Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

Hello

I am moving out to the states in the summer, i am a dual-citizen, and have booked my return flight for a few months after i go out which is when i expect my available money to have ran out by if i haven't found a job by then. Anyway i know that i wont have health insurance over there but was thinking if i just bought the usual travel insurance as i have a return flight booked then that should cover me for those first few months. If i stay for longer it will be if i have a job, meaning ill be able to afford health insurance (maybe) or hopefully the company i'm with will provide it. Does this seem like a good idea or is there something i'm not taking into account?

Thanks

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

Can't really help mate except to say that most companys over here have a 90 day employment rule before the insurance kicks in, so if you do run out of money you will be looking at a 3 month gap.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

Welcome to BE Daniel.

We've had the same question asked several times in the past. Travel insurance is for just that but you won't be travelling will you? I suppose you won't know unless you have to make a claim. Then it will depend on how closely the insurance company investigate your claim. If they find out you are no longer a UK resident (which if I remember correctly is a condition of the travel insurance policies) they will refuse your claim.

Remember if the insurance company can possibly get out of paying out money they will do. ;)

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

Arguably, he is doing exactly that.

His plan is to travel to the US, stay there for a few months and then return to the UK.

If, by some chance, he happens to find a job and accept an offer of employment while he is in the US he will change his plans and stay in the US. Up to the moment when he changes his plans he has, IMHO, a good claim to be just "traveling" ...

That is certainly something that the OP should be aware of as a possibility but in my own experience health insurance coverage has always been effective from the date of hire.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

WOW I am surprised you say that, I have had a few job here in the US and not one of them would give me immediate health cover.....good for you :)

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

Arguably...well that's not up to you or I but up to the insurance company isn't it? Like I said that's something that won't be known until a claim is made.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

Perhaps it depends on how ill you expect to get.

If you have recurring medications you need to be taking, try and get a full supply to cover your minimum stay in the UK before you leave. For simple things like flu etc CVS minute clinics can probably suffice paying out of pocket will probably amount to $100 or so depending.

Getting hit by a bus is where it starts to get tricky, but even then hospitals are required to still treat you. It's just the billing afterward that causes problems. I understand there are many forums on the internet that teach living without health insurance. 40 million Americans can't be wrong...

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

Thanks for the replies guy, the input is appreciated. I would consider myself to be travelling, at least at the start, I will be a new graduate so i feel like i dont have too much to lose by giving it a shot for 3 months, if nothing comes from it then ive had a nice long holiday after uni. I will be living with friends to start off with and will still have my family home in the UK so i am pretty sure that i will still be classed as a UK resident for those initial months.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

I may be a bit out in left field with this... but you say you're a dual citizen... I'm guessing UK/US. If so, the moment you enter the US with your US passport (as you must by law, since you're a USC) you will no longer actually be "visiting" - even if you don't have a home in the US. The US will treat you as a US citizen, and a UK insurance company likely has no obligation to honor any contract *unless* you enter the US using your UK passport (which would truly make you a visitor)... which, by law, you can't do!

Ian

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

I can see your point but firstly i don't think insurance companies are usually aware of what passport a person is using or if they would even take that into consideration when checking a claim. Also its not part of the contract that you have to even be a citizen of the country where you live, just a resident, so i don't think its a problem to be a citizen of the country you're visiting. If this was a problem then every time i, or people with similar circumstances, have travelled to the states before just for a visit then they would have had to of taken out health insurance for a couple weeks or so, which i guess doesn't really happen.
Again, thanks for your input, best to think about everything that could go wrong and then argue why it hopefully shouldn't.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

Ah you didn't say you'd be travelling originally...you said 'moving out to the states'...which is a different kettle of fish altogether.

You must be a UK resident to obtain UK travel insurance is what I said in my first post.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

I see no problem with the OP's plan.

If he changes his plans he will need to change his Insurance Arrangements.

You do not need to have ILR to obtain travel insurance in the UK.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

When I was arranging travel insurance for my relatives a few months ago all the policies I looked at said UK residents only.

For example: Saga's website....Travel Insurance is not available to persons resident outside the UK or for one way trips.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

I think you're mixing residency with citizenship. He may have a US passport, but even if he enters the US with it, that doesn't mean he suddenly becomes a resident of the US. It's just like if I go back to the UK and enter with my British passport:- I haven't become a resident of the UK by doing so.

Personally, I think the OP's plan is fine.

Re: Travel insurance to start off for health insurance?
 

When I moved over last month I used travelguard travel insurance to cover the gap for me and my family until I took up residence and employment. They didn't impose a country-of-residence limit on the policy, and the way I read their terms the policy didn't require you to even have plans for a return trip. I was only looking for cover for four or five days, so you may want to check them out more carefully.