International Student Health Insurance | FAQ

With any international student health insurance plan, there will most likely be questions about different aspects of the plan that you may have. Our frequently asked questions section provides you with the most common questions we receive on a daily basis so that you can find as much information for yourself about the plans. If you however have further questions or would simply like clarification – please do not hesitate to contact us for assistance and we will be more than happy to help you.

Underwriter

Who underwrites the Student Secure plan and what is their rating?

Lloyd's is the underwriter of the StudentSecure plan. They are rated A (Excellent) by AM Best Company and A+ (Strong) by Standard and Poor's, meeting visa requirements for the USA and countries around the world.

Eligibility

Where will this plan cover me?

The StudentSecure plan provides worldwide coverage, as long as you are outside of your home country.

Am I eligible to apply for the StudentSecure?

• If you are a student in the USA on an F1 or J1 visa, you are automatically eligible for the StudentSecure plan.
• For those on other visa types, or those studying outside of the US, you will need to be a full-time student or scholar, or within 31 days of being a full-time student.

Will this plan work for me while on OPT/CPT?

Yes, students on OPT or CPT are eligible for the StudentSecure, even while on post-completion OPT, as long as you maintain valid F1 status.

Does this plan work for scholars?

Yes, full-time scholars who are outside of their home country and affiliated with an educational institution and performing work or research for at least 30 hours per week are eligible for the StudentSecure plan. These activities may include but are not limited to performing research in an area of specialty or teaching for a temporary period of time. This requirement is waived for participants in the US with a valid F1 or J1 visa.

Are my spouse and children eligible for the plan?

No, spouses and children are not eligible for the StudentSecure plan, however if you need dependent coverage please see our other insurance options.

Application Help

When can I apply for the plan online?

Coverage can be purchased online from anywhere up to 6 months before your chosen start date, right up until the very same day you are traveling.

Will I get an ID card?

Yes, you will receive an electronic PDF version of your insurance ID card immediately by email, and you can also choose to receive a physical ID card in the mail by selecting the “Email and Regular Mail” option on the application.

When will I get my documents?

When applying online, you will receive all your insurance documents, including your ID card and receipt of purchase, immediately by email. These documents can be printed out as proof of coverage.

If you would like physical documents to be mailed, make sure you choose the “Email and Regular Mail” option on the online application. Physical delivery time will depend on the postal service, with delivery to a US address taking about one week and international addresses may take about 2-3 weeks. Express delivery is also available for an additional $20 if your address is in the US or an additional $30 if your address is outside the US. Please Note: There is no additional fee to mail your documents with the regular mail option.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept all major credit or debit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. You are also welcome to use a friend or family member’s credit or debit card with their permission to purchase the plan. If you would prefer to pay using a check and wire transfer, please contact us for more information.

What is a Beneficiary?

In case of a covered/eligible accidental death, the StudentSecure Select and Elite plan has a death benefit that could be paid out to the beneficiary. The beneficiary is the name of the person who would receive this death benefit. The beneficiary is the name of the person who would receive this death benefit. Most students put the name of their mother, father, brother, sister, husband or wife — however you can put any name you wish, including your estate.

Renewability, Extensions and Cancellations

Can I extend or renew my insurance plan?

Yes. If you purchase your policy for less than 364 days, you can extend the plan up until you have a full 364 days of coverage. Once you have a full 364 days of coverage, you can then renew your plan for another year. If you continue to meet the eligibility requirements and don’t have any breaks in coverage, you can extend and renew your policy for up to a total of 4 years. Please note that there is an additional $5 fee per extension or renewal. All extensions and renewals can be done quickly and easily through your Student Zone account.

My plan has expired, how can I reinstate it?

Once a plan has expired or lapsed, it cannot be reinstated. You can instead purchase a new plan and begin coverage as soon as the same day. Please click here to apply online again.

Can I cancel my StudentSecure plan?

To be eligible for a full refund, the request for cancellation must be received prior to the effective date of your policy.

Cancellation requests received after the effective date will be subject to the following conditions:

1. A $25 cancellation fee will apply, if paid in full.
2. Only premium for unused whole-months, if paying in monthly installments, or unused days, if paid in full, of the plan will be refunded.
3. Only members who have no claims are eligible for premium refund.
4. After 60 days, no refunds are granted.
5. If you have only purchased 1 months coverage and cancel within that month, no refund will be due.

