HI there,
Does any one know which company is offering cheapest health insurance for tourists? I am expecting my mom next year for 6 months stay and would like to know which company is shuold go to for her health insurance. Medibank is charging $200 per month, which is quite expensive, does any one know a better deal? My mom is slightly above 60 years of age.
Nope. Only people from a few countries that have reciprocal Medicare agreements with Australia get looked after (UK, NZ, Italy etc). Public hospitals will charge you at a non-resident rate (which is typically the medicare fee + an administration fee) if you don't have a medicare card.
Don't know what it is like now, but when I did the research about 12 months ago, HIF was the cheapest.
Doesn't travel insurance usually cover this scenario?
My understanding is that travel insurance will only cover those expenses that are considered essential - e.g. you fall sick. Again, it's been a while and things may have changed, but for my parents, travel insurance did not pay out costs of some diagnostic tests that were done with a specialist, as they were not considered to be 'essential' -i.e. they argued that we could have waited after the trip to run those diagnostic tests.
yes travel insurance doesnt cover this and I am South Asian background so Australia doesnt have medicare agreement.
Thanks Stralya I will check HIF.
I hope your mum has a most excellent time here :)
Please do post what you find the cheapest for others looking for the same info :)
I believe that travel insurance is the way to go. Try World Nomads Insurance. Look thru the things
they cover and for an extremely reasonable cost I think you'll find the right package for your Mum. This inlcudes other Ozbargainers too if you are travelling abroad. I've found World Nomads cheaper than anything offered by the travel agent. Google them. Hope this helps.
Hi saimaalnoor,
I'm the Digital Manager at HIF and just stumbled across this thread so thought I'd pop in and say hi, and let you know that I'm here to help if you need any advice about private health cover for visitors to Australia.
We offer four levels of Overseas Visitors Cover, starting from AU$79.08 per month, and we issue the visa compliance letter instantly upon confirming an application. To find out more, you can visit http://www.hif.com.au/health-insurance/overseas-visitors-cov…
Please also feel free to email me any time on [email protected]
Thanks, and I hope your mother has a wonderful trip Down Under!
Nikki Tynan
HIF
Don't forget about ambulance cover saimaalnoor - there can be a nasty shock when the bill comes if an ambulance trip is needed.
It seems that NIB is the cheapest and HIF is not too bad either.
I went to an NIB branch last week, and was told that NIB only insure people with 457 visas. Will try HIF later and report back here.
Thank you so much all, i will compare and decide
It has been a while since my last post. I now come back to report my experience with HIF. In general, HIF is pretty good.
Firstly, there are quite a number of health insurance companies that provide insurance for "Visitors". However, most of them provide policies that cover only 457 (working) Visa holders, such as the one mentioned earlier NIB and also HCF. There aren't many health insurance companies provide policies for normal tourists. HIF is one of the few of them.
Secondly, it appears that for the same level of cover (similar to or slightly above Medicare), HIF's policies are the cheapest. My research is, although not conclusive, quite comprehensive.
Thirdly, HIF's customer service is quite good. In my experience, they are polite, helpful and respond promptly to my queries.
Fourthly, and most importantly, HIF is flexible. They would allow you to purchase the policy now in order to get your tourist visa (676) approved but the policy commencement date could be pushed back to the day on which you arrive in Australia if you choose to do so. Also, if you change your mind and decide to not to come to Australia anymore, they would refund the money to you with no questions asked.
So I would absolutely recommend HIF and I hope my post could be of assistance to other forum members.
Cheers
Hi there,
For the cheapest there is a very good comparison table:
http://www.457visacompared.com.au/overseas-visitor-health-in…
Unlike other comparison site, it just shows the main brands prices and features and sends you to their site.
A lot better then other sites that just want your information.
Just don't get her any insurance. I'm sure the Australian government will look after her should she fall ill.