Information On International Visitors Insurance Exclusions
Health insurance companies protect themselves by excluding certain items from coverage. This is a means of insulating the company from false or exaggerated claims. Visitors insurance makes the same reservations and there are exclusions in every plan.
Pre-existing conditions, and the expenses they incur, are generally excluded from coverage provided by any visitor health insurance provider. For example, if an insured person has a history of seizures, the policy will exclude expenses that arise from the treatment of related problems. This ensures that the provider is not paying for the costs of an ongoing illness which should be covered under a comprehensive health insurance policy.
Visitors who travel to other nations specifically to seek treatment for an existing disorder are not covered. The visitors medical insurance provider does not, understandably, want to end up paying for a surgery that was planned from the start to take place in a foreign nation. Visitors insurance is also unavailable to those who travel against the advice of their doctors.
Cosmetic surgery is also not usually covered by visitor health insurance plans. The exception to this rule is reconstructive surgery necessary to restore function after an injury or illness abroad.
Insurance for visitors rarely will cover accidents and injuries which occur because of participation in dangerous activities. This can apply to horse, car, snowmobile and motorcycle racing. Scuba diving injuries are generally not covered either unless special optional coverage riders are purchased.
It goes without saying that any injuries suffered while engaging in illegal activities will not be covered by any health insurance for visitors. Criminal activities and the injuries they cause are not covered by any policy, for that matter, and a visitor insurance policy is no different in that regard.
Most visitor insurance policies will not cover pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, either. Traveling abroad and practicing unsafe sex should not be grounds for a claim against a visitor insurance company. For these services, a traveler should seek treatment from their primary care physician upon returning home.
visitor health insurance carries quite a few exclusions, but the illnesses and injuries which are covered more than make up for the exclusions. Most people rarely encounter situations which void payment of a claim. Travelling abroad without visitors insurance is simply unsafe.
