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Visitor Insurance FAQ - Purchasing Insurance

Compare and buy US travel insurance

Age & Citizenship
Child
Residence
Destination
Start date
End date

What does visitor travel insurance cover?

medical expensesHealth care expenses
Covers hospital expenses for sickness or accidents.
doctor visitDoctor visit
Insures Doctor visits for sudden injury or sickness.
pharmacy drugsPharmacy drugs
Doctor prescribed eligible pharmacy drugs expenses.
pre-ex conditionPre-existing conditions
Some plans insure acute onset of pre-existing conditions.
medical evacuation Medical evacuation
Medical evacuation expenses to nearest facility included.
repatriation of remains Repat of remains
Repatriation of remains to home country included.

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Get answers to all your questions?

How to find and compare best Covid19 travel insurance for visitors to the USA?

It is important for international travelers visiting the USA to find the best Covid19 visitors medical insurance coverage in the midst of this pandemic. Travelers can compare visitor health insurance with Covid coverage by using our visitor insurance compare tool. In the tool, we have a question clarifying if you need to compare visitors insurance for Covid 19. Even in our display comparing best travel insurance for Covid19, we have a “filter” option where visitors can filter for Covid 19 travel insurance coverage plans only. Based on your specific visitors insurance requirements we display all the available Covid travel insurance plans from top rated US insurance providers. Some common factors to consider while finding the best Covid19 US travel insurance plans are:

  • Type of Insurance coverage: Fixed vs Comprehensive visitor insurance costs. This decision impacts the cost of the overall coverage.
  • Deductible : This is the amount that the traveler has to pay before the insurance plan starts paying for medical expenses.
  • Other vital US travel insurance factors: Factors such as the co-insurance, renewability, PPO network, insurance underwriter which are displayed clearly in our visitors medical insurance with Covid19 coverage comparison tool.

I am a US citizen living outside US and I want to visit US for a short time. Is there a plan that provides 100% coverage without co insurance?

We have comprehensive plans that are suitable in your situation. The Comprehensive plans do have a 10-20% of co insurance applicable for the first $5000 of expense, which might be waived in case you visit a doctor within the PPO network of the insurance company.
Click here to read more

I am a US citizen and I am 78. My wife is a US citizen as well and she is 75. Will we get coverage for pre existing while we are in US?d?

I am afraid not. You will only get comprehensive coverage for any sickness or injury but nothing for the pre existing condition.

I am a non US citizen and my daughter is US citizen. We both live outside US and want to visit US. Are we eligible for the plans covering US citizens in US?

In your case the answer is 'Yes'. Liaison Elite and Liaison Economy from Seven Corners are suitable for both of you as these plans provide coverage outside the home country where "Home Country" is the country of principal residence.

Is there any plan that can cover me in the US and outside of it, as long as it is not my country of residence?

Yes, we do have plan that will cover you while you are outside the US. You will have to buy a separate policy if you intend to visit other country like Chile.

If I enroll from August 7 through August, 31, can then enroll again in December? (without returning to my country of residence in between these two periods of coverage)

Yes, you can buy the same plan for your next visit.

My family and I have different travel dates, as my family is staying for a longer period than me. Do I buy a separate plan or buy a plan for everyone together?

It is better that you buy a separate plan for yourself and another plan for the rest of your family with your spouse as the primary insured. That way you can save the cancellation fee in case you need to drop out of the plan once your stay period comes to an end.

What are the advantages of buying travel insurance with an US insurer as opposed to buying it in my native country?

It is advisable to have insurance from an American company while in the United States, even if the premium for these plans are more expensive. The reason is that while almost all Doctors/hospitals in the United States accept American insurance company cards, they will be reluctant to acknowledge overseas insurance coverage. The medical office can easily contact an American insurance company for clarification, while the same will not be true for an overseas insurance company.

Medical offices, particularly hospitals, in the US can bill directly to an American insurance company. For overseas insurance companies, they expect you to pay the bill upfront, and then you will have to try to get your expenses reimbursed when you return home.

There are so many choices of insurance plans offered by different companies. How do I know which plan best fits my needs?

It is precisely to help you make this decision that we built our insurance comparison facility. Using our Visitor Insurance comparison, you can evaluate different plans based on their cost, the deductible and their rating.

This will help you identify the plan that best suits for your needs. Feel free to call our friendly staff or try also this link to get a feel for plans that may fit your needs Compare Travel Medical Insurance.

When should I purchase the visitor health insurance plan?

You should purchase visitors insurance online only after being certain of your travel plans (having the passport/visa papers and the airline tickets in order). It is safest to start the insurance coverage from the date of departure from your country of residence/home country.

