Visitors Insurance Resources

Factors to consider while purchasing visitor insurance

• Type of Insurance: Fixed benefits versus Comprehensive plans, Fixed benefits are cheaper, however their coverage is capped by specific limits even within the policy medical maximum. Comprehensive plans do not have capping limits within the medical maximum. Be careful in evaluating policies with specific dollar limits; for serious illnesses, the limit might be far too low and you might have large medical bills not covered by your insurance.



• Pre-existing Conditions: Many visitors insurance policies do not cover pre-existing conditions. Some plans provide some limited coverage for pre-existing conditions under certain specific conditions. Review carefully the pre-existing aspect of the plan that you are reviewing.



• Renewable: Not all insurance plans are renewable. If you are not sure of the duration of travel, you might want to purchase a renewable insurance plan. Certain plans are renewable only if you purchase for a minimum initial duration. The important point to note with the ability to renew is that any ailments that occur during the initial duration of a plan will be covered when it is renewed, however these ailments will be considered pre-existing ailments if you purchase a new policy on expiry of the original policy.



• Deductible and Coinsurance: These are costs that you will incur for medical expense despite having the insurance coverage. You should be aware of the deductible amount and the co-insurance. The customer has to pay the deductible before the insurance company pays anything. The deductible amount is mainly to ensure that there is no misuse of the insurance policy with frivolous claims. The co-insurance amount is usually a fraction of the total expense which the customer should pay, and the remaining amount will be paid by the insurance company. The co-insurance is usually 20% up to $5000.00, which means the customer has to pay 20% of the medical cost up to $5000/-. However some plans have 10% co-insurance while others can have no co-insurance if treatment is within the provider network.



• Preferred Provider network: Most insurance plans have a nationwide preferred provider network. The insurance providers have an agreement with hospitals and doctors within the provider network and have defined the costs for different medical treatments. The customer's co-insurance component might have a penalty if you use services outside the preferred provider’s network. Do review the provider network, and see if you have hospitals or doctors close to you while making the insurance plan decision.



• Exclusions: Most insurance policies exclude coverage for certain conditions. Read the list of exclusions carefully so that you understand exactly what is not covered by the plan.



• Reliability: The reputation and reliability of the insurance company. Does it treat people fairly? Does it pay claims promptly? A.M. rating is one way of finding out the financial stability of a company.



• Benefit period: Some insurance plans limit the time duration that the plan will pay for each illness or injury. Here, after the benefit period for a condition has expired, the customer must incur the full cost of continuing treatment of the illness. The longer the benefit period the better the coverage.

Online Visitors Insurance