Visitor Health Insurance for Parents
WorldTrips' Atlas America insurance offers up to $2,000,000 of coverage for unexpected medical expenses, including COVID-19-related expenses. It includes important supplemental travel benefits, travel assistance services, and 100% coverage for eligible expenses (after the deductible and up to the overall maximum limit). You’ll even have the option to add up to $2,000 of device protection coverage in case your parents’ smartphones, laptops, or tablets are accidentally damaged during their time in the States.
You can purchase Atlas America on behalf of your parents and use your credit card (or theirs) to complete the transaction. Read on to discover more features of Atlas America or learn what to look for in a policy – and be sure to check out the FAQ!
Why Do My Parents Need Visitor Health Insurance?
- Your parents’ domestic health insurance may not cover them outside of their home country. Since people in the United States are responsible for their own health expenses, your parents will be financially liable for any medical costs they incur while visiting you from abroad.
- Healthcare in the U.S. can be very expensive. According to Healthcare.gov, fixing a broken leg can cost up to $7,500 in the U.S. The average cost of a 3-day hospital stay is around $30,000. Visitor health insurance can provide access to quality doctors and hospitals as well as coverage for medical expenses.
- Older parents are more likely to sustain falls that could result in injury. More than one in four people over age 65 fall each year, making falls the leading cause of both fatal injuries and nonfatal injuries among seniors. Visitor health insurance for parents can cover medical expenses resulting from unexpected injury, including local ambulance, hospital room and board, and surgery costs.
- If your parents need a visa to enter the country, they may be required to show proof of their ability to pay return travel, lodging, and medical costs. A visitor health policy could help demonstrate their ability to pay for medical expenses by showing that they have coverage for unexpected injury or illness.
What Should I Look for in a Visitor Health Plan for My Parents?
High Overall Maximum Coverage Limit
This is the maximum amount of money your parents’ visitor health policy will pay toward their eligible expenses. Accidents, injuries, and illnesses requiring hospitalization can result in large medical bills. High coverage limits can combat these bills by covering your parents’ eligible medical expenses should they need to seek treatment or care while visiting you in the U.S.
How Atlas America Provides Coverage
You can choose from two different Atlas America policies: Atlas Travel and Atlas Premium. Atlas Travel is our most popular travel medical insurance plan. Atlas Premium offers the same benefits as Atlas Travel but includes higher coverage limits for many important benefits.
(Note that Atlas America is our Atlas Travel/Atlas Premium plan for non-U.S. citizens and non-U.S. residents whose travel plans include the United States. This visitor insurance plan will be automatically selected when you are purchasing Atlas Travel insurance and you select that your parents’ travel plans include the U.S.)
Both Atlas Travel and Atlas Premium offer up to $2,000,000 of overall maximum coverage to individuals age 64 and younger. They offer $50,000 or $100,000 of overall maximum coverage to those between the ages of 65 and 79.
As with most visitor medical insurance policies, overall maximum coverage options are limited for seniors age 80 and older. Atlas Travel offers a $10,000 maximum to this age group, while Atlas Premium offers a $20,000 maximum.
Quality Medical Benefits
Because you never know when an illness will occur or when an accident will result in injury, it’s important to ensure your parents are covered for unexpected ailments. Visitor medical insurance may cover expenses resulting from doctors’ visits, hospitalizations, local ambulance rides (when hospitalized as inpatient), and even physical therapy. It’s important to note that many visitor medical insurance plans, including Atlas America, do not cover *pre-existing conditions.
How Atlas America Provides Coverage
Your parents will be 100% covered for eligible expenses (after the deductible and up to the overall maximum limit) as they travel the U.S.
Atlas America covers eligible expenses for:
- Hospital room and board
- Local ambulance (when hospitalized as inpatient)
- Intensive care unit
- Physical therapy
- Sutures and casts
- Surgery at an outpatient surgical facility
- Diagnostic testing services, and more
Coverage includes eligible medical expenses related to COVID-19.
Accidental Death Benefits
While no one wants to consider the possibility of a parent passing away, it’s important to make sure your surviving parent and family members would be taken care of if the worst were to happen. An Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) benefit can provide financial compensation to the beneficiary listed on your parents’ policy.
How Atlas America Provides Coverage
If a worst-case scenario occurs as your parents travel to or within the U.S., resulting in a loss of eye(s), limb(s), or life, your parents’ Atlas America policy will pay the amount indicated in the Schedule of Benefits to the policy’s beneficiary.
Additionally, the Repatriation of Remains benefit can cover eligible costs associated with the return of your deceased parent’s remains back to his or her home country. In lieu of repatriation, a Local Burial or Cremation benefit can provide up to $5,000 for eligible expenses.
Supplemental Travel Benefits
Because it’s impossible to know whether your parents will face a delay in their travel plans or a mishap with their luggage, it’s important to ensure they have coverage for these unanticipated circumstances.
How Atlas America Provides Coverage
If your parents’ flight is delayed over 12 hours, their carrier loses their checked luggage, or their trip is interrupted due to a death in your immediate family, Atlas Travel will reimburse eligible costs up to the maximum stated in the Schedule of Benefits.
