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If your working life takes you away from Australia's shores, expat health insurance is designed specifically for you. It can cover you for everything from hospital accommodation and treatment fees to medical repatriation to Australia.
While the standard of healthcare in Australia is quite high, the medical care and treatment on offer internationally can vary greatly from one country to the next.
Australian expat health insurance is a type of health service that allows you and your family to access a high level of medical care wherever you are in the world. It can cover you for:
Health insurance policies for Australians living overseas can cover hospital expenses you may encounter whilst living overseas. This can include treatment for accidents, illnesses such as cancer and, in some cases, elective surgery.
Like Australia, many countries will charge you for out of hospital services like dental, physio and optical. Some expat health insurance policies can cover you for this type of care.
In some cases, urgent or complex treatment requires you to return to Australia. Some policies can cover you for emergency evacuation costs.
Although the benefits offered by expat health insurance differ from one policy to the next, comprehensive expat health insurance will usually cover the following medical services.
There are two ways that you can access health insurance for expatriates.
Major global insurers such as Bupa and Allianz both offer international health insurance solutions for individuals and their families, as well as policies designed for businesses to offer to their employees.
There are a couple of key differences between health and travel insurance that will help you decide which one you need.
"Purchasing insurance can be a tricky business. These two products are often confused in travel guides and on the internet. Sure, both travel insurance and international health insurance will cover you when you're spending time abroad. And you may have some cover in your home country with a local health insurance policy.
Some travel insurance products include an element of cover for private medical treatment, while international health policies may come with an optional travel insurance rider. But having the wrong cover might leave you with unexpected medical expenses during international travel.
It's important to stress, however, that they're two very different kinds of insurance, designed for two very different purposes. It's possible that, depending upon your circumstances, you might want to purchase both products.
You should pick the right product for your circumstances. Suppose you're only travelling abroad for a short period; in that case, travel insurance is probably what you need.
If you'll be living or working abroad for an extended period, and you want to ensure you have cover for any medical treatment you may need, then an international [or, expat] health insurance policy might be more appropriate for you."
Australia has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA) in place with the governments of 11 countries around the world.
The RHCA allows you to access subsidised healthcare under the public health system in place at that destination; in other words, you’ll be covered by that country’s version of Medicare. Although the medical cover available under an RHCA is beneficial, it has its limits so you still may want to consider health insurance.
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My 24-year-old son is going to study in Amsterdam for 12 to 16 months. Could I get a quote?
Hi Natalie,
Thank you for getting in touch with Finder.
Since your son will be travelling to the country where Australia has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA) in place, your son then has access to the subsidised healthcare under the public health system in the said country. He will be covered by the Netherlands’ version of Medicare.
If you still consider getting health insurance for your son, this page has list of insurer you may apply for. Please visit their official page to get quotes.
I hope this helps.
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Jeni