J1 Visa Insurance Requirements
If you are a J1 visa holder, or if you are applying for a J1 visa, you must have an insurance plan that will meet certain visa requirements. This post will identify the J1 visa requirements, guide you to insurance plans that meet those requirements, and hopefully save you some time and money.
The insurance requirements for J1 visas are very specific. If you purchase insurance that does not meet these requirements you may waste a lot of time and money. At best, it could delay your visa application process, and in the worst case, you could have your visa application denied. Therefore it pays to know the requirements and to make sure the plan you purchase meets all of them.
The insurance requirements for a J1 visa are as follows:
- Medical Benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness
- Repatriation of Remains in the amount of $7,500
- Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $10,000
- A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness
- A policy underwritten by an insurance carrier with:
- an AM Best rating of “A-” or above
- an Insurance Solvency International, Ltd (ISI) rating of “A-I” or above
- a Standard and Poor’s Claims Paying Ability rating of “A-” or above
- or a Weiss Research, Inc. rating of “B+” or above
Please note: As of May 15th 2015, the J1 Visa Insurance Requirements will be increasing, please see our post about the changes for more information.
All international health insurance plans offered on InternationalStudentInsurance.com meet all J1 visa requirements. In particular, our Student Health and Travel Medical plans meet J1 requirements, and both plans are inexpensive and widely used by J1 visa holders. You can also visit our dedicated J1 Visa hub for more information at:
http://www.internationalstudentinsurance.com/j1student/
If you are looking for information regarding visa requirements or have any questions in this general area these two sites have a wealth of information pertaining to visa requirements and the application process: InternationalStudent.com and the U.S. Department of State.