You can make the insurance start the next day from the date of your purchase, so even if they are about to leave, you can still make your purchase online and quickly make sure their whole trip is covered. If you are already on your trip, you should purchase insurance as soon as may be because some companies will issue policies to persons who have already on their trip, particularly to the US and particularly if it has been over one month. An early purchase will give you the most options and the best coverage. Click here to read more

Is it safe to buy visitor health insurance online?

The insurance application form is a secure page which means the page uses a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for transferring data. The SSL encrypts the data which makes it indecipherable to outside intruders. Your online application and all contents including credit card information is secure in this process. Please note that your credit card information is not saved by us in any way.

What proof will I have of having purchased these visitor medical insurance plans?

On completing an online application, the customer will receive a confirmation email with the details of insurance. This confirmatory email will either have relevant links and attachments or will itself be the virtual insurance card. It is advisable that the customer print the ID card and archive this email for future reference.

In some cases, the customer will also receive an insurance card by mail to the mailing address in the application. Some companies have an option called online fulfillment. If the customer chooses Yes to this option, all insurance documents will be emailed or made available online. The customer will need the policy number, group number, and insurance provider's contact information to access all details regarding the insurance plan.

After 6 months is there a way to get coverage? And is the payment plan monthly or I have to buy 6 months directly? Is there a discount of buying for the entire period?

If the plan maximum lifetime is 6 months you should be able to renew the plan before it expires in case your visitor extends the stay. You will have to make an upfront payment for 6 months. It is not monthly payment. No, there is no discount for your purchase.

I have an A3 Visa. Are there insurance policies for A3 Visa?

Yes. You can buy our short term visitor plans. Please visit our quote facility: Short term Insurance plans

I need to purchase Atlas insurance for my Columbian friend. Can I put my friend's name as the applicant and give my address as the mailing address and purchase the insurance on my Credit Card?

Yes. There is no problem with this. You can pay with your Credit Card for your friend's insurance.

My son is still an infant, so this means he is covered free under my wife's Atlas plan, right?

That is correct and this is a unique benefit of this plan. However, you should put him on as a dependent on the plan, even though you will not pay for him.

Could you please indicate the difference between the Patriot America and the Patriot America Plus plans?

Patriot America and America Plus are similar but for the fact that Patriot America Plus insures Non US citizens for any acute onset of pre-existing conditions up to the age of 70 years. This is not available in Patriot America.

Since my son is not covered for free under my wife's coverage, could my wife and son buy 2 separate plans(different deductibles and maximum benefits) or do they have to be in 1 plan?

You can purchase separate plans if you want to, however, you will probably pay less with him on as a "dependent" on your wife's plan than as a primary insured. In any case, whether together or separate, they always have their own deductible and maximum; this does not change.

We do not really care about pregnant and maternity coverage as well as travel coverage (baggage lost....) or terrorism, evacuation coverage. Is there any way to opt out these benefit and add Dental coverage?

No. The insurance plans have been designed to help travellers for their typical needs. While you can add riders to some of the plans (improve benefits), you cannot opt out or change the benefits.

The plan says: "Hospital precertification penalty - 50% of eligible medical expenses". *Please help me understand this too.

In SOME cases, you must "pre certify" with the insurance company before incurring costs. For example, let's say you are not well and go see a doctor and he recommends an MRI. The MRI is a very expensive procedure. In this situation, you should call the insurance company before you get it done to make sure they agree to the procedure and will pay for it (at least their 80% of it).

This does not apply to emergency care that is required immediately due to possible loss of life or limb, of course. However, even if hospitalized, you should contact the insurance company (never assume the hospital has done this for your own protection) to let them know what is happening. This penalty means you will pay for 50% of any charges if you fail to call them ahead of time. You should not see this as an unreasonable burden; when in doubt give them a call, but always take care of your visitor in the event of an emergency first.

What is the ideal time to buy travel health insurance or visitors medical insurance?

It is advisable to buy travel insurance soon after you make the flight bookings and hotel reservations, but before you commence your trip so that you are insured for the entire journey as soon as you leave your home country. For more details, you can review the blog - ideal time to buy travel health insurance

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Insurance FAQ Disclaimer

AmericanVisitorInsurance and/or its associates have tried to answer these frequently asked questions to the best of our knowledge. However we make no guarantee regarding the accuracy of our answers. The exact answers for some of the questions can change periodically as insurance companies change their plans/policies. AmericanVisitorInsurance is not liable for any problem resulting from the content on this FAQ. If you do not agree with the terms of this disclaimer, please do not use any information in this FAQ..
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List of best visitors insurance companies in USA

You can find reliable US insurance providers like International Medical Group(IMG), Seven Corners, WorldTrips, Global Underwriters, Travel Insure, GeoBlue, HTH Worldwide and INF insurance.

List of best visitors insurance companies in USA


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