Healthcare, Health Insurance, Vitamins, Nutrition

If you are an international student traveling to the United States for studies, one aspect of American life might shock you more than others. Not the lifestyle or the culture, but the cost of medical treatment! You will be required to carry international student insurance, which is available through several plans to suit your budget.

You must have insurance before you start classes at a university or college. Designed especially for students on F1 visas and their dependents on F2 visas, international student insurance plans are low-cost and offer a range of deductibles. You can also use the insurance as study abroad insurance in another country.

Students can choose the plan best suited to their requirements, from several available plan options. Deductibles can range from $0 to $2500, and the plan duration, five days to three years. The plans can usually be extended until the plan holder remains a student, and otherwise eligible for coverage.

You can also purchase coverage for your dependents along with your insurance. You and your dependent will be covered for physician consultation, inpatient and outpatient treatment, including prescription drugs. Emergency medical evacuation is also covered in most international student health insurance plans, as are pre-existing illnesses and pregnancy.

Selecting an insurance plan can be confusing for you, and to help you along, agencies which administers international student insurance plans, provides a Compare option. With this, you can view the relative merits and demerits of different plans at a glance.

Also, if a student sends the company a list of university requirements, insurance companies suggests cost-effective plans that offer the required coverage. These plans can also be less expensive than university health plans. In some of the plans, students can also purchase additional coverage for hazardous sports, on payment of an additional premium.

The applicant can purchase international student health insurance using an online portal, fax, or snail mail. Acceptable payment methods include checks, wire transfers, credit cards, and money orders. Most medical care can directly be applied to the plan, and does not require payment by the student at the time of treatment, a huge advantage for students.

International student insurance plans are underwritten by reputed companies such as Nationwide, Lloyds, and AIG. These companies are rated highly by A.M. Best Company, which is regarded as the most accurate source for insurance company ratings.