South Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) has launched a new insurance cover in Australia for Australians who want to live and work overseas.
The new cover, Working Overseas insurance, automatically covers office-based work and some types of manual work, with benefits designed for longer experiences of living and working overseas, such as optical treatment, emergency dental treatment, mental health care, rehabilitation and occupational therapy, and maternity care.
Other benefits include cover for holidays away from the traveller’s main destination (depending on the holiday destination, customers may incur an additional premium) and automatic cover for skiing and snowboarding, travelling by cruise, or riding mopeds.
“The gap year is as much a part of young Australians’ lives as barbecues and beaches – it has become a rite of passage, so the past couple of years have been a pretty frustrating time for many Aussies as borders remained closed,” said SCTI CEO Jo McCauley.
SCTI’s Future of Travel 2023 research revealed that 73% of Gen Z and 70% of millennials would consider living and working overseas to extend a trip or holiday, highlighting the need for insurance.
“It’s important Australians heading overseas to work consider protecting themselves with travel insurance,” McCauley said. “When you’re living somewhere for a long period of time, the likelihood of needing medical assistance is increased, and it’s important not to assume you can access the local health system for free – this isn’t always the case and, in some instances, it can lead to expensive medical bills.”
The policy has been available in New Zealand for several years, with records showing that several customers on working holidays in the US, Canada, and the UK have had to make claims for tens of thousands of dollars after requiring medical treatment there.
Each SCTI Working Overseas policy can be purchased for up to 12 months cover and, if required, travellers can buy subsequent 12-month policies if their total cover is no longer than 60 months.
