Travel insurances is a broad term used for insurance that provide coverage for your travel.
Typically travel insurance can be broadly categorized in to two categories

1. Trip Insurance (Protection financial losses  due to Unexpected Trip related issues)
2. Medical Insurance (Protection for Health related Issues)

Let’s understand the Trip insurance vs. Travel medical insurance

Trip insurance

Trip insurance is usually refers to trip cancellation coverage.
Trip insurances protect you against financial losses suffered due to unexpected trip related situations like trip cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay, missed flight connection, baggage loss, rental car coverage etc.
Specific features, benefits  may vary from plan to plan. Some plans might cover only for trip cancellation, and not trip delay or interruption. Some other plans might cover for other similar but not all of the features. These are usually for a short duration of trip for up to 30 days.
Recommended and useful if  there is any potential risk involve that may case change in your travel plan, like traveling with kids, or seniors, Traveling in un-predictable natural disaster risky  areas, war zone etc.

Learn more about Trip Insurance coverage.

Travel Medical Insurance

Travel Medical Insurance Plans are to protection for unforeseen Health issues . Like sickness, injury, accidents occurs while you are traveling.
These plans cover expenses for medical treatment, medical evacuation, accidental death repatriation etc while traveling.
This is also referred as visitor insurance, visitor medical insurance, travel health insurance, overseas travel insurance.
Recommended – when you travel abroad or unknown foreign places where higher chances of exposed to health issues.  Example: traveling to Africa for Safari trip.
Or cost for medical care is expensive: example Foreigners visiting USA

Read more about: Travel medical insurance at www.VisitorsCoverage.com

If you need assistance with choosing a suitable plan, feel free to contact VisitorsCoverage.com at 1866-384-9104.

Internet, the most convenient and popular tool to research and make online purchase. While it provides  the convenience to do things online with simple clicks, it can be tricky for certain line of products/service like insurance. Following guidelines can be helpful for Visitors Insurance buyers.

- Do not completely believe on what you read on the internet or forums. Many post are by the Agent/brokers themselves and posting with different names and praising themselves.
Needless to say, internet/online postings can be deceiving. Stories, Feedback, testimonials are fabricated and are selectively displayed on agents websites. You will not see any negative feedback about any product they sell or represent, but see many negative feedback about others.

- No insurance product is bad, Whether it is IndiaHealth network( Dr Rao), or ICICI or Sevencorners , HCC , they all have great products and are good companies.
What is important for you as a buyer is the service you receive from the agent( source from where you buy insurance) , their qualification and level of knowledge and commitment of doing business ethically.

As a buyer it’s your responsibility to understand and get educated yourself on what is covered and what is not covered. Do not get fooled by false sales postings on the net.
Focus on your need, what kind of policy you want, how much coverage is good for you, what kind of risk you want to be covered, and how much it cost you. There are several policies with similar coverage and different price tag, it is wise to compare them for benefits and pick the one you find most suitable for your need.

- Where to buy it from: If you search for the term visitors insurance, you will find ocean of websites, offering same products, and same price.  What’s the reality: There are limited insurance Plan administrators, all the websites represents them are agents.
Whom to trust ? : Make the conscious decision based on what is your own feeling about the source you select to buy. Follow if you have any feedback from close friends, or reliable recommendations.

Do your home work: It can be difficult to understand the complex terminologies of insurance policy, do not hesitate to call the agent and clarify them. Read yourself and get clarifications. Do not make assumptions.

Think practically: No matter which insurance company it is, the claims department always works on one principle to: Take every precaution, to not to pay extra or ineligible claims, and hence it requires supporting documents, evidence etc and can be a frustrating process sometimes. And it’s perfectly ok.  As a buyer, do your part; know your rights and rest assured, if the claim is legitimate it should be paid.

If you need any help or have question write to me at rajeev@VisitorsCoverage.com.

Happy researching… !

Most medical insurance plans  reimburse based on Usual, Reasonable and Customary charges (UCR) for all covered expenses.

What is UCR  based reimbursement?
Usual Customary & Reasonable reimbursement  refer to an established maximum amount that an insurance company will reimburse for a particular medical service or procedure, covered under a health insurance policy.
UCR charges are generally based on prices that are typically billed by majority of providers, for each medical procedure or service, in a particular geographical area. The UCR can vary from one geographical area to another. The insurance companies use independent third party data, to determine the UCR for different services in different geographical areas.

for instance , if in a certain geographical area 95% of physician charge $100 for doctors consultation, than  a particular  insurance company, may establish the UCR  for that area as $100 for doctor’s visits and $100 is what  the maximum that the insurance may reimburse for doctors visit service in that particular area. UCR may differ from company to company.

