Whether you’re helping your parents plan a visit to the U.S. to see family, planning a months-long tour of the national parks, or exploring immigration possibilities, it’s important to consider visitor health insurance to protect your health while away from home. Researching visitor health coverage can be overwhelming, so we’ve compiled these visitor medical insurance basics to help you get started. 

What is visitor health insurance?  

Visitor insurance refers to short-term international travel medical insurance plans designed for travelers visiting a country outside their country of residence. Visitor insurance most commonly refers to temporary health insurance for international travelers visiting the U.S. 

You can purchase visitor health insurance for your parents, grandparents, or for yourself, and plans can cover your spouse, children, or other dependents. Visitor insurance is meant to cover medical costs for unexpected accidents, illnesses, or injury, not preventative care. 

Planning a trip the U.S. and need more information? Check out our frequently asked visitor insurance questions and answers. 

Do I need visitor health insurance? 

While visitor insurance isn’t required for entry to the U.S., it’s highly recommended. Most people assume they’re already covered by their national or domestic health insurance plan, but that isn’t always the case. While your standard health insurance plan provides sufficient coverage at home, most aren’t designed to provide coverage and assistance required for international travel. 

Specifically, in the U.S., healthcare costs are much higher than the rest of the world, and an unexpected illness could result in you owing thousands of dollars. With U.S. visitor medical insurance, you can protect yourself from costly medical bills in the event of a medical emergency while outside of your home country. 

What’s the difference between visitor insurance and travel insurance? 

Visitor insurance provides temporary health insurance for visitors to the USA and includes coverage for medical emergencies, unexpected illnesses, injuries, and accidents. Some benefits may include things like doctor’s office visits, hospital emergency room visits, surgery, and prescription medicine. 

Travel insurance is a great way to protect your financial investment in your trip, providing coverage for prepaid, non-refundable trip costs like airline tickets or a cruise. While some travel insurance plans do offer limited medical benefits, most travelers purchase a travel insurance plan to protect their finances in case of trip cancellation or interruption, trip delay, lost baggage, or other unexpected travel-related events. 

What factors should I consider when choosing a visitor insurance plan? 

With so many plans on the market, it can be hard to determine which plan could be the right fit. Evaluate these key factors below, and read How to Choose the Best Visitor Insurance Plan for You to compare IMG’s visitor insurance plans. 

Area of Coverage 

Where are you going? Make sure to choose a visitor insurance plan that is eligible for your destination. IMG has plans designed for visitors to the U.S., those visiting Canada or Mexico, and travelers visiting countries around the world. 

Period of Coverage 

How long are you planning to visit? Some visitor insurance plans may have a minimum trip length required, and some may have maximum trip durations. IMG has visitor insurance plans ideal for short stays of a couple weeks, and our Patriot America Platinum plan can be renewed up to 36 continuous months for extended visits. 

Are you planning multiple visits throughout the year? You may want to consider a multi-trip plan that provides annual coverage for an easier and more convenient way to stay covered. IMG’s Patriot Multi-Trip plan is designed for those taking multiple trips outside their home country over a 12-month period and can be renewed up to 3 years. 

Pre-Existing Condition Coverage 

If you or your parents have a pre-existing medical condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure, you’ll want to ensure your visitor insurance plan covers pre-existing conditions. It can be difficult to find a visitor insurance plan for an aging parent with medical concerns, but IMG’s Visitors Protect plan offers coverage for pre-existing conditions that gradually develop or worsen over time.  

Medical Coverage Maximum Limits 

How much coverage do you need? A maximum limit is the total amount of benefit payments that will be issued under the policy, and once reached, no further benefits will be available. Take into consideration how much coverage you’ll need while you’re visiting the U.S. IMG’s Patriot America Platinum visitor insurance plan has maximum limits up to $8 million. 

Age Limits 

If you’re purchasing visitor health insurance for your parents, it’s important to look at plan eligibility requirements. Some insurance providers and plans have maximum age limits, typically between 70 to 80 years old. IMG has many visitor plan options available with no maximum age limit, including our Patriot Travel Series, Visitors Protect, and Visitors Preferred plans. 

Plan Cost 

The cost of a visitor insurance plan depends on many factors, including your age, the length of your stay, maximum coverage limits, and your deductible. Choosing a lower policy maximum and a higher deductible can help lower the cost of your visitor insurance plan, but you could end up paying more out of pocket if you need medical treatment. IMG’s Visitors Preferred plan is a great mix of value and coverage and is designed specifically for individuals and families traveling outside their home country. Plus, you can always customize your plan with a variety of maximum limits and deductibles. 

Telehealth Services 

If you get sick while away from home, the last thing you want to worry about is finding a doctor in a foreign country. Telehealth services allow you to talk with a doctor via video or phone to get treatment for non-emergency medical issues. IMG’s Patriot America Platinum and Visitors Preferred plans include access to 24/7 telehealth services, where you can speak with medical experts globally (in several languages) to get treatment for non-emergency medical issues such as sore throat, flu, rashes, and more. Several IMG visitor insurance plans offer telehealth as an optional add-on. 

This is a summary of a selection of plan benefits offered only as an illustration and does not supersede in any way the Certificate of Insurance and governing policy documents (together the “Insurance Contract”). The Insurance Contract is the only source of the actual benefits provided.