Flexibility
Because everyone’s needs and budget vary, a quality visitor insurance policy will provide a variety of deductible options and overall maximum coverage limits for your parents to choose from, as well as an opportunity to extend their coverage if necessary.
How Atlas America Provides Coverage
Atlas America policies are flexible. They allow you to select the deductible (7 choices), length of coverage, and overall coverage maximum that best align with your parents’ travel needs.
Plus, if you need to extend their coverage after you purchase the policy, you can extend it (5-day minimum) up to a maximum of 364 days from their initial coverage start date. Provided there is no break in coverage, they will not be required to re-satisfy their deductible and their benefit limits will not reset.
Travel Assistance Services
Navigating an unfamiliar country can be intimidating, especially to visitors who don’t speak the language. You’ll likely be able to assist your parents when they need help. But when it comes to replacing a lost travel document or obtaining an emergency cash transfer, your parents may benefit from assistance services.
How Atlas America Provides Coverage
As Atlas America policyholders, your parents will receive access to our line of travel assistance services, available in multiple languages 365 days a year. These services include:
- Lost passport and travel documents assistance
- Tracking for lost luggage
- Assistance with emergency cash transfers
- Embassy and consulate referrals
- Legal and accounting referrals
- Provider referrals
Emergency travel assistance services are available 24/7.
Atlas America Insurance
Atlas America insurance from WorldTrips offers two different policies to international visitors:
- Atlas Travel: Flexible and budget-friendly, this balanced plan offers high coverage limits for single international trips.
- Atlas Premium: This elite plan offers even higher coverage limits for a number of important benefits.
Visitor Health Insurance for Parents FAQ
Can I Purchase One Policy for Both of My Parents?
As long as your parents are in the same age group, you can purchase one policy for both of them. Should one parent need to return home early or cut the trip short for any reason, you will have the option to cancel his or her policy while the other parent’s policy remains active – unless there are claims on file for the parent who wishes to cancel.
Be sure to review the cancellation policy so you know whether you’ll be eligible for a refund and whether fees will apply.
Will My Parents Need To Show Proof of Visitor Health Insurance To Be Approved for Their Visa?
Visa requirements vary by visa type. To see the list of requirements for your parents’ visas, visit the U.S. Department of State website.
Even if your parents’ visas do not require them to have visitor health insurance, they may require proof of funds that could cover expenses incurred in the United States, including healthcare costs. A visitor health plan like Atlas America could help demonstrate their ability to pay for medical expenses by showing that they have coverage for unexpected injury or illness.
Will My Parents' Ages Affect Their Coverage Options or Cost?
Because age factors into overall policy cost, older parents (typically age 65 and above) generally face higher premiums. You may also find that your parents’ ages limit their options when it comes to choosing their overall maximum coverage.
Because policy options are separated by age, you will need to apply for separate policies if your parents are in different age groups.
Overall coverage maximum options for Atlas America policies are as follows:
- Travelers Age 64 and Below: $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, $500,000, $1,000,000, or $2,000,000
- Travelers Age 65 to 79: $50,000 or $100,000
- Travelers Age 80 or older: $10,000 for Atlas Travel / $20,000 for Atlas Premium
What Is Not Covered by Atlas America Insurance?
Certain types of medical expenses are excluded from Atlas America insurance coverage. Here are some of the more asked-about exclusions:
- Pre-existing conditions*
- Routine medical examinations and care (i.e. wellness exams, ongoing prescriptions, etc.)
- Routine prenatal, pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care
- Medical expenses for injury or illness resulting from participation in some extreme sports
- Medical expenses related to any form of cancer or neoplasm
- Mental health disorders
- Injury due in whole or in part to the effects of intoxication or drugs (this does not refer to drugs taken in accordance with treatment prescribed by a physician)
For a full list of exclusions, be sure to read through the Description of Coverage. View the Atlas Travel Description of Coverage or the Atlas Premium Description of Coverage.
*Pre-existing condition means any injury, illness, sickness, disease, or other physical, medical, mental, or nervous disorder, condition, or ailment that, with reasonable medical certainty, existed at the time of application or at any time during the 2 years prior to the effective date of this insurance, whether or not previously manifested, symptomatic or known, diagnosed, treated, or disclosed to us prior to the effective date, and including any and all subsequent, chronic or recurring complications or consequences related thereto or resulting or arising therefrom.
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Why WorldTrips
Who is insuring you is just as important as the insurance plan you choose. For the past 25 years, WorldTrips has provided travel insurance and compassionate service to help our customers travel fearlessly. Our knowledgeable customer representatives are available 24/7 to respond to your travel emergencies, no matter the situation, time zone, or spoken language.
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WorldTrips international travel medical insurance products are underwritten by Lloyd's. WorldTrips is a service company and a member of the Tokio Marine HCC group of companies. WorldTrips has authority to enter into contracts of insurance on behalf of the Lloyd's underwriting members of Lloyd's Syndicate 4141, which is managed by HCC Underwriting Agency, Ltd.