive' insurance. However, keep one thing in mind- if a plan is cheaper or has less deductible then it will have limited coverage and, if a plan has better coverage then either it will have more deductible or is more expensive. It depends on you; as to how much risk you want to take.
One of the most important points you should look out for is whether there is a clause for ‘pre-existing ailments’ like blood pressure, diabetes, heart condition etc. Many insurance companies simply refuse to pay and cite the reason as pre-existing ailments. In case of a medical emergency, such a clause can leave you $1000 to $3,00,000 poorer -depending on the severity of the condition. So, this is an important point that you should look into when buying an insurance policy.
Industry experts advise to always buy insurance from a reputed and reliable agent/website (like
www.visitorscoverage.com) that can provide varied information about policies and is not in a hurry to sell you the insurance.
How does it work?
Depending on the length of your visit, coverage's can be purchased in days or monthly increment. You can combine these increments to suit your travel needs. The date of effect for these Insurances is generally the day you leave your home country, or it can be a requested date. It is advisable to request the effective period starting from the day of departure and ending by the date you land in your home country.
The insurance company provides you with an ID card, or a document stating your policy number and related details while purchasing a policy. It is always advisable to verify from the doctor/hospital you are going to visit about the acceptance of your policy. Otherwise, you will end up paying the entire medical expenses. Later you can file your claims with the insurance company. You will have to fill up some claim forms along with the proof of expenditure, which includes a copy of the hospital and doctor's reports plus all original bills.
If you have any issues or concerns, and want to know everything---do pay a visit to
www.visitorscoverage.com.
Tips
*Never travel without an insurance policy.
* Read your policy carefully especially the fine print and also the pre-existing ailments cause, as this clause will be most-often used to deny any claims.
*Keep all your receipts and reports safely.
*Try your best to convince the hospital/doctors to accept your insurance policy.
*If you extend your stay in USA, don't forget to extend your medical insurance policy.
*In case of pre-existing conditions, always carry all your medications from India for the complete stay
Click
here to learn more about visitors coverage!!
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