The health systems in many countries work very differently from each other and Australia is no exception to that. The "land down under" has some of the best medical facilities in the world and for Australians, it is quite easy to access them. However, if you are visiting from another country, you will most likely not be entitled to use the public health care system known as Medicare. If this indeed the case, you will need to take out private health insurance, known as "overseas visitor cover".
While this may not be news to you, it can still be quite confusing to try and find a provider who offers the right cover for your needs while in Australia. So, here is a guide to finding the right overseas visitor cover for you!
Think About Your Circumstances
Before you even start researching policies, the first thing you should be doing, is thinking about what you'll need from the policy you take out and who it will need to cover. Most Australian visas will require that you have "adequate health arrangements" for your visa to be valid, so it's also important to check what kind of cover you will need to meet your travel permit requirements.
Explore Your Options
There are so many providers of this type of health insurance in Australia that it's easy for them to start to all look the same after a while. But in most cases, when you really start to look at each of the policies these providers are offering, you'll see that most of them have differences of varying degrees. The best place to begin your research is with the world wide web. There are some fantastic websites around that will let you evaluate each policy side by side so you can really compare "apples with apples".
Choose with Flexibility in Mind
More often than not, the cheapest forms of cover are the most inflexible. As you would know, when you're traveling, things can change. Therefore it is important to choose a policy that can be altered to suit varying circumstances. Important things that should be flexible in the policy are:
– Hospitals in which you can visit for treatment should you fall ill or be injured
– Ability to shift policy start and end dates, should your travel plans be moved
– The option to add and remove members on your policy
It's important to remember that without private health insurance or even just buying the wrong type of cover you could be up for huge medical expenses. That's why it's important to take the time to research, compare policies and ensure you choose a reputable provider.
Source by Ralph Gray