If you’re a foreign national visiting, studying, working, or temporarily living in the United States, one of the biggest “surprise costs” you can face is the cost of medical care. U.S. healthcare is excellent in many places, but it can also be confusing, fragmented, and extremely expensive if you do not have the right insurance in place. Major medical insurance for foreign nationals is designed to help protect you from the financial impact of unexpected illness, injury, or emergency treatment while you are in the U.S., and it can help you access quality care with a clearer plan for how bills are handled.

At Diversified Insurance Brokers, we help visitors and international residents understand how U.S. medical coverage works and how to choose a plan that fits the length of stay, visa situation, and expected healthcare needs. This page focuses on a major medical option for foreign nationals through Lloyds of London, which is intended to provide a more comprehensive medical safety net than short-term, limited-benefit visitor plans. If you are comparing multiple approaches—such as travel medical coverage versus U.S. major medical—this guide will help you understand where major medical fits, what it can cover, and how to enroll.

If you are also exploring protection for time spent outside the U.S., you may want to review our broader travel medical insurance guidance, because travel medical and U.S.-based major medical serve different purposes depending on where you are physically located and how long you will be away from home.

Major Medical Insurance for Foreign Nationals (Lloyds of London)

Comprehensive U.S. medical protection for illness, injury, and emergencies during your stay.

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If you prefer a quick plan review first, you can request options through our form below.

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Tell us your visa type (if applicable), dates, state of stay, and who needs coverage. We’ll help you confirm fit and avoid gaps.

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Who Major Medical Insurance for Foreign Nationals Is Designed For

Major medical coverage can be a strong fit for foreign nationals who need broader medical protection while they are in the United States. This often includes international visitors who want more than basic travel medical coverage, international students who need medical insurance that functions more like a U.S. health plan, and temporary workers or professionals who are in the country for a defined assignment. It can also be useful for individuals relocating to the U.S. who need immediate coverage while they finalize longer-term insurance arrangements.

Because needs vary, the most important planning step is to match the plan to your actual situation. The right solution depends on how long you will be in the U.S., whether you need coverage for routine care or primarily emergency protection, and how comfortable you are with deductibles and cost-sharing. If you are unsure which direction to go, we can help you narrow the options based on your timeline and budget using our request form, and then you can choose whether to enroll directly through the application link.

Why Major Medical Coverage Matters in the United States

In the U.S., costs are not only driven by the severity of a condition but also by where you receive care. A simple urgent care visit can be manageable, while emergency room care, imaging, surgery, or hospitalization can become expensive quickly. Without insurance, providers may require upfront payment, and billing can involve multiple separate charges from the hospital, physicians, labs, and imaging centers. Major medical coverage helps create a clearer structure for how eligible claims are handled and can protect savings from being depleted by an unexpected medical event.

Even for people who consider themselves healthy, the risk is not “do I get sick?” but “what happens if something serious happens at the wrong time?” Accidents, appendicitis, infections, allergic reactions, fractures, or sudden medical episodes can occur without warning. Having major medical insurance for foreign nationals is about avoiding a financial crisis from a medical crisis, especially when you are far from your normal support system.

If you are also trying to coordinate supplemental coverage for dental or vision needs while in the U.S., you can review plan options like Ameritas dental and vision insurance. While dental and vision coverage is different from major medical, many foreign nationals prefer to understand the full “health protection stack” while they are here.

What Major Medical Insurance for Foreign Nationals Typically Helps Cover

Major medical insurance is generally designed to help pay for medically necessary services related to covered illness or injury. Depending on plan design, that can include physician visits, urgent care, emergency services, hospitalization, surgery, diagnostic testing such as labs and imaging, and prescription medications connected to a covered event. The goal is to provide a meaningful safety net for both moderate and major medical scenarios while you are in the United States.

Every plan has details that matter. Deductibles, co-insurance, maximums, provider access rules, and exclusions will affect how the plan works in the real world. That is why we encourage foreign nationals to compare the “monthly cost” alongside the “worst-case out-of-pocket” structure. A plan can look inexpensive up front but leave too much exposure during a hospitalization event. We can help you interpret those tradeoffs if you submit a short request through our form.

Major Medical vs. Travel Medical vs. Marketplace Coverage

Foreign nationals often see multiple types of coverage and are unsure which one fits. Travel medical insurance is commonly designed for short-term international travel and can be excellent for emergency protection, but it may not function like a U.S. major medical plan for longer stays. Major medical insurance for foreign nationals is built to offer broader U.S.-based protection during your time here and is often a better match for extended visits, school attendance, or longer assignments where you want more comprehensive benefits.

Some foreign nationals may also qualify for ACA Marketplace coverage if they meet lawful presence and eligibility requirements, but eligibility is not universal, and Marketplace enrollment windows and documentation requirements can be confusing. If you are unsure what you qualify for, we can help you clarify which category is realistic, then focus on the best plan inside that category. In many cases, private major medical coverage is the simplest path when Marketplace eligibility is unclear or unavailable.

Not Sure Which Coverage Type Fits?

Send your dates, state of stay, and who needs coverage. We’ll point you toward the cleanest option and the right enrollment path.

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How to Think About Deductibles, Co-Insurance, and Maximums

U.S. health plans often share costs using three common building blocks: deductibles, co-insurance, and plan maximums. A deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before the plan begins paying eligible expenses. Co-insurance is the percentage split after the deductible is met, where you pay a portion and the plan pays a portion. Maximums can apply to the overall amount the plan will pay or to specific benefit categories depending on the policy wording.

The practical question is not whether these features exist, but what they mean for you if you need care. If you are selecting between two plans, compare how they behave in a realistic scenario such as an emergency room visit with imaging, a short hospitalization, or a surgery event. The “best” plan is not always the one with the lowest monthly cost. It is often the plan that keeps your worst-case exposure within a range you can comfortably handle.

If you want us to sanity-check your selection, submit your preferred deductible range and expected stay dates through the request form and we’ll help you confirm that your structure matches how long you will be in the U.S. and the level of risk you are trying to protect against.

How Enrollment Typically Works for This Lloyds of London Option

Enrollment is designed to be straightforward. You will provide the basic applicant information, select the coverage dates that match your stay in the United States, choose the plan configuration and cost-sharing structure that fits your budget, and submit the application online. Once your enrollment is completed, you should keep your plan details and any assistance instructions available, especially if you will be traveling between states while in the U.S.

For many foreign nationals, the key is aligning the coverage window to the real travel window. If your arrival date changes or you extend your stay, you may need to update coverage so you do not create a gap. Planning ahead matters because it reduces last-minute problems and helps you avoid being uninsured during the highest-risk transition days.

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If you already know your dates and want to enroll now, you can apply securely online in minutes.

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Why Work With Diversified Insurance Brokers

Choosing medical coverage in the U.S. is not just about buying a policy. It is about understanding how the plan behaves when you actually need care. We help foreign nationals reduce uncertainty by translating plan structure into real-world outcomes, confirming that your coverage window matches your stay, and helping you avoid common “gotchas” such as misunderstood exclusions, insufficient limits, or a deductible structure that does not match your risk tolerance.

If you want a second set of eyes before enrolling, submit a brief request and tell us the state you will be in, your dates, and who needs coverage. We will help you confirm fit and point you to the simplest enrollment path.

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We’ll help you line up the correct start date, duration, and plan structure so you’re not guessing about how coverage works in the U.S.

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