What to know about travel insurance for your working holiday abroad

Chapter 5 of 7

Many credit cards such as Mastercard, Visa Premier, Visa Gold and more offer complimentary travel benefits—including medical insurance and trip cancellation—if you’re using your card to buy your plane ticket. 

All set? Not quite.

Shorter coverage period

Credit card travel insurance typically offers short-term coverage (often capped at 30 days) because their solution is designed for tourists. Policies usually explicitly exclude “long trips.” So, you’re covered if you’re planning a very short 30-day Working Holiday experience but you’re not if you’re going for the standard 12- or 24-month adventure! 

Limited coverage, lower limits and higher deductibles

This is a case of “read the fine print.” Plans that came at no extra cost with your credit card typically don’t offer extended or full coverage. For instance, they may not include hospitalisation, repatriation, emergency medical care, accidents, etc.. Or, they may only offer these as an add-on option. Sometimes, claims due to an accident are accepted but not claims due to an illness. 

Credit card travel insurance also tends to come with limited coverage amounts. For instance, medical expenses can be capped and this maximum is easily reached in case of major issues. Deductibles (excess) may be higher as well.

Finally, the claim process can be complicated and long, which isn’t great when you have paid out of pocket and can see your travel budget quickly dwindling.

Read the fine print and watch out for exclusions limiting your coverage. Oh, and make sure your credit card doesn’t expire during your trip because it could affect your travel insurance!

These credit card travel insurances are perfect for long weekend getaways and short holidays but they aren’t designed for longer-term working holiday adventures. 

Top-up with other insurers

If you are travelling to a destination where insurance is not mandatory and, after reading the full terms and conditions, you choose to go with your credit card travel insurance for the initial start of your WHV adventure, you should still top it up with another travel insurance policy:

• To be covered for the entire duration of your stay abroad
• To have proof of insurance to show if needed 
• To make sure you get comprehensive healthcare coverage with hospitalisation and repatriation

Don’t leave any gap between your credit card travel insurance and your own travel insurance. Coverage gaps could create issues with any claim you may have later on. 

What if I have travel coverage through my bank, my healthcare system or another work-provided insurance?

The same caveat applies. Most of the time, travel coverage provided as a “side perk” is designed for short trips and it’s very limited. Read the contract and get the full details before considering yourself covered for a working holiday!