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Overseas Travel Insurance - Extension/Renewal FAQ

Overseas Travel Insurance - Renewal/Extension FAQ

Can I extend the insurance, even if I had a claim in the previous duration?

As long as you have purchased an extendable plan, you can certainly extend it even if you had a claim in the previous duration or even if you are currently in the hospital. In other words, extension is not conditional upon whether you had a prior claim or not. That is another advantage of buying the insurance from the U.S. based company compared to the insurance plans from the home country.

Are you sure I can extend the insurance even if I have a claim?

Yes, we are very sure. You can extend the insurance using the extension notice you get in the email. Or you can simply visit 'MyAccount' to extend it. You have to just enter the certificate number, date of birth, new expiration date and the credit (or debit) card information. It is an instant extension.

You have just written in this FAQ that the insurance can be extended even if there is a claim. However, I don't see any such language in the brochure or the policy wording. How can I be sure?

We can't knowingly write something that is not true. The brochure and the policy wordings are written with the accurate language that they are required to include. The brochure or the policy wording are not designed to explicitly cover every possible scenario; if the policy wordings attempted to explain every possible scenario, it would be thousands of pages long and it would still not cover all possible scenarios. In other words, if there are any conditions to extend the insurance, they are mentioned (such as you must extend it before it expires and in some plans, you must buy for a minimum of 3 months initially to able to extend in future etc.). Therefore, to further clarify various scenarios, we have created this FAQ as many people have asked similar questions.

From another perspective, you can also look at the refund rules in case of early cancellation. All cancellable insurance plans indicate that you must not have any claims in order to get any refund in case of early cancellation. That clearly shows that if there were any such condition to extend, it would be mentioned.

When I extend the insurance, will the rates remain the same? Will they increase if I had a claim?

In travel medical insurance policies, the rates will not increase while extending it just because you had a claim in the prior duration. As long as the person is in the same age group, the price would remain the same. If the person has crossed into the higher age group, the extension rates may be higher according to the new age group.

Additionally, please note that if the rates for the entire plan have changed, you may be charged according to the new rates (it does not always work exactly the same for all the plans all the time). However, travel medical insurance plan rates do not change frequently. They typically change once a year or even less in most cases. In most cases, the persons would still get the same rates. Of course, there may be an additional extension fee charged every time, which is $5 in most plans.

What is the difference between extension and renewal?

Even though both the terms are used interchangeably and practically mean the same thing, there is a technical difference, strictly speaking. Lets say, the insurance can be purchased up to 2 years total, and you are allowed to extend it month to month. However, the deductible is annual. Therefore, when you pay for the insurance month to month, that is called extending the insurance. After a year, the deductible would get reset and at that time, it is called renewing the insurance.

When I bought the insurance, I was told that I can extend it up to 2 years. I already had it for 11 months 24 days. I would like to extend it for another 3 months. However, it allows me to extend only for another 6 days. Why is that? Have the rules changed? How can I extend for 3 months?

It is allowing you to extend only for 6 days now because that is when you will have the anniversary of your insurance. After a year, as the deductible gets reset, you can't extend the insurance across your insurance anniversary date. Therefore, you should extend it for 6 days now. You can try renewing for the rest of the duration the next day. Please note that, if there is any renewal fee, you may be charged twice, and there is no way around it.

I initially bought the insurance from 01/04/2017 to 04/03/2017. The insurance card correctly mentioned the coverage dates. I extended the insurance for 1 month. Now, the coverage dates on the insurance card mentions from 04/04/2017 to 05/03/2017. Are you sure it is the extension and not a new policy? Shouldn't the coverage dates now mention 01/04/2017 to 05/03/2017?

Ideally, the coverage dates should be mentioned as 01/04/2017 to 05/03/2017. However, not all the insurance companies display them exactly like that. If some plan displays only the extended duration, it does not automatically mean that you have a new policy. As long as the certificate number is the same, you can be assured that your insurance has been extended and not purchased again.

I initially bought the insurance from 01/04/2017 to 04/03/2017. I extended the insurance for 1 month from 04/04/2017 to 05/03/2017. However, when I try to print the ID card, it shows only the new dates. How can I print the old ID card for the previous dates?

You can't. You can only print the most recent ID cards. Ideally, it would be better to print like that. However, in this case, we are limited by what the insurance companies provide.

I bought the insurance from you in 2015 for 6 months for my mother. She is visiting the U.S. again the next month. I am trying to renew her insurance, but it gives an error that it has expired. How can I renew the insurance?

Any renewal must be done before the expiration of the current insurance. In other words, there should be no gap in the coverage. Moreover, please note that most travel medical insurance plans are single trip plans (multi-trip plans are annual plans that can't be renewed anyway and limit the number of days per trip). Once the person has returned to the home country, the insurance ends.

Therefore, if she returned home in 2015 and she is visiting again in 2017, you will have to purchase the new insurance again, with all new terms and conditions. You can log into MyAccount and easily repurchase the same plan. All the relevant information will already be filled in for you. Of course, make sure to double check that the information is correct and confirm that nothing has changed. You just have to provide new travel dates and the credit card information, as we don't store that for your safety. Alternatively, you can call us.

When I bought the insurance, I was told that I can extend the insurance at any time before it expires. I am in California and it is 11:50 PM Pacific Time right now. I am trying to the extend the insurance and it says that it has already expired. Is this an error?

No, it is not an error. Most travel medical insurance plans start and end according to U.S. Eastern time and it is already past midnight on the East Coast (2:50 AM the next day) in this case. Travel medical insurance plans are for those who travel and they can be located at any place at any given time. Therefore, the insurance cannot start and end depending upon where you are located at any given time.

You receive enough renewal notices in the email. We recommend that you not wait till the last moment. Unfortunately, you will have to make a new purchase and all the terms and conditions will start all over again.

My parents' insurance expired two weeks ago. However, I was recently traveling (or busy with work, new born baby, or any other reason) and didn't check my email. Can I still extend the insurance?

No. You must extend it before it expires. Unfortunately, you will have to make a new purchase and all the terms and conditions will start all over again.

My insurance expired yesterday (it was Sunday) and I thought you might be closed and therefore, I couldn't extend. Can I extend it now?


You don't necessarily need to contact us over the phone to extend it. You can simply visit 'MyAccount' to extend it at any time, 24 x 7.

Our office is open 7 days a week; however, we are not open 24 hours a day. Please note that there is ample time to extend the insurance during our business hours when our office is open if you prefer to extend it over the phone. Do not have wait until Sunday night when we are closed and then claim that you couldn't extend, when in fact you could do it online.

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Visiting USA?

Healthcare costs are very high in the U.S.

Buy U.S. based visitors insurance and enjoy your trip.

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Buy J visa medical insurance to meet your requirements.

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You don't need to purchase travel insurance for every trip.

Purchase annual multi trip travel insurance for your travels.

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Most schools require international students to purchase health insurance.

Purchase international student health insurance that meets most school requirements.

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