Maternity Benefits and How They Can Affect You
December 5th, 2008 by International-Student-InsuranceInsurance benefits and terms can be tricky to understand at first even to seasoned insurance buyers. However, it’s important to understand fully what your policy covers and doesn’t cover. If you don’t, you may be caught in a situation where your policy doesn’t cover it and you may have a high medical bill to pay all yourself.
Let’s take for example, maternity benefits. These benefits will vary in most insurance policies you look at. Some policies may cover it after a 12 month waiting period, some may cover it right away and others might not cover it at all. You also want to make sure how much it covers and what the actual limit it is covered up to. For instance, the Citizen Secure policy offers maternity benefits after 12 month of continuous coverage. Covered maternity benefits include pre-natal, delivery and post-natal care. The insurance company will pay 50% of the next $100,000 worth of eligible expenses after the deductible, then 100% to a lifetime maximum of $250,000. On this policy the deductible is per certificate period and you must meet it before the insurance company will pay towards your eligible expenses. You will also have coinsurance if you choose not to go within the PPO. If you choose to go within the PPO, then you would have 0% coinsurance.
Maternity benefits for the Student Secure policy are quite different. If you are not pregnant before the policy is effective, then you receive full maternity benefits from the first day your policy starts. Covered maternity benefits include but are not limited to pre-natal, delivery and post-natal care as well as expenses for miscarriage and complications of pregnancy. Like all benefits on this policy, maternity benefits are first subject to the deductible and coinsurance. The deductible for this policy is $100 per injury or illness. Coinsurance is dependent upon which level you purchase. On the budget level, the insurance company will pay 80% of the next $10,000 worth of eligible expenses (after the deductible), then 100% to the overall limit ($250,000). On the select level, the insurance company will pay 100% of eligible expenses (after the deductible) up to the overall limit ($300,000) if you go within the PPO or to the student health center.
Finally, the Atlas Travel series policy does not offer maternity benefits. However, if you are already pregnant then this may be the only option we offer. The Atlas series does offer coverage for complications of pregnancy up to the 26th week. This is defined as illnesses whose diagnoses are distinct from pregnancy, but are adversely affected by pregnancy or cause by pregnancy, and not associated with a normal pregnancy. Like the other two plans, benefits are subject to the deductible and coinsurance. With this policy, you have the freedom to choose your deductible (ranging from $0 up to $2,500) and your policy limit (from $50,000 up to $1,000,000). Coinsurance is 100% of eligible expenses while outside the U.S. and inside the U.S. (if you go within the PPO).
Spanish Visa Insurance Requirements
November 25th, 2008 by International-Student-Insurance
Many international students are going to Spain for studies and it’s important to have a health insurance plan that will meet the requirements for your student visa in Spain.
To apply for your student visa, you will have to present a letter (visa letter) from your insurance provider confirming that you have “international insurance coverage for health and accident with a minimum coverage equal to 30,000 euros (or its equivalent in US dollars) during the planning period of your stay in Spain”. Please note that a photocopy of your insurance card will not be sufficient proof. Your visa letter, should indicate your name, policy number, type of insurance coverage received overseas (i.e. accident, sickness, evacuation and repatriation) the dollar amount of your insurance coverage, and the effective and termination dates of your insurance policy.
There are two plans that work great and meet the requirements for Spain. They are the Atlas International and the Student Secure plans.
The Atlas International travel medical plan provides coverage outside your home country for inpatient and outpatient services, prescription drugs, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, doctor office visits, etc.. This plan allows you to choose your maximum coverage limit (from $50,000 to $1,000,000) and your deductible (from $0 to $2,500). You do not have to be a student to be eligible for this plan.
The Student Secure comes in two levels, budget and select. The plan provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient medical coverage up to $250,000 (budget) or $300,000 (select). The plan provides coverage for maternity, mental health, prescription drugs, sports coverage, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, doctor office visits, etc.
The main difference between the two plans is that the Atlas International plan doesn’t provide coverage for maternity, mental health and pre-existing conditions and the Student Secure plan is designed to allow you to make monthly payments.
How long does it take for the visa to be ready?
Generally, you should apply for your visa about 8-12 weeks before the date of your arrival in Spain. First, you must have a passport valid for at least six months after the date that your program ends, so be sure to allow adequate time to obtain or renew your passport and get the visa application processed.
