Insure Your Health Before You Fly

Lakhs of Indian students are going abroad every year for further studies. Universities, particularly in the Schengen (15 countries in Europe), the UK, the US and Australia, attract thousands of young professionally oriented Indians every year.

These universities insist that students get insurance on health , either at home or abroad and then continue the studies. It is not practical to go abroad to study without an automobile insurance rules policy to cover the unforeseen future. Now, Insurance is one of the most important criteria for the Schengen visa, and many students do it before they pack their baggage for foreign universities.

The cost factor

Students can choose to insure themselves either in India or abroad before starting their studies. Student insurance policies cost around $500-900 per year in the US, and around Australian $400 in case of Australia. The premium amount can change depending on the university and insurance rules of the land. The cheapest worldwide cover offered by insurers is $168-234 per annum and the most expensive is $355-575 per year.

The health insurance policies offered by universities abroad provide only medical cover; non-medical risks are not insured by the companies. Which is why most students prefer to get insurance cover in India itself . However, some foreign universities insist that students take automobile insurance rules policies from them and do not accept policies taken in the home country.

What is the need of buying a health insurance policy?

Students, especially from India and other developing countries, invariably have a hand-to-mouth existence abroad. This is due to the unfavorable exchange rate. And medical treatment in most western countries is very much expensive, often several times over what the same treatment would cost if done in India. Student travel health insurance policies offered by Indian insurers cover the risks right from the time the student boards the flight out of India. Hospitalization expenses are paid even if the insured person falls sick and has to be hospitalized in some country while on his way to pursue education in the destination-country.

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