All cancellation requests must be submitted in writing, and a cancellation form cancellation form must be completed. No cancellation requests can be accepted over the phone. You may send this request and completed form to info@internationalstudentinsurance.com.

Understanding Your Coverage

Does this plan cover maternity?

Yes, the StudentSecure Budget, Select and Elite do cover pregnancies if conception occurs after the policy effective date. Benefits include, but are not limited to, pre-natal, delivery, and post-natal care as well as expenses for miscarriage and complications of pregnancy. Routine nursery care of newborns is also covered.

Please note — the StudentSecure Smart plan does not provide maternity coverage and if you are pregnant before the policy effective date, costs related to the pregnancy will not be covered.

Are sports covered under this policy?

The StudentSecure Budget, Select and Elite levels all cover medical expenses for injuries and illnesses that result from participation in intercollegiate, interscholastic, intramural, or club sports up to a maximum of $5,000 per Injury or Illness with the Select and Elite levels and $3,000 per injury or Illness with the Budget level.

Does this plan have vision or dental coverage?

The StudentSecure plan does not provide any coverage for vision.

Accidental dental is covered if you suffer an accident to your teeth and need to have dental surgery with coverage of $250 per tooth up to a maximum of $500 on the Smart, Budget, Select and Elite plans. Regular dental check-ups or visits are not covered — however if you do have unexpected dental pain the plan will pay $100 towards expenses for treatment for this pain on all four levels of the plan. If you require a more comprehensive dental insurance plan, please see our dental plans.

What does Usual Reasonable and Customary (URC) mean?

URC – which stands for Usual Reasonable and Customary – is either the lesser of 150% of the charges payable under the United States Medicare program for claims incurred outside the PPO network within the U.S., or the average cost charged by a provider for a specific procedure in a specific geographic area. For example, if a particular procedure costs $5,000 on average in the New York City, the insurance company will not pay your provider in New York City $10,000 for the same exact procedure. Instead, they will limit their payment to "Usual Reasonable and Customary" – in this example, $5,000.

Does my plan cover pre-existing conditions?

A Pre-existing Condition is any condition for which medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment (includes receiving services and supplies, consultations, diagnostic tests or prescription medicines) was recommended or received during the 12 months immediately preceding the certificate effective date; a condition that had manifested itself in such a manner that would have caused a reasonably prudent person to seek medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment (includes receiving services and supplies, consultations, diagnostic tests or prescription medicines) within the 12 months immediately preceding the certificate effective date; or a injury, illness, sickness, disease, or other physical, medical, mental, or nervous conditions, disorder or ailment (whether known or unknown) that, with reasonable medical certainty, existed at the time of application or within the 12 months immediately preceding the certificate effective date.

The StudentSecure plan will over coverage for eligible pre-existing conditions after a 6 month waiting period on the Select and Elite levels and after a 12 month waiting period on the Budget level. The Smart level does not offer coverage for pre-existing conditions, except charges resulting directly from an Acute Onset of a Pre-Existing Condition, an Emergency Medical Evacuation, or Repatriation of Remains, subject to the limits set forth in the Schedule of Benefits and Limits.

What is the difference between the Smart, Budget, Select and Elite plans?

The StudentSecure plan comes in four plan options; Smart, Budget, Select and Elite. The main differences between the four plans falls into two main areas 1) Differences in benefit levels and 2) Out of Pocket expenses you will need to pay.

The main benefit differences are as listed in our benefits table, where the Elite typically has higher coverage levels for each benefit, and then the Smart, Budget and Select plans are more restricted or may not cover all benefits. For the out of pocket differences, please see the Frequently Asked Questions listed below as they deal with the deductible and coinsurance differences on each plan level.

What is the copay or out of pocket cost on this plan?

The StudentSecure plan does not have a copay but the plan does have two out of pocket expenses: the deductible and the coinsurance.

What is a deductible?

The deductible is the amount you are required to pay to the doctor or hospital before the insurance company will pay toward your eligible expenses. On the StudentSecure plan, it is paid once for every new illness or injury — not per visit. If you became ill or injured and went to the doctor you would pay the deductible, but if you went for a follow-up visit on that same condition you would not need to pay the deductible again since you’ve already paid it for that condition.

The deductible on the StudentSecure is represented in the table below:

What is coinsurance?

After the deductible, coinsurance applies to your benefits, and this is the cost sharing between you and the insurance plan. This is typically referred to as a percentage that the plan will pay, for example if there is 80% coverage — the insurance plan will pay 80% and you will need to pay the remaining 20%.

