A: No. Insurance premium is the same whether the plan is purchased directly from the company or through any broker like us, BuyAmericanInsurance.com^SM. In fact, insurance premiums are regulated by the government and no one is allowed to offer any different price for the same insurance.

In fact, you have several advantages in buying from us:

• We don't work for any particular insurance company, but for our clients, you.
• You don't have to shop around. We are one stop shop. We offer all major international medical and travel insurance plans from many companies. We would be able to suggest you the plan that is best suitable for you. We have the experience and knowledge that assures you that you are making a right choice for your unique set of circumstances and requirements.
• Insurance companies (or Administrators) have limited office hours. We are open virtually all the time, 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM Central time, Monday to Saturday. You can contact us at any time. Therefore, you get more customer support.
• If you have any trouble with the insurance plan or claims, you can contact us at any time, and we may be able to help you resolve the issue or facilitate the matters. If you bought insurance directly, we are legally not allowed to look into your matters.
• Some companies like IMG don't sell directly. Even if you purchase the insurance from their web site, they will randomly put you under some agent. It is better to buy through us as we would provide you all the service you need. And all the insurance plans are not even displayed on the companies' web sites.

A: No. We are US based company, based in Plano, Texas. And all the companies we sell insurance from are based in US too or have US administration. Our company name itself is 'Buy American Insurance'.

As significant portion of our business is to offer insurance to people of Indian origin in US that are inviting their parents/in-laws/other relatives to come to US, we get many calls from such people. Therefore, we have several people in our office that are of Indian origin that can understand your needs very well. But all the calls are answered from Plano, Texas, USA (In Dallas metroplex area). Every single person that answers phone calls in our office is knowledgeable and experienced licensed insurance agent in USA, ensuring excellent customer service. We do NOT have any call center in India.

A: Those are limited release products and not all insurance agents can sell them and IMG does not offer them directly. They are designed keeping very specific client market in mind (mostly Indians traveling to USA) and therefore a very handful of insurance agents are able to offer these plans, and as we are the leading insurance brokers in United States for international medical insurance, we are able to offer these insurance plans to you.

If you still have doubts or concerns, please call us at 1-866-INSU-BUY and we will show you the proof from IMG that they are indeed offered by IMG.

A: No. The prices are fixed no matter which agent/agency you buy the insurance from.

A: We have different plans to suit your individual needs based on the amount of premium you are willing to pay up front, your age and also the amount of risk you want to share in case you need to use the insurance. In general, higher the premium, better coverage it would provide and you would end up spending less from your pocket when you get sick or injured. Please look at the side by side comparison of various plans that we offer.

A: Online: You can purchase it instantly online, if you are paying by credit card. It can be effective on the day you specify, as early as the next day after your purchase.
Purchasing online is simple, fast and hassle free. There is no other paperwork required neither there is any need for any membership into any organization. Our web site is VeriSign Secure web site and you can verify that by clicking on the 'lock' displayed in lower right corner of the web browser or VeriSign logo in the left side bar. We also participate in 'Online reliability program' with Better Business Bureau, to give you further peace of mind that we are reliable company to work with. Our web site is also certified 'HackerSafe' by McAfee's ScanAlert that assures that the data you enter is secure with us.

Phone: We can also take your application over the phone.

Fax: You can fax us the application and if paying by check or money order, please fax us the check/money order. We will process your application as soon as we receive your fax and will send you confirmation of coverage by fax or email. You still need to send us the physical check or money order. However, fulfillment kit will be mailed only after the check/money order is cashed.

Mail: You can send us the application along with payment by credit or check/money order enclosed with it. We will process your application as soon as we receive it. However, fulfillment kit will be mailed only after the check/money order is cashed.

A: In most plans, you need date of birth and passport number for each insured person. In some plans, passport number of only the primary applicant is required. In IMG plans, passport number is optional.
You do not need to send any paperwork or any medical reports to us or to the insurance company. You can complete the entire process completely online. Insurance can be effective as early as the next day after your purchase or any other future date you specify.

A: In many insurance plans, only one passport number per family is required.

A: Once your trip is confirmed, you should buy the insurance.

