Visitor Insurance FAQ - Medical Coverage for Parents

Yes. You can purchase the insurance coverage on behalf of others in their absence. The online applications will require names, dates of birth, and usually a passport number or government ID number for at least the primary insured (whomever you list first on the application). However, the sites are also set up for use from anyone in the world as long as they have a credit card to make their purchase.

Yes, you can purchase the insurance for only a few days of their travel. However, you must aware that insurance coverage is purchased to cover unexpected medical emergencies. One never knows when the need for insurance can come up during their stay. Your insurance coverage will be not useful for the uninsured period, neither can it be purchased after a medical ailment to cover any ailment that has already occurred.

• You have to pay two renewal fees should you renew the policies.
• It may be cumbersome to deal with different companies should you choose to buy from different insurance providers.

There are however many advantages of having separate policies. They are:

• Greater flexibility to buy different policies for each person depending on the specific needs of each. You may want pre-existing coverage for one, but not need it for the other. If their ages are significantly different, you may want to get a higher maximum coverage for the younger one that may not be available for the older one. All of these can only be achieved through separate insurance policies.
• One of your parents might want to return earlier, you can claim a refund for this individual policy which you cannot do if it is a combined policy.
• Likewise one of your parents might extend their stay. It will not be possible to extend the policy for only one person if it is a combined policy.

Remember that on a combined policy, all insured are limited to the maximums available for the oldest person and the travel dates must match. You must weight the advantages in your particular situation to determine what makes the most sense.

The main advantage of purchasing insurance before the travelers start their journey is that the travel medical insurance for the journey itself will be covered. In other words they would be covered for eligible travel medical coverage during their flight and in-transit till they reach the USA. Also, some policies offer lost baggage benefit that would assist in replacing their belongings should the airline lose their bags.

Some customers are however unsure of the duration of stay of their parents in the USA, as this can depend on the length of stay approved by the immigration authority at the US port of entry. For this reason some travelers would prefer to purchase the travel medical insurance after their parents arrive in the US. However, this issue can be overcome as most insurance providers will refund the premium that is not used on a pro rata basis. Alternatively, customers can purchase the policy for a few days and then renew the plan for the entire duration of their stay in the USA. However, in this situation, please make sure that you purchase a renewable policy