thomas159

Hi all, im moving to australia for 1 year on a working holiday visa. I was wondering whether it would be cheaper to take out travel insurance to cover my trip for a year, or whether it would be cheaper to buy health insurance etc over there.

Would travel insurance cover me sufficiently to live over there for a year?

If anyone has some advice it would be much appreciated , thanks

saveme

Check out www.dh.gov.uk/travellers

Australia has a repricocal agreement with the UK so you can get a Medicare card - take your passport and /or other document like NHS card?? Your European Health Insurance card is no good for OZ but it's a handy ID I guess?

You still need your medical insurance though, doctors are free if they 'bulk-bill' and if they're not you have to pay something above the schedule rate. You need your travel insurance for the journey to and from OZ and get the HIGHEST possible cover if you're going via the USA. You've got to pay for dental in OZ and, like here, they charge like wounded bulls.

Dave

ps my info about OZ may be out of date as I've not lived there for a while.

KevC

when I was there on a working holiday visa in 2002/03 I just took out a 1-year backpacker's travel insurance policy - www.insureandgo.com - and then got a Medicare card when I arrived in Sydney. I only visited the docs once in the whole year for an allergy problem, and paid a few dollars for the drugs needed as I recall. I didn't have separate health insurance, not sure how vital it is really - suppose it depends how cautious you are and if you want to risk it!