International student athlete
originally posted: 11/22/2006 reposted: 2/18/2011 This post has not been recently reviewed or revised by the author and may be out of date. If you notice an error or are in doubt, please send a new question by email or ask for an update. Email asktony@tonynovak.com.
Q: Do you know of any student health insurance that will cover me for inter-collegiate and international sports competitions?
A: All of the health insurance policies at FreedomBenefits.net exclude coverage for college sports. "American Health Shield", "Secure STM" and "Simple STM" are all popular choices for college athletes. However, when it comes to international medical expenses, none of the U.S. policies are suitable because they basically cover the cost of emergency stabilization and shipment back home. If you broke your arm and had it set in a cast while traveling, this may not be a covered cost on any U.S. health policy. Fortunately, you can supplement your U.S. coverage with an inexpensive international policy to cover this extra risk. Alternately, you could have a single worldwide major medical insurance policy (also listed on the same page at FreedomBenefits.net), but that would be far more expensive and is not available as "immediate online issue" like the other choices mentioned. In your case, it is better to have two separate insurance policies. You will find that the cost is not prohibitive for a student.
Summary
More resources:
International medical insurance listings