My parents will be visiting from India for a couple of months. They are over 65 and I was looking for recommendation on obtainig visitor health insurance for the duration of their stay. Is it better to get insurance from India or from one of the several US based vistor health insurers ( eg. insubuy.com, nriol.net). Are they reliable? Appreciate any experiences with such insurers.
Popular comprehensive coverage visitor insurance plans are best for relatives and parents visiting USA, visit AtlasAmericaInsurance.Net or PatriotAmericaInsurance.Net or LiaisonTravelInsurance.com
It is always better if you are able to get it in USA. When I went i took from India.Because my return ticket was for six months I got insurance for the six months only. Later whrn I decided to extend my stay for another six month insurance co refused to extend the visa on the ground that I should return to India and take a new policy and then return.So it is better to clear the doubt from insurance co in US and then do the need fu;. At the airport of entry they will ask you to produce the insurance details. So you can take the policy well in advance scan it and send your parents. When they land be present with the originals and see that those originals are passed on to them.
When my mother-in-law visited us here, I bought her Atlas America travel insurance from HCC medical. It is a comprehensive medical insurance plan that works just like medical insurance that we residents have. It is also one of the two plans suggested by insubuy.com. I remember paying about $100 a month for $200K coverage with $250 deductible. I renewed it once every 2 months to keep my commitment low. Fortunately we never get to use the service but I am going get this plan for anyone else coming to visit us in future.Most of the medical insurance plans sold by Indian companies are fixed coverage plans which are not very good. Even if there are comprehensive coverage plans, they will not have a third party administrator in the states meaning, the insured has to pay the bills first and then claim benefits later which is not really practical considering huge medical bills. As per my knowledge ICICI is the only company that says their plans are administered by United health care services. The company is well respected and has good network of providers but it is hard to convince a medical provider/hospital to accept it upon use. I had colleague who came to the states on business visit had to see the doctor. When none of the doctors is ready to accept his insurance (provided by ICICI), I had to promise my doctor that I will pay the bill myself if not settled by the insurance company. It took a while for them to get the claim settled.One last thing is understand what you are buying to avoid surprises later.
When I visited last year travel agent advised me to take the insurance before boarding the plane with the health insurance papers as it will be demanded at the port of entry. To my utter astonishment seeing my age 58 nothing was asked excepting the passport. Coolly took it and stamped it and passed me on. Did not even ask for return ticket. When I decided to extend my stay beyond six month the Insurance co in India refused to extend the coverage telling that I should come back to India and then apply for another extension and then return.It was ridiculous. So please consult insurance co in US about this point clearly as if you need to extend whether they will allow or not. If yes then get it from US and send the papers to your parents as at entry point they may ask for it.
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