The coinsurance on the StudentSecure plan when seeking treatment in the network inside the United States is as follows:

• Smart plan is 80% coverage, up to the overall maximum limit.
• Budget plan is 80% coverage for the first $25,000 of your medical costs, then 100% after, up to the overall maximum limit.
• Select plan is 80% coverage for the first $5,000 of your medical costs, then 100% after, up to the overall maximum limit.
• Elite plan is 100% coverage, up to the overall maximum limit.^*

^* Outside of the Network in the USA, the coinsurance for all four levels of the plan is the Usual, Reasonable, and Customary (URC) amount.

Will I get home country coverage?

The StudentSecure will cover you up to 15 days for medical expenses ONLY if you return back to your home country for an incidental visit. To receive the benefit, once you have arrived home, you must return abroad within 15 days — either to the host country or another country en route to your host country. Please also note that the return to your home country cannot be taken for the purpose of receiving medical treatment for an injury or illness that began when you were abroad.

What is the VantageAmerica Discount Card?

For policies purchased with a United States destination, you will be provided with a VantageAmerica Discount Pharmacy Card. This card will provide discounts on most FDA approved prescription drugs at over 54,000 participating pharmacies across the United States, and will save you an average 5%-15% off the cash price for brand drugs and an average 15%-40% of the price of generic drugs.

Once you have received your instant discount, the remaining prescription expenses can still be submitted for reimbursement as usual.

• Card NOT Valid in AK, MA, MN, MT, VT, and Canada.
• Pharmacy discounts are NOT insurance and are NOT intended as a substitute for insurance.
• The discount is only available at participating pharmacies.

Seeking Treatment

Which doctors or hospitals can I go to?

You are free to visit any doctor or hospital (known as providers) that you wish when seeking treatment. However, we do suggest you visit the providers mentioned below, as you will generally have less out of pocket expenses.

Student Health Center

Most schools offer a student health center which should be your first option in seeking treatment.

Preferred Provider Organization

The StudentSecure plan uses a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and we strongly recommend utilizing this network of doctors when seeking treatment.

If your plan was purchased prior to July 1st, 2019, or, if your Home Country or Citizenship is in the European Union, your plan uses the First Health Network as the Preferred Provider Organization in the United States.

If your plan was purchased as of July 1st, 2019, and, if your Home Country or Citizenship is not in the European Union, your plan uses the UnitedHealthcare Network as the Preferred Provider Organization in the United States.

To find providers in your area that accept these networks, please visit our online provider search tool here.

When visiting the Student Health Center or an in-network provider, your insurance payments will be less, as per the full table of benefits, — so there are advantages to seeking treatment at these locations.

How do I know which network my plan uses?

Depending on when you purchased your plan, and where you are from, your StudentSecure plan will either use the First Health Network or the UnitedHealthcare Network when seeking treatment in the United States. The network logo will be included on your insurance ID card, but please also keep in mind the following:

If your plan was purchased prior to July 1st, 2019, or, if your Home Country or Citizenship is in the European Union, your plan uses the First Health Network as the Preferred Provider Organization.

If your Home Country or Citizenship is in the following countries, your plan will use the First Health Network.

EU Countries

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

EU Territories

Azores, Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Madeira, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, and Saint Martin

EU Economic Area Countries

Iceland, Lichtenstein, and Norway

If your plan was purchased as of July 1st, 2019, and, if you Home Country is not in the European Union as listed above, your plan uses the UnitedHealthcare Network as the Preferred Provider Organization.

For more help finding a provider in your area that accepts your insurance plan, please contact us.

How are claims paid?

Claims are paid depending on where you are located and where you seek treatment:

In-network while inside the USA

When you visit a provider that is part of the Preferred Provider Organization, your insurance bill is typically paid directly. You will need to complete a claim form and email this to service@hccmis.com for processing.

Out-of-network while inside the USA

When you visit a provider that is outside the network, you will need to pay for all services up front and then submit your bills and receipts, along with a claim form for reimbursement.

Outside the USA

When visiting a provider around the world, please pay for the services up front and then submit a claim form for reimbursement.

If you are hospitalized for an emergency or planned hospitalization you will need to call the 24 hour emergency assistance number located on the back of your insurance ID card and they will assist you further with settling the hospital bills.

This plan is underwritten by Lloyd's.