HIF Couples Overseas Visitor Health Cover

If you are looking for couples overseas visitor health cover for you and your partner, then you are most likely seeking a visa to visit Australia. This can be a daunting task, and medical insurance questions can add to that. But though this all seems complicated, health is important and it is essential you get the right policy for you. But is that with HIF?

Compliance with visa

Most importantly, it is essential that your visa meets your 457 visa work requirements - as that is the first port of call. HIF and many other Australian insurance providers create packages that are directly designed to meet this standard. This then means that your visa will be okay with this option.

It is also important to note that you will get your letter of compliance as soon as you register with HIF. This is a standard practice among the respected insurance providers that offer couples overseas visitor health insurance; but also an important one. If you would like to find out more about Australian immigration requirements you can do so here.

Basic value

In terms of value for the basic package that meets your overseas visitor work requirements, HIF is not rated as the best. However, there are other factors that should be taken into consideration, and upfront cost is not always the best indicator of value. This is especially true if you are looking for more than the basic couples overseas visitor health cover.

With some extras

With some extras added, HIF is the best value couples overseas visitor health cover (as you can see below). It is important that you have a clear understanding of the costs that you face, so be sure to look at your options carefully. So feel free to visit our couple health insurance comparison chart.

It is also important to recognise that the basic package is not always the best option for you and your partner. Many people when moving to Australia are facing a lot of costs and are unfamiliar with the health system. This means they then seek out the cheapest couples overseas visitor health cover that meets the 457 visa work requirements. That could well be a mistake though.

Medicare advice

One of the reasons that people seek to take on the basic package, is because they are from a country that has a reciprocal agreement with Australia on health cover. This means that they can then get rid of their couples overseas visitor health cover on arrival and instead take on Medicare.

However, you need to be aware of the Medicare surcharge. This is a tax that is levied onto people in Australia that do not have private medical insurance. What this means is that it is not always the case that getting rid of your couples overseas visitor health cover is actually cheaper. Plus it will leave you with less medical care options. You should then try to get a package that protects you from the Medicare surcharge.

Positive Reviews

HIF on review website product review has a healthy score of 3.3 from 52 reviews as of the 17th of July 2016. Compare this to BUPA which has a score of 1.4, Medibank score of 1.6 and IMAN of 2.6. This highlights the satisfaction from this ‘not for profit’ player to existing members.

Excess and limits

Another questions that people should be asking themselves above the basic price and cover questions, is on excess and limits. Simply because the upfront costs are lower, this does not make it a cheaper package, as you may have to pay out should you use your couples overseas visitor health insurance - which could well happen.

As you can see from the chart above, HIF does not have large hospital excess charges that you will need to pay upon using your policy. This makes this a high value policy, based not just on upfront costs, but also use. Whichever policy you end up choosing, it is important to take both excess and limits into account, or you could end up paying more in the long run.

Is this the couples overseas visitor health cover for you?

HIF is a good value option for couples overseas visitor health cover should you be seeking the Some Benefits package; it gives you some extras that you will find important later on, it covers your overseas visa work requirements and gives you a letter of compliance promptly. On top of this it does not have large excess charges on using your policy, which adds to the value of this policy. This means that it is certainly a strong option.