A: In most plans, insurance coverage can be purchased in the increments of days, most plans as little as 5 days, to suit your needs. Effective date for insurance coverage can be the date of departure from home country, or it can be any other later date specified by insured.
If you would like to be covered for any medical emergencies(for covered expenses) during your journey also, and if your relatives are coming from India to US, it is advisable to put the start date one day in advance as the effective date is 12.01 AM where the insurance company(Eastern time, Pacific time etc.) is located on the day you specify. This will work only for the plans that have worldwide coverage, and not only USA coverage.

A: Yes. Anyone can purchase the plans online as proxy on behalf of their family members or friends.

A: Certainly. You can buy insurance from anywhere in the world as long as you can make the payment in US dollars, preferably using a credit card.

A: You can certainly buy the insurance after your parents arrive in the US. In that case, they would not be covered if some medical problem were to arise during the travel time. Insurance will start as early as the next day or any future date you specify. However, some people get too busy with them after their parents arrive and don't purchase the insurance right away. They remember the insurance only when one of them gets sick or injured. It would be too late at that time to buy the insurance as it would be considered as pre-existing conditions and not covered by any insurance plan from any company anywhere. Insurance is not for already sick people.

A: Whether you buy one combined policy or separate policy for each person, the total price remains same as the price is per person and just added together. All the coverage are per person also. Policy maximum is per person, deductible is per person also.

However, we recommend that you buy separate policy for each person.

If you want to buy different product, buy different policy maximum, or choose different deductible, buy for different duration, only way to achieve that is to buy separate policy for each person.

Otherwise also, there are many advantages in buying separate policy for each person. Just in case one parent wants to go back early, you can renew the policy for the other parent. You can't achieve that if you put them together in one policy. In case, one parent has a claim, and the other parent with no claim is going back early (or both are going back early), you can get a refund for the parent who never claimed, in the insurance products that give a refund after the effective date. In other words, you have control to do different things for each person.

Only disadvantage in having separate policy is that, if you buy a renewable plan, and you want to renew for both persons, you may have to pay a renewal fee (let's say $5) per person, instead of $5 per policy. But looking at the advantages described above, it is worth buying separate policy for each person.

Only time combined policy should be purchased is when dependent child (under age 18) is to be included in the policy. Dependent child rates are lower than child alone rates.

A: Most plans provide coverage up to age 69. There are some plans that provide coverage up to age 79 and there are few plans that provide low coverage for age 80+.

A: No. Most the plans that we offer can be purchased online. Certain long term plans require you to fill medical history questions online, and are subject to underwriting.

A: When you purchase insurance online, you would receive an immediate confirmation of your insurance details by email. It is essentially your virtual id card. Please keep a copy of this email and it's also wise to print it for your records.

If you fax us the application, you can receive the confirmation by either fax or email generally within 1 business day.

In any case, generally by next business day, a traditional insurance card will be sent by regular postal mail. This is your health insurance card and it will contain essential details such as your name, policy number, group number, insurance company's phone number to verify the benefits and the address in USA where the claims should be submitted. You will also receive the details of benefits paid under this plan as well as its limitations & exclusions.

Exceptions: In all Seven Corners plans (such as Inbound USA, Liaison International etc.), if the premium is less than $100, you will not get anything by postal mail, but just by email. In Atlas America/International, if you choose 'Online Fulfillment - Yes', you will get the documents only by email. If you choose 'Online Fulfillment - No', you will get them by email as well as by mail.

For all IMG plans, if you choose 'Express' delivery, you will get it by courier at an extra charge of $20.00

A: You certainly can do that but it can be quite disadvantageous in most plans. Unless the plan is renewable, you may be subject to new deductible, new co-insurance and new pre-existing conditions clauses. Please be very careful if you decide to do it.

You should buy a plan that is renewable.

A: Buying and paying is one and the same thing. If you would like to buy the insurance for 6 months, you will have to pay for all 6 months upfront at once.

Alternatively, if the plan is renewable, you can purchase it for one month and then renew it month by month. All the plans may not be renewable monthly.
e.g.,
Patriot America must be purchased for minimum 3 months initially to be renewed monthly later.
When you renew Visitors Care, there is a $5 renewal fee and your deductible will start all over again.
Diplomat America or Visit USA-Healthcare are not renewable at all.

Most renewable plans charge $5 renewable fee. However, the overall premium will be the same whether you buy all for 6 months or monthly.

Therefore, if you are not sure how long your parents will stay, provided the plan is renewable, we suggest that you purchase initially for 3 months and renew it accordingly.

