Posted on Friday, November 16th, 2012 at 10:30 am

Studying inside the United States as an international student is an exciting opportunity! It gives students a chance to earn their education while going on a cultural journey. Some International students brush up on their English before they arrive in the US while others complete an English as a Second Language (ESL) course after arrival. Either way, international students who study in the US usually become quite fluent in English. However, even some of the most polished ESL speakers have a difficult time when it comes to deciphering insurance terms. One of the most popular questions when it comes to insurance is “what is co-insurance?”

We are here to help those who are searching for an insurance plan and are trying to figure out just what is co-insurance. Co-insurance is referring to the shared expense between the insured individual and the insurance company when a plan is utilized. Usually, the co-insurance will be applied after any applicable deductible is fulfilled.

For instance, if you visit the doctor and your plan has a $100 deductible and 80/20 co-insurance up to $5,000, the payment would break down like this:

You:
$100 Deductible
20% of expenses below $5,000

The Insurance Company:
80% of expenses below $5,000
100% of expenses above $5,000

There are many variations to how co-insurance is included in a plan. Some plans require the insured individual to pay to a certain amount, other plans might not have that limit. The percentage of what the insurance company pays toward the co-insurance will also vary greatly from plan to plan.

This should give you the general idea of what co-insurance is. The next step is figuring out the details of the co-insurance of the plan you are interested in and determining if it is a fair out-of-pocket amount.

If you are still wondering what is co-insurance or if you have any other questions when it comes to finding an international student insurance plan contact one of our licensed agents today.

*Pretty woman with confused expression photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Posted by Bryanna Davis

Bryanna joined International Student Insurance in 2011 after returning to the United States from teaching English in China. Her interest in international education, sparked initially by her own study abroad experience in Wales, led her to the company. Bryanna is originally from Missouri and is a graduate from the University of Central Missouri.