Where can I see the established UCR for different areas?
There is no one certified source that provides this information publicly.
There are  private independent companies determine these charges based on extensive research. Insurance companies either collect this data or buy this data from these companies to establish their UCR.
You may call your insurance company to inquire or request for this information. You may also communicate with your service provider( doctor or hospital) and request their charges for a particular medical service.

How much Policy Maximum to choose for your Travel insurance?

Policy Maximum is the maximum limit that the insurance company will be liable to pay for covered services. Depending on the type of policy you choose, Policy Maximum can work differently.

• Per Policy Period Type: The Policy Maximum applies to the whole policy period

• Per Incident Type: The Policy maximum applies to each incident, i.e.- each sickness or injury

How Much Policy Maximum is Good for Travel Insurance- This depends on the visitor’s travel plans, overall health, Age and Budget. Some of the important factors to consider, while choosing policy maximum includes:

1. Where are you visiting ?: If you are visiting more expensive places like USA or Europe, where health care cost is high, you should consider buying a higher policy maximum coverage.

2. Length of Trip: The longer your trip is the higher policy maximum you should consider. If you traveling for only a few days, then having a Million dollar Policy maximum does not make that much of sense.

3. Types of Activities: If you are planning to take a lot of road trips, cruise, take part in adventure activities like skiing or camping, hiking you should consider buying a higher coverage, as the chances of falling sick or getting into an accident are higher.

Age Restrictions & Availability of Coverage- Insurance company presume and consider Age is one of the major factor for health insurance hence ; usually the for senior people there is not much choices available for policy maximum.

Following table summarize policy maximum  Travel and visitor insurance coverage typically available  for different age groups:

Understanding Your Insurance Benefits: It is important to understand the Benefits associated with your plan. For fixed schedule based insurance, the Policy Maximum is just the overall limit but, there are internal limits to every covered service and treatment too.

Emergency room or ER Visits in the US are extremely expensive. This is true even for minor non-emergency problems like allergy or sore throat and fever. The ER charges are notoriously high because the 24 hours running cost of all medical equipment and personnel are pretty high. Just for using the ER facility, you end up paying a lot more even for simple procedures like X-Rays and Blood Work. The same procedures can be done in an urgent care or doctor’s clinics at a lot much less cost.

ER Charges Covered for Major Emergency situations:
Most visitors Insurances cover the ER charges for any major medical emergency situations. However, expenses incurred in an emergency room, for non-emergency situations, may not be fully covered or may have limitations. Read and understand your policy for benefits related to ER.

Go to ER Only for Major Emergencies:

If someone has a major injury or a life-threatening sickness, they should go to the ER.  For example if someone has a heart attack, head injury, or has a major accident, you should take them to an ER. The ERs of bigger hospitals are better at dealing with such life threatening situation, which might require multiple specialist physicians and surgeries.

Choose an Urgent Care Center for Non-Emergency Medical Situations

Not only are ER visits expensive, wait time in emergency room on an average is quite long. If someone has a serious but non- life threatening medical condition like a fever and vomiting, allergies or minor injuries, that can be treated at a physician’s office, then it is better to go to the Urgent Care. Not only does it save you money, it also saves you from the hassles of long wait of being in the ER.

If you go to an Urgent Care, and the doctors there determine that the situation is indeed life-threatening, they would themselves call the ambulance, and send you to the nearest ER. In that situation the insurance company would pay for the ER charges for covered services.

You should make the right assessment of medical situation and make the right decision.

Let’s get familiar with the term and process known as “Pre-certification” to avoid any claim related issues. While you may not need pre-certification for each and every medical service you take, it is important to understand when you should. Let’s understand what is pre-certification and when is it required for visitors and travel medical insurance?

What is Pre-Certification/Authorization: It is the process of obtaining prior authorization from the insurance company for major medical services like planned surgery, hospitalization, or other complicated expensive procedures. It is not necessary to get pre-certified for less complicated medical services like general doctor’s consultations.

When Do We Need Pre-Certification: Pre-certification is usually required for any major medical service necessary for planned hospitalization, surgery, or other complicated medical procedures. Failure to obtain pre-certification often results in a financial penalty.  Pre-Certification is not required for emergency hospitalization. However in such cases, you would need to contact the insurance company within a reasonable time frame.

