Insurance for international/foreign students (F visa)
Life as an international student in the United States can be a big adjustment. In addition to selecting courses and making living arrangements an international student has the added task of finding a student medical insurance policy that conforms to all the university requirements. And all this on a student budget! Most Universities within the United States have their own Each University has its own list of requirements that the student medical insurance policy must fulfill. In many cases the University may even have a compliance form that the insurance company must sign off on.
Most Universities will have restrictions with regard to certain policy details such as the total coverage offered. Always check carefully to see if your University requires the policy maximum to be on a PER POLICY PERIOD basis or PER ACCIDENT/ILLNESS basis. There is a big difference between the two and most often your insurance agent should be able to help you find the policy that complies with the University requirements.
Other policy details to look out for are the maximum deductible allowed. In layman’s terms a deductible is a payment that the student will have to make before the insurance policy begins to cover an eligible expense. Most Universities will tell you what the maximum allowable deductible is. Always check to see if the deductible is on a PER POLICY PERIOD or PER ACCIDENT/ILLNESS basis.
All good student medical insurance policies will provide in-patient and out-patient benefits as well as emergency evacuation and repatriation benefits. The emergency evacuation benefit is useful if you are in an area that does not provide the specific type of medical care that you need. And in the unlikely event of death, a repatriation benefit will allow for your remains to be transported back to your home country at no expense to your family.
There are several other medical benefits that may be part of the University requirements such as coverage of pre-existing conditions, maternity benefits for the student or student’s spouse, dental and vision benefits, as well as treatment for Mental or nervous disorders or drug and alcohol abuse. These are the items on the student medical insurance plan that tend to vary. That is why it is probably best to purchase your student medical insurance policy from an agent who works with several insurance companies so that they may compare all the available plans against your specific requirements.