Med Policy Fiance before marriage

[bobb]

Is it practical to find a catastrophic medical policy to cover my fiance for 10 days to 2 weeks, tops, before we are married?

What did some of you married people, who went the K-1 route, do to protect yourself from the very small risk of getting wiped out because some uninsured idiot, or other accident, required the need of a medical policy before marriage?

[Admin]

Is it practical to find a catastrophic medical policy to cover my fiance for 10 days to 2 weeks, tops, before we are married?

What did some of you married people, who went the K-1 route, do to protect yourself from the very small risk of getting wiped out because some uninsured idiot, or other accident, required the need of a medical policy before marriage?

Bob,

That is a VERY good question. When Olya arrived, we married pretty quickly after her arrival - within a month. She was covered by my insurance once married, but was NOT covered by any insurance for the period prior to our marriage. Of course she was also not covered by any insurance while still living in Ukraine just prior to coming here.

I think it comes down to your personal level of risk aversion. If you are highly risk-averse, or have a large asset base to protect, it might be worthwhile to find and purchase something just to cover your bases. As I recall, the cost for such insurance was pretty stiff - but probably worth it for some.

If you do decide to find such insurance, please drop a post about what you decided and your experience with it.

- Dan

[Shadow]

There is a travel insurance policy that will cover medical cost. One of the first things I did when MrsShadow came to Holland was adding her as partner to my travel insurance. As technically she is travelling, it will cover unexpected health cases.

I do not know if this is available in or for the US, but it might be worth checking out.

[Jet]

Yes it is available, got it for Liliya in 2003 and for her grandmother who visited us in 2005 IIRC the cost was about $1500/mo back then, and is probably higher now.

[Shadow]

Yes it is available, got it for Liliya in 2003 and for her grandmother who visited us in 2005 IIRC the cost was about $1500/mo back then, and is probably higher now.

:hairraising:
Mine was $250 a year...

[bobb]

Great suggestions on looking at Travel Insurance.  I did a Google search and checked out two sites that enabled me to obtain quotes from multiple companies.  From my first observation it appears I can obtain coverages from 50K to 1M with different deductibles for $65 - $200.

Looks like the way to go.  When I read all the fine print with various plans and make my choice later this summer I will post the information.

[bobb]

I think I'm going to decide between the Atlas America (underwritten by Lloyd's) 100,000 or 250,000 medical, with a $250 deductible for each.  $112 vs $133.  For $20 more I would probably go with the 250,000 coverage.  Seems like very reasonable insurance to me.  I set the days needed at 23.

If anyone is interested Click Here!
then look for the Atlas America with limits I've shown above and click on Details.  This is the first time I've ever even thought of purchasing travel insurance and have no experience to judge.  If someone would briefly look at the medical coverage descriptions after clicking on Details and give their opinion I would appreciate it.

[Jet]

:hairraising:
Mine was $250 a year...

Come to think of it, that ridiculously high price was for Grandma, who was 77 at the time...

[bobb]

I decided to go with IMG - Patriot America Insurance:

Max Benefit: 500K
Deductible:   500
Period:           16 days
Cost:            81.36

Like any insurance it provides peace of mind, and in this case a very reasonable rate for the period we will need the coverage.

[mendeleyev]

Bobb, good thinking.

I travel under travel insurance all the time yet I'm no expert on travel policies and have learned to look for 2 things: Do they cover a medical evacuation? Will they pay any care providers immediately or do I have to pay out of pocket first then return home and go thru a lengthy claims and reimbursement process?

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1470.html has a long list of travel insurance providers.

[wendaaaal]

I think it's very wise to buy some coverage for the "gap" between arrival and marriage. Otherwise you could be starting married life with a heap of bills!
No luck for me in bringing a fiancee over, but I did buy travel insurance when taking a RW to a third country. Used Specialty Risk, now called Seven Corners. They also have policies designed for inbound immigrants: http://www.sevencorners.com/
Best of luck! Wendell in Austin