A: There is a big advantage of renewal. In many plans, even when you renew, you will have to pay the deductible only once during the policy period and not every time you renew the policy. In some plans, where you have to pay 20% (or 10%) co-insurance for first $5,000, that would also be accumulative and you would have to pay just once instead of paying every time within the new policy period.

A: Health insurance is for future protection for medical problems. And as future medical problems or injuries/accidents can't be predicted, you never know what would happen in future. Medical treatment in USA is very expensive, it is always advisable to buy medical insurance from a reputable company.

A: When you don't have health insurance, you can not be calling from your cell phone on the way to the hospital emergency room and expect instant coverage. Such condition would be considered as pre-existing and will not be covered.

You must have heard 'You can't be digging well when you are thirsty'.

A: Price per person remains same whether you buy for both parents together or one person at a time. Some insurance plans charge you an application fee and/or renewal fee. Only advantage by putting both parents in one application is that you don't have to pay application fee and/or renewal fee per person. (typically something like $5, $10 etc.)

Also, if you put both parents in one application, you can't renew or cancel insurance for just one person. This happens quite often when father is bored here or has some business work and wants to go back early while mother would like to stay more. If that may be a possible situation for you, consider making separate application for each person. You also need to make separate applications if both parents are going to stay different duration or you want different policy maximum for each parent.

A: No, that is not an appropriate decision. If someone has pre-existing conditions, insurance company will not pay for them anyway. And for a given age, the probability of someone getting into completely new medical conditions is pretty much same and therefore everyone for a given age pays the same premium.

However, when a new medical condition arises, how much you get covered is the difference between the fixed and the comprehensive coverage. We recommend everyone to purchase comprehensive coverage plans.

A: No. You can not make any changes to the insurance plan after the effective date and you can not upgrade to a different plan.
You will have to cancel the current plan and purchase a completely new plan as if you had never purchased the insurance previously. And all the terms and conditions start all over again such as pre-existing conditions, even if the comprehensive coverage plan is from the same company as the fixed coverage plan.

Insurance company will pay for any new medical conditions that occur after the effective date of the current policy. Otherwise, everyone would first purchase the fixed coverage which is cheaper and as soon as the person gets sick, upgrade it to the comprehensive coverage plan. It does not work like that. When you need medical treatment, you will have to use whatever insurance you already have.

In other words, after you get sick, if you cancel the fixed coverage and purchase a comprehensive coverage, the comprehensive plan would consider that condition to be pre-existing condition and not cover it and you lost whatever little coverage you had in the fixed coverage plan.

A: If the individual limits in the fixed coverage plan were sufficient for medical treatment, there would be no reason for the same insurance company to offer comprehensive coverage plan and charge you 2 to 3 times more money. And there would be no reason for any one to purchase comprehensive coverage plan and such products would not exist in the market.

Medical treatment in the USA is very expensive. If you have purchased $50,000 of fixed coverage plan, insurance company will pay $330 for emergency room visit and $3300 for surgery. If emergency room visit costs $2,000 or $3,000, you have to pay the difference beyond $330. If surgery costs you $30,000 or $40,000, you have to pay the difference beyond $3,300.

After reading this, many people ask what the meaning of $50,000 coverage really is for the fixed coverage plan. $50,000 is the overall maximum limit once individual limits are all combined. e.g., $1,400/day, 30 days maximum for hospital room and board, i.e., $1,400 x 30 = $42,000. Additional $660/day for ICU, 8 days max, i.e., $660 x 8 = $5,280. If you combine all the individual limits, total of all those limits would be covered up to maximum $50,000. And it does not mean that after you pay the deductible, insurance company will pay everything.

A: Your understanding is not completely accurate. An example would help you understand that better. Please note that, in order to simplify your understanding, we have not taken the deductible and coinsurance into account in the following examples, but they would still apply as applicable.

Both Visitors Care and Patriot America (and Protection America) are from the same company, IMG. Visitors Care is a fixed coverage while Patriot America is a comprehensive coverage plan. Both provide $50,000 policy maximum (for example) and participate in the same PPO network, First Health PPO. However, Patriot America costs 2 to 3 times more money compared to Visitors Care. If both plans were doing the same job, why would anyone buy Patriot America at much higher price?

