Traveling to the United States can be an amazing experience. However, it requires a lot of planning, including the preparation for a USA visa which can be a long and complicated process. While visiting the U.S., you should highly consider purchasing travel insurance, as the healthcare costs in the U.S. are the highest in the world. There are many travel insurance plans available, and it can be confusing to figure out what features you need to consider. Therefore, the following list of various features to look for can help:

• Plan Type

There are primarily two types of travel medical insurance plans. Fixed coverage plans (also called scheduled benefit plans) have a sub-limit for most medical benefits which are significantly lower compared to the actual expenses. Therefore, even though they may be cheaper in price upfront, you will end up paying a significant amount of money out of your pocket when you use the coverage. On the other hand, comprehensive coverage plans provide coverage 80%, 90%, or even 100% coverage up to the policy maximum. We always recommend everyone purchase only comprehensive coverage plans.

Plan Types
• PPO Network and Cashless Treatment

Many comprehensive coverage plans and some fixed coverage plans participate in a PPO network, such as United Healthcare, First Health, etc. These are networks of physicians, labs, and hospitals all across the country that participate in the network. When visiting such providers, they can bill the insurance company directly and also charge you the network-negotiated fees. In short, utilizing the PPO network can provide cashless treatment.

• Flexibility – Extension and Cancellation

As the United States is geographically far from many other countries, most tourists traveling to the U.S. travel to the U.S. for a longer duration, as traveling there for a couple of days does not make sense. The longer the planned trip  duration, the higher the need for flexibility in terms of extension and cancellation.

You should consider purchasing a travel insurance plan that can be extended in case you want to or need to stay for a longer duration. Make sure it is a true extension of the same insurance and not a repurchase, as you don’t want all the terms and conditions of the policy, including the pre-existing conditions exclusion, to start all over again.

In case you have purchased the insurance for a longer duration and you need to return home early, you should be able to cancel the insurance and get a refund for unused portion. However, please note that no travel insurance company gives a refund if you have already filed any claim.

• Travel Benefits

Even though medical benefits in case you get sick or injured while on your trip are the most important part of travel insurance, they typically provide additional benefits such as emergency medical evacuation, repatriation of remains, loss of checked luggage, Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D), emergency dental, and many more benefits.

• Reliable Source and Support

Do not simply purchase travel insurance from the first link that comes up in a search engine. Make sure the insurance broker from whom you purchase the travel insurance is reliable, has been in business for a long time, and is available to help you when you need them – especially after purchase in case you have any claims issues. Even though the price for exactly the same insurance plans is exactly the same everywhere, who you purchase the insurance from matters when you really need it.

• Insurance Company

Make sure that the insurance company or their administrator is based in the U.S., and will be available to help you locally when you need them. Many foreign insurance companies may not be accepted in the U.S., and it would be hard to deal with them in a foreign country from a totally different time zone.

Buying from USA vs. home country
• Price

Even though price is an important factor, you should not look simply at the price; also look at the benefits. You should know what exactly you are getting for what you are paying. Sometimes, the most expensive travel insurance does not provide the greatest amount of coverage. Also, don’t go for the cheapest plan you can find, as it may fall short of your expectations.

Factors that affect premiums

It is best to get instant quotes from multiple plans and compare before making a decision to purchase the best travel insurance for the U.S. to suit your needs. If you have any questions, or would like our advice, contact our office for assistance.