Per certificate period, or per policy period can be used interchangeably and means the total time period a traveler will be using a travel insurance plan.

For limited coverage plans, if you have a policy for three months, the insurance would cover for 10 outpatient visits over the period of those three months. Alternatively, you can opt to buy a policy for a short period of time, and then extend the plan. Extension is considered as a continuation of the same policy, so the same 10 visit maximum would apply. For a three month policy, if someone completes 10 physician visits in the first 45 days, then they would not be covered for any more physicians visits for the remaining 45 days.

Alternatively, you can buy a new policy instead of extending the existing policy after 45 days, but this is not recommended. Depending on the age of the person, there are requirements that the plan has to be purchased within one month of arrival in the USA. Also, if a medical situation arises in the first 45 days of a three month policy and you decide to buy a new policy instead of extending the existing one, this medical condition would be treated as a pre-existing condition for the new policy, and insurance would not cover for it. Because of the restricted number of visits, and amounts associated with limited coverage plans, we usually recommend people to choose percentage-based comprehensive plans such as CoverAmerica - Gold.