Lets say you visit a doctor whose office visit charge is $200 per visit. Lets assume that the network negotiated fee is $120 for that visit. In the case of Patriot America, you would be covered for the entire $120 and you will not have to pay the difference of $80 ($200 - $120). In case of Visitors Care, the network negotiated fee would still be $120 for that visit and you will not have to pay the difference of $80 ($200 - $120). However, as Visitors Care only covers up to $55 for Dr. visit in $50,000 policy maximum, you will have to still pay the difference beyond $55, that is $120 - $55 = $65.

Another example, you need a surgery and it cost you $40,000. And the network negotiated fee happens to be $32,000 for that surgery. Patriot America would cover entire $32,000 and you would not have to pay the difference of $8,000 ($40,000 - $32,000). If you had purchased Visitors Care with $50,000 policy maximum and needed the same $40,000 surgery, the network negotiated fee would still be $32,000 and you would not have to pay the difference of $8,000 ($40,000 - $32,000). However, insurance company would cover surgery only up to $3,300 and you would be responsible for the difference of $28,700 ($32,000 - $3,300).

Of course, this does not mean the network discounts in the First Health are not good. In this particular example, if First Health's network negotiated fee happens to be $32,000, some other PPO's network negotiated fee may be $31,000 or $33,000, for example, or somewhere in that range. You can't expect $40,000 surgery to be negotiated down to $3,300 so that you will not have to pay anything. It simply does not work like that.

A: More and more people buy comprehensive coverage plans, as those plans provide you with real insurance and limit your out of pocket maximum liability.

A: Such products exist simply because lots of customers simply want cheap insurance. Based on the premium, insurance companies can only provide partial coverage for the amount of money they charge.

Furthermore, US based companies offer fixed coverage plans primarily to compete with many foreign based insurance companies (especially in India) that offer only fixed coverage plans for any one older than 55 years.

A: No vision and glasses/contact lenses are not covered.

Please note that vision and eye problem are 2 different things. If you have swollen eye, watery eyes or there is an injury in the eye, that is considered a medical problem and it would be covered as long as it is not a pre-existing condition.

A: No, you require minimum 5 persons for a group health insurance. Moreover, many insurance plans are not available to purchase as a group purchase.

A: Definitions for Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) and Common Carrier AD&D.

Generally, it should be the name of the close relative. e.g., if you are buying for your parents, write your name and the relationship is son/daughter/child. If you are buying for your in-laws, write your husband's/wife's name and the relationship is son/daughter/child. However, you can write anyone's name there. Just by writing your name in the beneficiary field, you do not automatically become liable for the medical expenses in case the medical expenses are not covered by the insurance company because it was either pre-existing conditions, not a covered expense or expenses are beyond what is covered in the policy.

A: If your father already had a birthday this year, the age is current year - birth year. Therefore, in 2008, it would be 2008 - 1948 = 60 years.
If your father didn't have a birthday this year yet as of the effective date, the age is current year - birth year - 1. Therefore, in 2008, it would be 2008 - 1948 - 1 = 59 years.

Assuming that your policy is going to be effective on September 5, 2008, the age would be 2008 - 1948 - 1 = 59 years. If the policy were to be effective on December 24, 2008, the age would be 2008 - 1948 = 60 years.

A: You have to choose the completed number of years. Therefore, in your case, your father is 59 years old and you should choose the age accordingly.

A: If the person has only one name (whether it be first or last name), put that name into last name column and put 'FNU' into the first name. In other words, even if you have only first name, put that name into the last name column and first name should be 'FNU'.

That is exactly how US consulates also write in the visa stamp in such cases.

FNU stands for First Name Unknown.

A: Some examples of this situation are Chaman Lal, Sunder Rao, Harpreet Singh (or for females, Rama Devi, Prem Kumari etc.)

In such situation, you can put the first word in the name as the first name and second word in the name as the last name. Anyway, when the insurance card is printed, both names will be listed one after another in the same line, and the cards does not specify which one is first name and which one is last name.

e.g., Sunder as first name and Rao as last name even if Rao is not actually your last name. e.g., Rama as first name and Devi as last name.

A: Some examples of this situation are Ram Kumar Sharma, Suresh Ramaniklal Patel, Srinivas Sunder Krishnamurthy etc.

In such situation, you can put the first and middle name as the first name(such as Ram Kumar), and last name as the last name (such as Sharma). Anyway, when the insurance card is printed, all the names will be listed one after another in the same line.

Or you can choose to ignore the middle name.