Whether you’re a traveler looking for travel insurance for your upcoming international trip, a U.S. resident trying to secure healthcare coverage for your foreign family members ahead of their visit, or an international traveler about to travel to America, there’s a travel medical insurance plan for your needs.
In fact, there’s such a wide variety of plans to choose from it’s often a challenge to select the right one. Fortunately, you can make your decision easier by first determining whether you need comprehensive or limited coverage.
What Is the Difference Between Limited and Comprehensive Travel Insurance?
Limited and comprehensive travel insurance plans offer two different types of coverage for travelers.
Limited coverage plans offer a fixed benefit model, meaning that you are only covered up to a predetermined amount for a specific service or treatment after your deductible is met.
Comprehensive coverage plans work on a percentage-based benefit model, meaning you’ll be covered for a percentage of your total eligible expenses up to the total policy maximum.
Do I Need a Limited or Comprehensive Travel Insurance Plan?
While limited coverage may work for travelers taking a short trip who are younger, in relatively good health, and don’t expect to engage in strenuous activity while abroad, it’s more likely that your best option will be a comprehensive travel medical insurance plan.
This is especially true for those embarking on longer trips, elderly travelers, or travelers with health issues. Comprehensive travel insurance plans offer better security and can actually save you money if an unexpected injury or illness were to occur compared to a limited coverage plan.
The Benefits of Comprehensive Travel Insurance
While comprehensive travel insurance plans may be more expensive than limited coverage plans, they offer significantly better coverage. There are many benefits to choosing a comprehensive travel insurance plan over a limited coverage plan, including the following:
Comprehensive Insurance Offers Percentage-based Coverage
One of the most compelling reasons for choosing a comprehensive plan is that it provides percentage-based coverage. Depending on which plan you choose, the comprehensive plans offered at VisitorsCoverage would cover from 75% to 100% of the eligible expenses after the deductible is met, up to the policy maximum.
Limited coverage plans, on the other hand, are based on a fixed schedule of benefits. For these plans, the insurance company pays a pre-set dollar amount for a treatment or service. The benefit amounts for treatment and services are often on the lower side. So, your out-of-pocket expenses are usually much higher with a limited coverage plan.
Higher Policy Maximum
If you're more susceptible to medical issues, you'll want a comprehensive plan because you can generally get higher policy maximums, which means that the insurance company will take on more of the financial burden of each covered service.
For example, if you have a comprehensive travel policy with a $50,000 policy maximum and a surgery costs you $20,000, you could be covered from $15,000 to $20,000. With the same policy maximum, and the same deductible, a limited coverage plan would cover you only up to $3,300.
One-time Deductible
Another advantage of comprehensive coverage insurance is that the deductible is only applied once in the whole policy period. For the limited or basic travel insurance plans, a new deductible is applied to each sickness or injury. So, for each unrelated sickness or injury, you would need to satisfy the deductible amount separately.
For example, a traveler with a limited coverage plan and a deductible of $100 goes to the doctor with a stomach complaint. For this, he has to first satisfy the deductible of $100 before the insurance starts paying based on the fixed schedule of benefits for several services and treatments related to stomach issues. But, if he goes to a doctor for some problem unrelated to the stomach issue, like a hip injury, he would need to satisfy the deductible amount of $100 again before the insurance starts paying for the new problem.
Keep in mind that for both comprehensive and limited insurance plans, the insured would still be responsible for the co-pay costs for every medical service provided.
PPO Network Access
Comprehensive plans have the advantage of having a Preferred Providers Network. This means that if you go to a medical provider within the PPO Network, you get a reduced rate that's negotiated between the providers and the insurance company. However, you aren't obligated to seek in-network medical care.
Limited coverage plans don't have the advantage of having a PPO Network. So, the fees that are charged to a policyholder are much higher than they would be for someone with a comprehensive coverage plan. You may also have trouble finding a trusted provider without access to a network.
Direct Billing
Another advantage of having a PPO Network is that the providers within the PPO Network tend to bill the insurance company directly, rather than asking the policyholder to pay upfront but this is not always the case. Travelers should confirm billing options with the medical facility.
Since limited coverage plans don't have a PPO Network, the providers tend to charge the policyholders, and then the members have to get reimbursed by the insurance company.
In-flight/International Travel Coverage
Most comprehensive plans have coverage for international travel. So, as long as the policy is active, you can get coverage during your international flight en route to your destination, as well as if you travel to multiple countries outside your home country.
In-flight and international travel coverages are very important in uncertain times that we live in. When purchasing travel insurance, you’ll want to have the policy start as soon as you leave your home, so your flights will be covered.
Get Comprehensive Travel Coverage Today
Purchasing a comprehensive coverage travel insurance plan may be a better option, unless there's a constraint in paying for a higher premium, or there are age-related restrictions to the policy maximums provided by the insurance plan.
If you need more information on insurance, our Customer Success Team is happy to help.