For more detailed information about Spain student insurance coverage, please see our dedicate page for those needing coverage in Spain.
Spanish Image provided by Shutterstock
Health Insurance Requirements for German Visa
October 10th, 2008 by International-Student-InsuranceIn order to obtain a visa to travel to Germany, all non-European citizens must have a travel/medical insurance policy that meets particular requirements. The policy also must show that you are specifically covered in the country of Germany. There are many worldwide policies that cover you outside of your home country. So, it may be wise to purchase one of these policies in case you might be traveling to one of the other European Union countries.
Health insurance requirements for the German visa are that your policy provides at least €30,000 (or $37,500 USD) in coverage. The policy is to provide benefits for emergency medical evacuation, medical expenses and repatriation (return of your mortal remains to your home country).
Most domestic, U.S. health insurance policies do not provide this coverage in countries outside the U.S. Typically, they will provide emergency only type coverage. This will not be sufficient for the consulate. In addition to meeting the above requirements, you also must submit written proof of coverage to the consulate. It must state that you have coverage in Germany and show that you have coverage up to the required amount for the necessary benefits.
It can be difficult finding policies that meet these requirements. I would recommend either the Atlas International or Student Secure policies.
| Atlas Travel | Student Secure |
|---|---|
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| Learn more | Learn more |
Both of these plans meet and exceed the visa requirements. In fact, many students and travelers have purchased them and have had no issues in meeting the consulate’s requirements. You can apply directly online for these plans using a debit or credit card.
After you purchase the plan, you can receive all of your insurance documents immediately via e-mail. Specifically, you will receive access to a visa letter. It will state which country you are particularly going to, how much you are covered for and will have your name and passport on it. It is also signed by an insurance representative. Once you’ve downloaded it, you can print it out and provide it to the consulate.
The Atlas Travel plan provides coverage for inpatient and outpatient services, prescription drugs, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, doctor office visits, etc. This plan allows you to choose your maximum coverage limit (from $50,000 to $2,000,000) and your deductible (from $0 to $5,000). This plan provides worldwide coverage excluding your home country. To be eligible for this plan, you do not have to be a student but you must be outside of your home country.
Learn more about the Atlas Travel plan benefits here
The Student Secure plan is for full-time college students. Student Secure comes in four levels, Smart, Budget, Select, and Elite. The plan provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient medical coverage up to $200,000 (Smart), $500,000 (Budget), $600,000 (Select), or $1,000,000 (Elite). The plan also includes maternity, mental health, prescription drugs, sports coverage, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, doctor office visits, etc. You have the option to pay for it all at once or on a monthly basis.
View the Student Secure benefit comparison table here
If you are not sure of what is the best plan option for you, you can always contact us for personalized assistance finding the right plan for you.
Client Zone – Manage Your Plan Online
August 6th, 2008 by International-Student-InsuranceIn todays world, we are traveling much more and mobility from country to country are at all time levels. That is the same for international students, who are now traveling much more than ever before – not just to their host country, but then beyond that. That is why, as an international student, you want an insurance plan that is easy to use and manage.
Luckily, InternationalStudentInsurance.com allows you to fully manage your insurance plan online, from anywhere in the world – all you need is a connection to the internet and your certificate number. With these two simple things you just need to visit our “Client Zone” online at:
http://www.internationalstudentinsurance.com/zone/
….and enter in your certificate number and either date of birth or a special password you have setup previously. Once you have done this, you will be launched into the online zone which allows you to:
– View and Change Claim Information
– Download a copy of your ID Card
– Download a confirmation “visa” letter
– Update your personal information
– Search for providers
– Get up-to-date travel information
– and so much more….
The client zone is available to all our Student Secure, Atlas International, Atlas America and Citizen Secure clients free when they sign up for one of our insurance plans.
For more information about the “Client Zone” and any of our insurance plans please contact us.
Technorati Tags: international student health insurance, international student insurance, international travel health insurance, international travel insurance
Insurance Visa Letter
July 2nd, 2008 by International-Student-InsuranceFor some countries around the world, you will need to show proof of adequate international health and travel insurance as part of your visa application process. Countries that are popular for this requirement include France, Spain and the Schengen Visa – there are many more that require it but these are just the most popular destinations that require insurance coverage.
As part of this requirement, you will generally need to produce what they call a “Visa Letter” that outlines what the plan coverage is, confirms the insured is covered and provide other information about the plan that you have purchased.
