[thechat] USA Medical Insurance (advice needed)

Sabrina Dent, Apperception sabrina.dent at appercept.co.uk
Tue May 6 03:36:41 CDT 2003


Hi Javier...

I'm going to assume they just want proof of insurance and they're not going
to interrogate the coverage. In that case, I'd look into a Travel Insurance
from your home nation (Chile, right?). Travel insurance is *far* cheaper
than actually buying a full year of coverage from a US provider, and tends
to be better.

For example, were I to buy travel insurance in the UK for a year, I'd get
£10,000,000 of medical cover *outside the UK* for £99 per year:

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/insurance/travel_insurance.htm

See "Summary of Cover" for the limits on coverage. (I know you can't get
*this* insurance package but you should be able to get similar from a
Chilean provider.)

Compare that to a US-based health insurance policy and you're getting
*better* total coverage for less money, plus travel insurance will normally
re-patriate you in the event of an emergency -- medical or otherwise -- if
you need to be repatriated.

Please keep in mind that you want the maximum £$£$£$£$ coverage. Breaking a
leg in the US can easily cost $5K. The knee surgery I just had here in the
UK for £10,000 was $30,000 in the US.

But that's how I do it -- travel insurance based in your home nation, rather
than helth insurance based in your host nation, is the way to go IMHO.

--Sabrina







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