Fixed benefit vs Comprehensive Visitors insurance

Fixed benefit vs Comprehensive visitor benefit travel insurance

Visitor health insurance plans for international travelers are available online and are offered by many US based short term travel health insurance providers. These visitor health insurance plans are broadly classified into two groups namely Fixed benefits and Comprehensive visitor insurance plans.

Fixed benefits visitor insurance plans:
Fixed benefits visitor insurance plans are also known as Scheduled Benefit health insurance plans and are cheaper and affordable travel health insurance plans. They are economically priced which makes them attractive to some travelers. But, before deciding to buy a fixed benefit plan or scheduled benefits plans, it is advisable to know the risks involved in purchasing Fixed benefit visitor insurance.

People usually think of buying health insurance as just a that assures them medical insurance cover. Individuals buying health insurance for travel often forget the expensive health care costs in the US. This eventually can become a nightmare in case there is an incident that incurs hospitalisation. If people keep this in mind while purchasing insurance then they would have a second thought before buying fixed benefit travel insurance plans.

Fixed plans or scheduled benefit health insurance provide limited coverage as their benefits are capped. There is a fixed amount specified for every benefit and the plan pays exactly that amount. If the expense goes beyond that specified amount, then that expense has to be paid by the insured. Fixed benefit plans do not extend their benefits flexibly to cover the cost incurred by an individual and it is therefore always advisable to buy a comprehensive plan.

Fixed Fixed benefit travel plans make very bad choice for people who need coverage for acute onset of pre-existing condition. As mentioned earlier, the fixed plan provides very limited coverage for acute onset of pre–existing conditions. Another difference between a Fixed/scheduled insurance and Comprehensive plan is that there is no co-insurance factor in a fixed plan.

They might work well for a minor medical expense, but insurance should always be bought keeping the worst case scenario in mind, where it is nearly impossible for an individual to handle the medical expense out of their own pocket. Given the limited nature of coverage, the fixed benefit travel plans however do provide higher policy maximum for people above the age of 80 years when compared to comprehensive plans.

Comprehensive visitor insurance plans: On the other hand comprehensive benefits insurance plans are the more preferred travel health insurance plans. They can be safely recommended to visitors traveling outside their home country especially to the United States, the country known for its expensive health care cost.

Comprehensive plans are comparatively expensive than Fixed/scheduled insurance plans. But is definitely worth the price, as they cover all the benefits flexibly up to policy maximum without capping to a specific amount. They have a co-insurance factor that is applicable for the first $5,000 of the expense incurred. This is usually 10% or 20%. Once the expense goes beyond the $5,000, the insurance company pays 100% for all the rest of the upcoming expenses.

These plans provide a good policy maximum coverage for people below 80 years of age. Above 80, the plans provide policy maximum ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. Most of these plans are one time deductible plans and per policy period plans. These are the most suitable and recommended travel medical insurance plans for any major medical expense.

Travel Insurance versus Travel medical Insurance

• Travel insurance plans also called as trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance insures pre-paid non-refundable trip investment expenses incase the trip or vacation gets cancelled or interrupted.
• Trip cancellation insurance provides coverage for air tickets, cruise and hotel rooms bookings. It will also cover unforeseen expenses from baggage delay and loss.
• Some travel insurance plans have an add on benefit as ‘cancel for any reason travel insurance coverage’. These travel insurance with cancel for any reason benefit refunds only 75% of the non-refundable trip investment expenses
• Travel cancellation and interruption insurance plans are popular among US citizens traveling within US or traveling outside the United States.

• Travel medical insurance or travel health insurance plans offer medical coverage for unexpected sickness or accident while traveling outside one's home country.
• Travel insurance covers the hospital room and board, ambulance services, any emergency services, inpatient and outpatient care, evacuation and repatriation. They might also cover political evacuation, terrorism, accidental death and dismemberment and natural disaster.
• Optional AD & D benefit, adventure sports benefits, acute onset of pre-existing conditions travel insurance are the options available
• Travel medical insurance is popular among international travelers visiting countries with high costs of healthcare like the United States or Europe.
• Immigrant communities in the USA who have family visiting them buy best travel medical insurance to ensure that parents or other family members do not have to worry about medical expenses while in the US.

Covid-19 travel insurance for international travelers

While travelling in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, one must ensure that they have the right travel health insurance with proper Covid-19 coverage. The recent variant Omicron and Delta Plus is considered highly infectious than the previous variants. At America visitor insurance travelers can get visitors insurance for Covid -19 illness.

We offer a range of options for visitors where they can compare using our Visitors insurance for Covid19 comparison tool based on the factors like the travelers age, duration of travel, the maximum coverage required, deductible and the need for pre-existing conditions or for covid coverage.

Travelers can narrow down their search further by applying the “filter” option for Covid19 available in the tool. Please know we are here to help you make the best, informed decision to get coverage even for COVID-19! Let us know how we can assist you. Feel free to contact us by email or phone at any time.