To make your life easier, we produce a visa letter for all our clients and make it available for them 24 hours a day through the client zone. All you need to do is once you have applied for insurance coverage you will need to log into the client zone, and then click on the visa letter link. This will then provide you with a PDF version of the visa letter which is pre-filled with all your information and produced on company letterhead.
You will just need to download this, print it off and submit it with your visa application.
For more information about our plans and to apply online please visit:
http://www.internationalstudentinsurance.com/
Technorati Tags: visa letter, insurance verification letter
Student Insurance Waiver Form
January 8th, 2008 by International-Student-InsuranceIf you want to save yourself some money and do not want to purchase your schools international student health insurance plan, then you are at the right place. The Student Secure will meet and exceed most school insurance requirements and is generally much more affordable starting at just $33/ month for US Citizens studying abroad and $40/ month for International Students studying around the world.
You can also check our international student insurance school requirement database to see if our plan meets your schools requirements.
To comply with your school, most will make you complete a waiver form which will have to be completed and signed by your insurance company. We offer this service quickly and easily with a 24 hour turn-around – here is how it works:
- Purchase your plan online
- Download your waiver form from your school and complete as much information as you can
- Fax the waiver form to us at +1 904 212-0412
- Please make sure you include your certificate number and the number you want the form faxed back to
That is it! Within a 24 hour period we can have your insurance in place and your compliance form faxed to your school!
If you have any question about the process or need helping purchasing your plan please contact us.
Technorati Tags: student insurance waiver form
How does the deductible on your insurance plan affect you?
November 26th, 2007 by International-Student-InsuranceAlmost all health insurance plans have a deductible or co-payments. A deductible is the amount the insured (you) must pay before the insurance company will pay towards your expenses. And a co-payment is the amount that you also must pay out of your own pocket; although a co-payment is typically a per service fee or per doctor office visit. For some plans, you will find that they have both a deductible and a co-payment. Usually with these plans, the deductible is for your larger expenses (i.e. emergency room visits, hospitalizations, diagnostic testing) and co-payments are for smaller expenses (i.e. doctor office visits, prescription drugs, etc.). Most domestic health insurance plans are typically set up in this manner. However, for international students some or most health insurance plans out there have a deductible that applies to the entire plan. In this case, it would apply to doctor visits, prescriptions, tests, hospitalizations, surgery, etc. The insurance company would not start paying towards your expenses until you’ve met the deductible.
So, how does this affect you? Well, let’s say you went to the doctor for a minor sickness (i.e. cold, flu, etc.). When you first purchased your health insurance plan you choose a higher deductible, $2,500, to offset the premium cost each month. If your plan only has a deductible and is not a co-pay type plan then you would pay the full amount of your visit out of your own pocket. You would need to pay the first $2,500 worth of eligible expenses in order for the insurance company to start paying towards it. On the other hand, let’s say you got injured and you needed to go to the emergency room. After all of your tests, MRI’s and doctor consultations your bill totaled $10,000 (assuming all are eligible expenses). This means that you will pay the first $2,500 of your $10,000 bill. After that, it depends on the way your health insurance plan is setup and whether or not it has coinsurance. Coinsurance is usually a percentage that you are required to pay after the deductible. Let’s say for example purposes your plan had 80/20 coinsurance up to $5,000 (all eligible expenses) then 100% coinsurance up to the overall limit. After the $2,500 deductible you would be required to pay 20% of the next $5,000 worth of eligible expenses or approximately $1,000. So, your total responsibility would be about $3,500. The insurance company would pay the rest or $6,500. This may or may not be a lot of money for you but for most international students it would be. So, when choosing your deductible it may make sense to choose a lower deductible with slightly higher premium costs each month.
For the plans we offer, the deductible and coinsurance will vary. For international students, the Student Secure Select plan offers 100% coinsurance for eligible expenses after the deductible if you go within the PPO or to the student health center. The Student Secure Budget plan offers 80/20 for eligible expenses after the deductible up to $5,000 then 100% up to the overall policy maximum. The deductible for this plan is $100 per injury or illness or it’s reduced to $50 if you go to the Student Health Center. This plan reduces a lot of your out-of-pocket expenses and provides coverage for doctor office visits, prescription drugs, maternity, diagnostic testing, x-rays, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, etc. It will also meet most school’s health insurance requirements. You can check our school database for further information.