Why Get Pre-Certified: Pre-certification is the most common administrative practice in the insurance industry. It allows the insurance company to:

1.    Determine whether the required service is covered in your policy or not.
2.    Evaluate if specific medical services such as hospitalization, are appropriate treatment for a patient, thus controlling healthcare costs and limit unnecessary medical procedures.
3.    Assist you in finding hospitals and doctors that can perform such procedures, and help in negotiating the rates.

It is recommended that you proactively inform the insurance company in case of any in-patient medical service or any major medical situation.

It is heart-breaking to imagine the death of a loved one when they are visiting you in USA. Not only would this be emotionally devastating, it would be financially disastrous. The cost of taking the mortal body of a person back to the home country can be extremely expensive. So for all practical purposes, it is a good idea to purchase a plan that covers the ‘Return of Mortal Remains’.

How does having insurance help?

If your policy has coverage for Return of Mortal Remains/Repatriation, it will pay for the expenses as per the policy. Insurance assistance department will also help in making arrangements/guidance/co-coordinating with authorities/airlines to get you the help you need in such a difficult time when you  really need help. Accidents or unfortunate situations do happen; you are more exposed to all kind of risks while travelling. This is even more important if the person visiting is old, or may have existing health conditions.

It is wise to buy a good travel insurance plan which also covers for Return of Mortal Remains/Repatriation, even though you would hopefully and in all probability not need to use it. It is important to mention that many USA-based comprehensive plans do cover Return of Mortal Remains/Repatriation benefits even if the cause is a pre-existing condition.

Please discuss this with your agent or contact VisitorsCoverage, and we can guide to find a suitable policy.

When you apply for the Travel medical policy, you may notice an option for Hazardous Sports Coverage.

What is Hazardous Sports Coverage Rider ? and who needs it?

Extreme recreational sports activities like hang gliding, parachuting, bungee jumping, water skiing, snow skiing, snowboarding and caving etc, are normally excluded from visitor’s insurance policies. Any injury sustained because of such activities would not be covered, unless you choose the optional hazardous sports coverage rider.

Most US based comprehensive travel medical policies do offer Hazardous Sports Coverage as an option add on with some extra premium. If you are planning to indulge in some extreme hazardous sports, then you should inquire and select appropriate policy the optional Hazardous Sports Coverage.
Please read the policy details carefully to make sure that the particular activity you want to participate in is covered in your policy.

Most elderly parents and regular tourists may not need this coverage. So make sure you make the right selection. Unless you are planning to participate in extreme sports, you do not need to opt for this coverage.

Unlike domestic insurances, you will need to pay the pharmacist upfront and then get reimbursed by the insurance company. For visitor’s plans, there is no preferred provider network for pharmacy.  You can go to any pharmacist of your choice. Make sure you have a prescription from a US licensed doctor.

Pharmacies do not maintain a database of customers for short term travel insurances,that’s why they cannot directly bill the insurance company. After making full payment at the pharmacist, file a claim to get reimbursed for covered benefits. Keep a copy of prescription and the payment receipt for claim purpose. Insurance company will reimburse you, based on your policy terms.

When purchasing travel medical insurance, you have the option of including your spouse and children in your policy.
Does it make any difference if you buy a combined plan for the family or buy individually for each person?  It depends on your situation.

If you are traveling with children, combined policies can be less expensive. If your children are below the age of 18 and they are traveling for the same number of days as you, it is advantageous to purchase a combined policy. Most plans give you a lesser price for the kids if their policy is combined with parents.

If you are traveling with your spouse, individual policies will cost the same but they have some advantages: It does not make a difference to your premium amount, policy maximum or benefits if you buy individual policies or combined policies. But buying individual policies gives you more flexibility and advantages.

1. Flexibility to cancel or renew individually: If for some reason, you need to extend or cancel the policy for only one spouse and not the other, then it is much easier to make such change if you have separate policies.

2. Flexibility to choose different Policy Maximum and Deductible: If you buy a combined policy, the policy maximum and deductible are the same for both the spouses. The older spouse’s age group and benefits apply to both. If you buy the plans separately, you can choose different policy options and deductibles.

3. Better options for cancellation refund: For cancellable policies, refund for cancellation is available only if there are no claims for the policy. If you have a combined policy, then any claim, even if it is only for one person, makes the policy ineligible for cancellation refund. If you have two policies for the spouses, then you can at least get the cancellation refund back for the person who did not go to the doctor.

In short, if you are traveling with children for the same number of days, then buy combined policies.  For spouses, it is recommended to purchase separate policies, since they cost the same, but have some advantages.