OVHC Insurance: Who Offers Working Visa Health Cover?
27 Mar 2017
Although tens of thousands of long-term overseas visitors arrive every month in Australia, OVHC isn’t offered by every health insurer in the country. This can make it difficult for visitors to arrange cover if it means examining every Australian health insurer to find one that provides the cover they need at a price they can afford.
So we here at Canstar have put together this handy guide to Australian insurance companies who offer OVHC, along with some things you need to know about the product.
Compare OVHC Working Visa Health Insurance with Canstar
We’ve explained what overseas visitor health cover (OVHC) is and why you need it here. To put it simply, OVHC is a health insurance product designed for overseas visitors to Australia planning on a long-term stay (more than 1 year). Many of these visitors will be holders of a 457 or 485 working visa who have to buy working visa health cover to apply for a working visa – or they might be international students who need to buy overseas student health cover (OSHC) to apply for a student visa.
Visitors who are not Australian citizens and are not covered by one of Australia’s reciprocal health agreements are ineligible for cover under Medicare, Australia’s public health system. This is where OVHC comes in. OVHC generally covers medically-required hospital admissions, and a portion of any doctor’s fees you might incur. You can go here for a more in-depth and detailed explanation of OVHC.
How do I buy OVHC?
You can buy either working visa health cover or overseas student health cover (OSHC) in different ways:
- Online from an insurance company
- Through a travel agent
- Through a visa lawyer
Make sure you compare insurance policies on Canstar’s website before you apply for a policy:
Compare OVHC Working Visa Health Insurance
Compare Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
Who offers OVHC?
It depends on whether you are looking for Working Visa Health Cover or Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).
Who offers working visa health cover?
Here are the various insurers that Canstar rated in 2017 that provide OVHC for those on working visas:
- IMAN
- Allianz Global Assistance
- Bupa Australia Pty Limited
- HIF
- Australian Unity
- GMHBA
- HBF
- Medibank
If you’re looking to take out a working visa health cover policy or another type of OVHC policy, be sure to do the following first:
- Figure out what features you’ll need to include on your policy.
- Prepare for the potential problems you might encounter with your policy based on what people are complaining about.
- Make sure you know the ins and outs of any policy you’re considering taking out so that you don’t end up being slugged with extra charges.
Compare OVHC Working Visa Health Insurance with Canstar
Who offers OSHC?
Here are the insurers that Canstar rated in 2017 that provide OSHC (international student health cover):
- ahm
- nib
- Allianz Global Assistance
- Bupa Australia Pty Limited
- Medibank
For more information about OSHC and who offers it, read this article.
For further information and advice on OVHC and OSHC, visit Canstar’s dedicated sections on each to read more and compare policies:
Compare OVHC Working Visa Health Insurance with Canstar
Find out more about OVHC with our latest star ratings reports for working visa health cover and overseas student health cover:
Working Visa Health Cover Star Ratings - Canstar
The inclusions mentioned represent a selection of what is covered at the time of writing. Additional terms and conditions may apply to different features. Additional fees may apply to the product. Canstar is not making any suggestion or recommendation to you about this product. Please ensure that you read the product disclosure statement (PDS) to determine all the current options and inclusions for the product you are considering.
Canstar is an information provider and in giving you product information Canstar is not making any suggestion or recommendation about a particular insurance product. If you decided to apply for an insurance policy, you will deal directly with an insurance provider, and not with Canstar. Premiums, coverage, benefit limits, and product information should be confirmed with the relevant insurance provider. For more information, read our detailed disclosure and our Financial Services and Credit Guide.
