For the past three decades or so, thousands of Indian professionals have been moving to the United States every year. They might have either come to the US first to study and then get a job, or directly came to the USA for the job such as on an H-1B visa or L-1 visa. Many of them eventually get their Green Card and also become US citizens. However, their extended families such as parents, in-laws and other siblings are still in India. Many of these parents had very limited means and worked very hard to provide good education to their children and make them capable with the same.
Therefore, these Indian professionals would like their parents and in-laws to come and visit them in the US. This primarily serves two purposes: They get to spend time together, and at the same time, elderly visitors to get tour the wonderful country of the United States.
Visiting the United States requires a lot of preparation such as getting a passport, securing a US tourist visa, and getting airline tickets. However, it is very important to consider visitors insurance for Indian parents visiting the USA. Healthcare costs are extremely high in the US. Without the proper medical insurance, it is not possible for most people to pay for treatment out of their pocket.
Is visitors insurance mandatory for travel to the US?
No, purchasing visitors insurance or travel medical insurance is not legally mandated to visit the US on a B-2 visitors visa. However, healthcare is not free in the US. In fact, it is so expensive that it is practically mandatory to purchase visitors insurance. Even if the visitor is in good health, there are always chances of unexpected illnesses, injuries or accidents that may occur while visiting the US.
And by expensive, we really mean very expensive. A simple surgery may cost around $50,000 or more. A visit to the emergency room may easily cost thousands of dollars. Even a visit to the doctor may cost you hundreds of dollars.
Therefore, the money spent on health insurance for visiting parents in the USA is well worth it, and it can save you from a lot of financial and mental stress.
What if I am traveling only for a short duration to the US?
Irrespective of the trip duration, the possibility of something unexpected occurring, such as an illness or injury, remains the same. Even if someone is visiting the US for six months, nothing may happen. But someone visiting only for two weeks may get injured. Therefore, irrespective of the duration of visit to the US, it is highly recommended to purchase visitors insurance for a worry-free US visit.
Should I purchase visitors insurance from US based or Indian company?
When considering the best medical insurance for parents visiting the USA from India, many people wonder whether it is better to purchase it from a US based or Indian company. While doing so, most people are simply looking at the cost of the insurance.
While the Indian travel insurance may seem cheaper at first, it will eventually turn out to be a lot more expensive to you. The coverage that they may provide will likely be significantly lower or limited compared to what you can get from the US based company. It is important to remember that the Indian companies are not doing any charity by selling you cheaper travel insurance, and US based companies are not robbing you by offering higher priced travel insurance. Generally, what you pay for is what you get.
US based visitors insurance plans have many advantages such as higher coverage, higher benefit limits, participation in a PPO network for direct billing or cashless services, can be extendable, refundable and most importantly, everything is handled locally in the US, which makes it much smoother for you.
What is the best way to purchase visitors insurance from the US?
You can get instant quotes from multiple US based companies, compare them side-by -side and make an instant purchase online, right here on this website. Once you have purchased the insurance, you can manage your insurance online through MyAccount where you can extend, cancel or make allowed changes to your policy.
Also, the guide section has a lot of useful articles and FAQs that you can review to make an educated decision about visitors insurance for parents visiting the US from India.
What are the primarily factors I should keep in mind for visitors insurance for parents from India?
Depending upon their age, you should look at what policy maximums are available and try to choose the highest policy maximum you can. Even though $50,000 may seem like a lot of money, when the person gets sick or injured, it gets used up very fast with the price of healthcare in the US.
You should also pay attention to the deductible amount you choose; the money that you have to pay before the insurance company pays for most covered benefits. The higher the deductible, the cheaper it is upfront, but you have to pay more at the time of using it.
Some visitors insurance plans also cover the acute onset of pre-existing conditions up to a certain amount for travelers up to a certain age.
Even though it is highly recommended to purchase the visitors insurance for the entire trip duration upfront, if your parents are really not sure of how long they will stay, you can pick an extendable visitors insurance plan, where you purchase the visitors insurance for a shorter duration and then extend it.
While many fixed coverage visitors insurance plans are cheaper, they have sub-limits for every benefit, which is lower than the usual charges. Therefore, it is highly recommended to purchase comprehensive coverage visitors insurance plans. Most of the comprehensive visitors insurance plans come with PPO network participation, where the providers can bill the insurance company directly, and also charge only the network negotiated fees.
What about the COVID-19 coverage in visitors insurance?
There are many visitors insurance plans that would cover COVID-19 just like any other new sickness that occurs after the effective date of the policy. And that would require the treatment and testing. However, any tests required as part of the travel requirements or vaccines are not covered.
Can't find answers to your questions?
Ask our specialists - Licensed and experienced insurance professionals in the U.S.