Buying Individual Health Insurance

Studying overseas is a common option for many students these days and it can be a good way to broaden your experience of different cultures as well as learn the subject of your choice. While it can provide an exciting opportunity it pays to take some precautions and this is especially true where health is concerned. Becoming ill in a foreign country can be a worrying time and international student health insurance can be way to reduce the financial implications of this.

International student health insurance is typically available for foreign students who travel to the USA to take a course and also to USA students who decide to study in another country. It usually covers the student for the cost or part of the cost for medical problems that they may suffer during the course of carrying of studies away from their home country. This can be a good investment, as suffering from a medical complaint in a foreign country can be a worrying enough experience without having financial woes added on top of this.

There are a number of companies that deal specifically in international student health insurance and these are typically the best options when considering the use of this type of insurance. International Student Insurance is one of these and they offer a few different types of plans for those planning to study abroad, one of which is health insurance. Their Student Secure plan is available to anyone who is planning to study away from their home country and it provides three options to choose from comprising the Smart, Budget and Select plans. The Smart option is the base plan and this offers fewer benefits than the other two, although this is reflected in lower premiums. The cost of premiums is dependent on age and starts at around $28 per month for the Smart plan for those aged 19 or under and rises to $255 for the Select plan for those aged 51 to 64. The plans are available for USA students travelling abroad as well as foreign students travelling to the USA.

International Student Organization on the other hand provides international student health insurance to non US citizens planning to study in the USA. This company offers a number of different plans to incoming students including Compass and ISO MED. The Compass plan offers three options comprising silver, gold and platinum while the ISO MED has a couple of options. The benefits vary from plan to plan and will typically depend on the monthly premium paid. The ISO MED 2 plan is one of the more affordable in terms of premiums, with those 19 and under typically paying around $32 per month. The Compass platinum is the most comprehensive plan which is reflected in the cost of the premiums and for those under 19 years of age this is $87 per month. Typically as age increase so do the cost of the premiums.

While spending time in another country studying can be a worthwhile experience, the practicalities of doing this need to be considered. Falling ill can be an expensive business in many countries and ensuring you are covered for some or all of the costs will remove a little of the worry of being away from home, family and friends. International student health insurance is therefore something that needs to be carefully considered by those travelling abroad to study to make sure they are adequately covered for the potential cost of medical bills.