What is a PPO and why is it important to you?
October 17th, 2007 by International-Student-InsuranceA PPO, also known as a Preferred Provider Organization, is defined as an organization of doctors, hospital and medical care facilities that have contracted with the insurance company to all provide services at a contracted rate. Usually the rate they receive is at a reduced rate. A PPO type arrangement can be beneficial for both the insurance company and the insured. The rates are usually significantly reduced so the insured does not have to pay as much out-of-pocket as they would if they went outside of the PPO. The insurance company also receives the lower rate so in effect they do not have to pay high claims amounts. This in turn, allows your renewal and premium rates to remain as low as possible.
With most of our plans, they do offer a PPO. However, you are not required to follow it. If you do choose to go within the network or PPO, then you will receive significant benefits. For example, the Student Secure plan, offers the coinsurance (coinsurance is the percentage that you would responsible to pay after the deductible) to be waived (select level only) if you go within the PPO or to the Student Health Center. The PPO for this plan is quite vast. To search the PPO go here: www.InternationalStudentInsurance.com/network. This can greatly reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. If you went to the emergency room let’s say for a broken arm and your total eligible expenses were $2,000 (the hospital you went to was in the PPO and all of your expenses were eligible expenses). The insurance company would pay 100% of your eligible expenses (select level only) after you paid the $100 deductible (the deductible is the amount that you are required to pay before the insurance company will pay towards your expenses).
Now let’s say for the same example you chose not to go to a hospital within the PPO. You would see much higher out-of-pocket expenses. Your deductible would remain the same however, the coinsurance would not be waived and you would be responsible for 20% of your eligible expenses (for this example it would cost approximately $500 total for you). On the select level of the Student Secure plan, the insurance company would pay 80% of your eligible expenses after the deductible up to $5,000 then they would pay 100% up to the overall policy maximum. So, as you can see, it’s much better for you to go within the PPO.
The Student Secure plan is available for full-time students studying outside of their home country. Outside of the U.S. there is not a PPO. You can go to any doctor or hospital and you will be provided 100% coverage for your eligible expenses after the deductible and up to the overall policy maximum (select level only). To find further information about all of our plans please visit our site: InternationalStudentInsurance.com
Health Insurance Requirements for French Visa
September 21st, 2007 by International-Student-Insurance
As many of you may be aware, the French Embassy requires non-European citizens to have proof of health insurance for French Visa. This plan needs to provide coverage specifically in France or needs to be considered a worldwide plan. The French Embassy also has very specific requirements that your health insurance plan must meet in order for you to be eligible for the French visa.
Your health insurance plan needs to at least provide $37,500 worth of coverage for you in France. You must provide a letter of coverage to the embassy that states that you are covered at least this amount in France. For most U.S. citizens, their domestic health insurance plan will not extend coverage to them while in other countries. Some domestic insurance companies will but most will not. For those that do, it may be quite expensive and the most they will typically cover is for emergency situations. This will not meet the visa requirements and in addition, it is very hard to get a letter of coverage from them. For those that are students in France, you must also show proof of health insurance. Some students are eligible for student coverage under the French national health plan (sécurité sociale). For those students that are over 28 or at a college not recognized by the French social security system they must take out a personal health insurance policy (assurance personnelle).
Here are two plans that meet France’s visa requirements: Student Secure and Atlas International. You can apply directly online for these plans. After you purchase the plan, you can receive all of your insurance documents immediately via e-mail. This e-mail will include your visa letter, receipt, insurance card and policy details. You can simply print these documents out and provide them to the French Embassy.
The Atlas International plan provides coverage for inpatient and outpatient services, prescription drugs, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, doctor office visits, etc. This plan allows you to choose your maximum coverage limit (from $50,000 to $1,000,000) and your deductible (from $0 to $2,500). This plan provides worldwide coverage excluding your home country. To be eligible for this plan, you do not have to be a student but you must be outside of your home country.
The Student Secure plan is for full time college students. Student Secure comes in two levels, budget and select. The plan provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient medical coverage up to $250,000 (budget) or $300,000 (select). The plan also includes maternity, mental health, prescription drugs, sports coverage, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, doctor office visits, etc. You have the option to pay for it all at once or on a monthly basis.
For more information about your insurance options, please see our dedicated France Student Insurance page covering all these plans and more!
Stylized map of France provided by Shutterstock
