<p>Sybbie and any other Dart parents that might be listening, if your child has an insurance waiver for the regular school year, did you buy or consider the 1 term health policy for their study abroad term? I've checked with our company, and on the face of it, the only thing they won't cover that the college policy does cover is MedEvac. My D will be in Paris, so I'm not sure she really needs MedEvac. I'm also considering trip insurance to cover the 8-10 that she will be traveling outside of the term - has anyone done that?</p>
<p>Hi Cangel-</p>
<p>I am not sure all situations are equivalent, but we have also waived the college insurance and I decided against purchasing it for one term as our coverage was essentially equivalent as well. </p>
<p>I did have to obtain from my health insurance company a special set of instructions for her to take with her regarding the different process for claims for services outside the states and made sure to look up in advance the names and addresses of medical providers whose services would have been covered under my plan in the cities I anticipated she would be visiting. My insurance company strongly warned that most, if not all, international providers would require cash up front even though ultimately reimbursed by my insurance company.</p>
<p>My employer extends to dependents a program which assists with emergency situations, including evacuation for a number of reasons- it does not cover the cost of it but would have made funds (and other resources) immediately available which I would have later been obligated to reimburse (I can't recall if D's coverage was really any more extensive than that).</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is some sort of temporary power of attorney so that you have a hope of having a say in making medical decisions should the need arise (still no guarantee, but the chances increase), or doing miscellaneous things like paying bills which might come through in your D's name while she is abroad.</p>
<p>I did not purchase the insurance through the college because like Ohmadre the coverage through my employer gave almost all of the same benefits.</p>
<p>Wow, the power of attorney thing never crossed my mind (great idea). Since will not be going back to Hanover until spring term, she had all of her mail forwarded home and I am paying her bills while she is abroad (she is really loving this part).</p>
<p>I had thought of the power of attorney (thinking like a doc) for health matters, but i hadn't thought about bill paying - thanks. I think we will forgo the insurance, but I'm going to try to get a statement of benefits from BC for overseas coverage.</p>
<p>Actually, what you want is a general power of attorney AND a health care proxy.</p>
<p>also make sure that the parental units' passports are current, just in case you need to jump on a plane in an emergency.....</p>