Best Visitors Medical Insurance

Protection America from IMG is the best visitors medical insurance plan in the market and the following reasons are why. Even though some of the features listed below are available also in other US based insurance products we sell, no other product has so many excellent features at an affordable cost as Protection America. In fact, some of the points below are intended to convey the advantages of buying the insurance from US compared to buying from overseas companies.

90/10 co-insurance buy-up:
After paying the deductible, comprehensive coverage plans cover 80/20 for first $5,000 within USA and Canada.
However, at 5% extra premium, you can buy-up Protection America so that it will cover 90/10 for first $5,000 in US/Canada. Exclusive feature in Protection America that no other visitors medical insurance plan in the market has.
Prescription drug discount card:
At no additional cost, Protection America provides Universal RX pharmacy discount card that you can use at over 35,000 chain pharmacies in the US and allows members to purchase prescriptions at the lowest cost available. This card provides discounts for prescription drugs even for pre-existing conditions. Another exclusive feature in Protection America.
More details
Largest and most widely recognized PPO network:
Protection America from IMG participates in First Health PPO Network. As soon as you make a purchase, you will get a virtual id card in the email and the actual id card is mailed to you the next business day. The health insurance id card has the First Health PPO logo on it. Whenever you visit a provider, they will ask for the insurance card.
First Health PPO Network is a separately-organized network of approximately 500,000 physicians and 4,700 privately owned and operated hospitals. It is the largest network provided by any visitor medical insurance plan and in every major area of US, there are a good number of doctors and hospitals. When you go to the doctors in the network, please mention that you have First Health PPO Network plan, as the doctor sometimes may not be aware of IMG or Protection America. When you go to the doctors and hospitals in the network, they can take the insurance card and contact IMG to verify the benefits. IMG can pay directly to the provider if it is determined that it is an eligible expense (covered expense in the policy). They will also charge only the Network Negotiated Fee (NNF) which is a discounted fee in many cases. That means, Protection America is the most widely accepted and greatest in savings in terms of network negotiated fees.

Many overseas products don't provide health insurance cards. Also, you will need to call their home office before going to the doctor, pay up front and once you return back to your home country, file a claim there (along with the proof of return such as passport stamp) and you will get reimbursed in local currency, instead of US dollars.
Identity theft assistance:
Provides assistance up to $500 for identity theft.
Exclusive benefit from IMG.
Claim resolution/Peer review:
Some times, it is not absolutely clear whether the particular condition is a pre-existing condition. IMG uses a completely independent peer review company in cases where claims are disputed and appeals are filed. This is how the denial are overturned in some cases. This is an important IMG behind-the-scenes service that most clients are not aware of.
Claims/administration in US:
IMG has actual reserve of money to pay claims, and it is based in Indianapolis, IN, USA. IMG doesn't need permission or have to wait to receive money elsewhere before paying your claims. Payment is also made directly in US dollars.
Administrators for overseas companies have to wait until the insurance company pays them first before you/provider are reimbursed. Which leads to more hassles and a significant increase in time for resolving your claims. By the time claims are settled, collection agencies may already be after you for payment owed.
Customer support:
IMG is available 24/7 for emergencies and evacuations. Customer service is available during regular business hours almost entire day, Monday through Friday.
If you need to visit a doctor or go to an emergency room, you don't have to call overseas first for approval. Just go as you normally would and take your insurance card with you.
Coverage type:
Protection America is a comprehensive coverage plan for all ages.

Many overseas products are comprehensive up to age 55 and fixed coverage after age 55. This is not explained many times nor mentioned even in the brochure (stated only in the policy wording). This may come as a surprise to the customer when claim occurs.
Cost:
While this is an important factor, please do not make it the only factor into consideration before buying visitors medical insurance. Many times, what you pay is what you get. It may be worth spending few dollars more to get a lot better coverage. Anyway, Protection America's prices are quite comparable to other similar comprehensive coverage products.
Renewal:
Protection America can be purchased for as little as 5 days and can subsequently be renewed for as little as 5 days. If you renew for 1 month or more at a time, you don't have to pay the renewal fee of $5. The coverage is continuous, the deductible is annual and you are just making payments in installments. Therefore, Protection America is very flexible in case you are not sure how long you may need the insurance, don't have budget to pay everything up front or you decide to stay longer than originally planned.
Refund:
Protection America gives full refund any time before the effective date of the insurance.

After the effective date, as long as there are no claims filed since the effective date, Protection America refunds fully unused months minus $25 cancellation fee. No refund for partial months.

There is no refund if you bought the insurance and kept the insurance for the entire duration, even if there were no claims. Refund may be made only before the effective date or in case of early departure.
Outpatient benefits:
Protection America will pay for any new medical conditions, sicknesses, injuries or accidents that may occur after the effective date of the insurance. This also includes outpatient benefits such as doctor's office visit, outpatient prescription drugs, x-rays etc, in addition to the inpatient (hospitalization) benefits.

Some products may be just hospitalization coverage.