Deductibles in International Student Insurance

by Ray Sondeo

Take a moment to consider the need of international student?s medical insurance if you are a student going abroad for academic purpose. Every year numerous international students meet with medical emergencies. However, if the student is insured then most of his/her medical bills would be paid by the insurance for international students.

Your medical bills, however, would not be fully borne by the insurance company from the very outset. In order to be eligible for claiming insurance cover you will first have to pay a certain portion of the bill. Only after that would the insurance for international students start paying a part of the rest of the bill. This amount of money which is paid by you during medical emergencies is known as deductibles.

Once the deductible is met, the insurance company pays a percentage of the expenses, this is called Coinsurance. Typically comprehensive international insurance plans cover 80% of the first $5000 of the expenses, and 100% thereafter.

Deductible ranges from $0 to $2,500. Usually, the higher the deductible the lower is the amount of premium. The opposite is also true. Deductibles are included in international student?s insurance so that the insurance company does not have to process claims for relatively minor issues. It also encourages the insured to seek medical treatment only when essential and not in frivolous situations.

For example if you have chosen an medical insurance for international students plan with a deductible of $150 then you will have to pay $150 in case of a medical emergency towards your medical bill. Only after you make this payment will you be eligible to claim the rest of the expense from the international student?s medical insurance.

Plans that offer international student?s insurance will usually waive the deductible if initial treatment is sought at the Student Health Center of the university that student is enrolled at. Some plans do not waive the deductible, but lower the deductible by 50% if the student seeks treatment at the University?s Student Health Center first.

There are two kinds of deductible. While one is applied per sickness or per injury basis the other is applicable per 12 month basis. For the former, the insured person will need to pay the amount of deductible every time he/she encounters a new injury or illness. In case of the latter, the insurance holder will have to pay the medical bills as long as the entire amount of deductible is not met.

At higher costs, some international student?s insurance offers very low deductibles, at times even zero deductibles. Go through all the details of various international students? insurance deductibles before settling for one.

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Syndicate
March 2010
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