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Friday, June 19, 2009

What are Deductibles in Medical Insurance for International Students

By Ray Sondeo

Medical insurance is very important for students living away from home, especially international students. The reason being your medical emergencies, which would be taken care of by your medical insurance. Therefore, you must consider the subject of international student?s insurance before leaving your country for academic purpose.

However, the insurance for international student will not start paying your bills right away. At the very outset you will have to pay a certain amount of money from your own pocket towards your expenses. Only after that will you be able to claim a percentage of the remaining amount of the bill from the international student insurance company. This amount payable by you is known as deductible.

After you pay the deductibles, your insurance company starts paying a percentage of the medical expenditure incurred abroad. This is known as Coinsurance. Typical international student?s insurance plans cover 80% of the first $5000 of your medical bill. Once the expenses exceed $5000, the insurance company gives you 100% coverage against any medical emergency thereafter.

The range of deductibles start from $0 and goes up to $250.Usually, the lower the premium the higher is the deductible, and vice-versa. Insurance companies evade claims relatively trivial in nature with the help of deductibles. Inclusion of deductibles also encourages people not to frivolously engage in medical treatment.

Suppose you have purchased international students insurance with a deductible of $200. In that case, you will first have to pay $200 towards your medical bill for medical emergencies. This qualifies you for claiming the remaining bill amount from your medical insurance company.

International insurance for students put aside the deductibles if the primary treatment is taken at the University?s Student Health Centre. In some cases, the insurance companies do not waive the deductible but reduce it by 50%, if the first treatment is sought at the University?s student health centre.

Typically, deductibles are of two kinds. One is applied based on per sickness or per injury, while the other is applied on a yearly basis. In case of the first type, every time the insurance holder encounters a new kind of injury or sickness, he/she will have to pay the amount of deductible. For the other type, the policyholder will be required to pay his medical bills as long as the insurance holder does not pay the full amount of deductible.

Some student?s insurance provides very low or even zero deductible. However, the cost is higher in such cases. It is advisable to read the policy benefits carefully before choosing the international student insurance deductible.

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