• 14
  May
  2010

• 3 Things to Know When Buying Study Abroad Insurance

  Filed Under: Health Insurance

A study abroad program is an exciting opportunity to expand your cultural horizons and grow as an individual. You are about to embark on an exciting journey in which you will discover many things about yourself as well as the world as a whole. As you prepare, you will hopefully consider protecting yourself with study abroad insurance, but you may be wondering what factors will go into determining the coverage you will need. Here's an overview of three factors:

The first factor that will help shape your policy is the length of your stay. Are you studying abroad for a semester? A year? Or some other increment of time? The amount of time you are spending overseas will help determine how much your policy will cost, as the longer you stay the more coverage you will want to buy.

Second, do you need coverage for dependents? Many international students may also be seeking coverage for a spouse or children, which will obviously incur additional charges for each dependent you add to your plan. You will be able to disclose this information on your application.

And a third important factor in buying study abroad insurance is what you want your deductible to be. If you are not familiar with deductibles, the idea is simple: it is the amount of claims that must be filed before your insurance kicks in. So if you have a $500 deductible, you will have to pay for the first $500 worth of claims yourself and then insurance will pay for all claims beyond that. The higher a deductible you choose, the lower your payment will be (since your insurance provider is assuming less risk and you are assuming more). Commenting is not available in this channel entry.