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5 Best Cheapest Health Insurances For International Students

5 Best and Cheapest International Health Insurance Plans for students, faculty, and scholars. Whether you’re studying abroad, doing an exchange study program, or are going to graduate from a university or school overseas, you will be required to have medical insurance coverage.

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How do I know if I need international student health insurance while studying abroad?

If you’re on a scholarship or completing a specific study abroad program, often your school will take care of insurance for you.
But truly, the best thing you can do is ask your school and see if it’s a requirement or if they provide it.

In certain cases, you might be able to get away with just purchasing travel insurance (see the next question for more on this).

5 Best Cheapest Health Insurances For International Students

1. International Student Health Insurance by IMG

IMGlobal offers a variety of insurance plans for students (as well as insurance plans for expats and crew members). These are the 3 plans they offer:

Plan #1: The Patriot Exchange Program (perfect for students studying abroad in the United States!)

This program is designed specifically to meet all the U.S. visa requirements for international students (especially for J1 and J2 visa holders). It also covers spouses (husband or wife) and children.

You can choose plans with maximum limits of $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, or $500,000 for injury/illness. Recently, IMG added telemedicine coverage for non-urgent cases and coverage for COVID-19 cases like any other illness and injury.

Plan #2: Student Health Advantage (perfect for students studying in Europe/under the Schengen visa!)

This program meets visa requirements (for most countries) for international students in a sponsored study abroad program. You can get plans for individuals as well as groups.

It covers mental health disorders, maternity care, and pre-existing conditions (which are things many other plans don’t cover). In addition, IMG covers COVID-19 and telemedicine costs for non-urgent cases.

Plan #3: Student Health Advantage Platinum

This plan is exactly like the above but offers double the maximum coverage: $1,000,000

2. Cigna Global - International Health Insurance for Students

Cigna Global, one of the largest health insurance companies in the world, has an excellent reputation in the health care industry. It offers plans for travelers, expats and of course, international students.

Cigna Global offers 3 main plans, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The plans cover the entire world, with the option of including the United States or not. All of them can be used by foreign students.

Cigna allows you to have a flexible plan by adding optional modules to your insurance, such as:

  • Include dental and eye treatments
  • International evacuation and crisis assistance

The company also has a flexible payment policy, offering several options such as annual, monthly and quarterly payments.

3. Now Health International

Now Health International is a leader in the international insurance market and its focus is to satisfy its clients with efficient and affordable plans.

Thus, one of the great advantages of this company is its state-of-the-art customer service, which provides information in a fast and practical way.

All Now Health plans are designed to meet, guide, and solve the challenges experienced by foreigners who reside in another country, including international students and exchange students around the world.

Plus, all plans are customizable so that they perfectly fit all your needs.

4. Allianz Worldwide Care

German company Allianz is one of the best well-known insurance company. They can offer health coverage to expats/immigrants as well as students abroad. So they have really good options for health insurance plans for J-1 visa students in the United States (and plans that cover the other types of student visas all over the world).

Besides their basic plan, Allianz Care, you can also choose from two more robust options: Allianz Care Pro and Allianz Care Plus.

5. Foyer Global HealthFoyer

Foyer Global Health offers international health insurance depending on your needs. Basic or Premium? Short or long term stay? Alone or with the family? Regardless of your needs, there is a plan that suits them.