Sunday, January 17, 2010

It is Possible to Find Reasonable Health Insurance Quotes for Your College Student

By John Bellafonte

Contrary to popular belief it is possible to find cheap health insurance quotes for a university student. Some college students find themselves separated from their parents' insurance policy and are then in need of their own insurance policy. For those willing to look, it is not difficult to track down a policy that is both effective and reasonably priced.

Because these types of insurance policies are designed specifically for college students, insurance companies must make sure that prospective policy holders are full time students. Most universities define a full time student as one taking at least nine credit hours. Anyone interested in acquiring student health insurance would do well to review individual coverage requirements for each insurance provider.

Graduate students under age 30 are also eligible for college health insurance. Graduate students must comply with their particular college's guidelines for what is considered full-time status at the graduate level. Again, the higher education institution must be state accredited and there is a national Higher Education Directory listing all accredited institutions in the United States.

Generally speaking, most insurance companies require prospective policy holders to answer a series of questions about their health and health history. These questionnaires effect the terms of coverage. Normally, barring an extreme circumstance, it is not a problem for a healthy student to get coverage. One common policy amongst insurance providers is the requirement that a policy holder be a full-time student for thirty-one days before the start of the policy.

Naturally there are a number of policy coverage levels available. Very few offer more than $1 million in coverage. Most college health insurance policies limit payouts to $100 thousand per injury or illness. This helps to keep the cost of the insurance within a reasonable price range. These policies generally require that the student follow an authorization process when obtaining health services, but also offer a toll-free phone number with trained staff to answer health coverage questions.

While most policies do not include prescription drug coverage, some high end policies will. A standard policy will cover doctor visits, surgery, illness, and hospital visits. Some policies extend coverage to med-evacs, organ transplants, and outpatient procedures.

For the international student some insurance companies offer specially tailored international insurance policies. As one would expect, these policies typically require the student to be fulltime status at both their home and host institution. However, there are some policies that make exceptions for students conducting research abroad. There are also available provisions to insure coverage in the event that the student must return to America.

The first week of college can often be a dangerous time, especially in regards to excessive partying. For this reason, it is wise to have student insurance in place prior to the student's arrival at university. Most health insurance providers will allow an application up to sixty days before the start of college, so it is important for parents and students to start looking for college student health insurance quotes as soon as possible.

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