After securing admission in your desired university, there are still a few things to be done before you leave. Most important of them is ‘Student Health Insurance’ Most study abroad programs will require you to participate in a student health insurance program or in a health benefit plan while you’re abroad.
What is an Insurance?
Insurance is an arrangement by which a company undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a specified premium. Students going to foreign universities, opt for these two insurances -
- Health Insurance
- Travel insurance
Health insurance is mandatory for all students traveling to foreign universities. It covers most of the health issues that may affect the students during their stay.
Travel insurance is optional. It covers the journey from the home country to the foreign country and provides compensation for any kind of accident that may occur during that period.
Note: Don’t confuse the insurance on your loan amount with Health or Travel insurance.
What is student health insurance? Why is it needed?
Having a student health insurance is a requirement for studying in a foreign university. If you're enrolled in a student health plan, in most cases it counts as qualifying health coverage. This means you're considered covered under the health care law, and won't have to pay the penalty for not having insurance. Health insurance is different for students and working professionals and they should not be confused with each other.
When a student goes abroad for further studies, any kind of health problems or illnesses may occur which could result in additional unaccounted expenses. To take care of your health and support you financially, health insurances are designed to help you continue your studies without financial interruption. The cost of medical assistance in foreign countries is very high when one may have to visit a doctor, buy the prescribed medicines or get admitted to a hospital (in case of a major illness or accident). In such cases, it is beneficial to have a student health insurance which covers most of the medical costs.
How to claim your insurance amount:
- Cashless: When the insurance holder is hospitalized (generally for over 24hours), cashless compensation takes place, where the insurance company pay the hospital bills. Cashless would be approved by the company assistant once he receives all the medical documents pertaining to treatment.
- Reimbursement: In cases where the insurance holder has to visit a doctor or buy medicines prescribed by the doctor in that country, compensation takes place through reimbursement where the insurance holder initially pays from his own pocket and this money is then reimbursed to the holder or his/her family members in India. To get compensation via reimbursement, the reimbursement claim has to be filed within the period of “policy period + 30 days”. All insurance covers are in local currency of the country you are in and the premium is paid in INR. For reimbursement, physical copy of the invoice has to be sent to insurance company.
Some insurance terminologies:
There are a number of specific terms that are related to insurance. It is important for the policyholder to understand these terms correctly. Some of the most commonly used terms are:
- Deductibles: Deductible is a cost-sharing requirement under a health insurance policy that provides that the insurer will not be liable for a specified amount (in USD or Euro) in case of indemnity policies and for a specified number of days/hours in case of hospital cash policies which will apply before any Benefit or Optional Cover are payable by the insurer. A deductible does not reduce the Sum Insured.
- Co-payment: is a cost-sharing requirement under a health insurance policy that provides that the policyholder/insured will bear a specified percentage of the admissible costs. A co-payment does not reduce the sum insured.
- Sum Insured: means the amount specified against a Benefit or Optional Cover in the Policy Certificate which represents the Company’s maximum, total and cumulative liability for the Insured Person for any and all Claims incurred in respect of that Insured Person during the Period of Insurance in a Policy Year under that Benefit or Optional Cover.
- Policy Period: Means the period commencing from the Policy Period Start Date and ending on the Policy Period End Date as specified in the Policy Certificate.
- In-patient Care: Means treatment for which the insured person has to stay in a hospital for more than 24 hours for a covered event.
Till then, wish you the best for the last leg of your MS application journey! Stay healthy, stay safe.
