Australia, as has been noted before, is a place you go to adventure. I plan on living on the edge the next time I go, and that’s why I’m thinking of getting some sort of health insurance coverage.
Australia has lots of awesome things to do, and lots of those things could potentially hurt me. I really want to learn how to surf, and Australia is the place to do that. However, sharks think surfers look like delicious seals (sharks either have very poor vision, or they are just really indiscriminate) so I would like to know that I might not be crippled by debt while recovering from a great white attack. I also plan on going and seeing some of the Outback, and based on what I’ve read there are just all sorts of things that can do nasty things to you out there, from snakes and reptiles to kangaroos that kick and the scariest prospect of all, a combination of merciless sun and a vehicle that gives up the ghost before getting me home.
Also, I hear it’s very safe, people wise. But everyone there is descended from criminals. More importantly, I like to point out this fact, which might be the most dangerous part of all.
So I decided to look for some way to get travelers insurance while in Australia. I thought this might be an incredible headache to deal with, but it turns out its not that complicated at all. Finding private health insurance
in Australia certainly seems easier than it does in the states, and I found health insurance for international visitors
quickly and easily at www.hbf.com.au
. HBF is big insurance company based in Western Australia, and they have a variety of specialized packages for international visitors. I entered my age and my country and how many people I was looking to get covered and I was taken to a page in which I could look at several different coverage options. I decided some things I didn’t need (maternity coverage) and others I did (ambulance coverage) and I was quoted a price. The price was quoted to me “per fortnight” which made me immediately happy about my choice of company and their choice of syntax. (Although hearing “fortnight” in a medical context does make me a bit nervous that “a condition of the humors” might be a diagnosis I could hear, and “liberal use of leaches” might be the treatment prescribed.)
Although it might not be cost effective for a quick trip to Australia, if you’re staying in Australia for any length of time at all it’s probably a good idea to try and get some affordable health insurance coverage, if for no other reason than that in spite of all the cuddly vibes they give off, koala bears are drunken maniacs that can actually mess you up. That alone is enough of a reason for me to get some coverage. There’s no way I can restrain myself from trying to pet a koala bear if I see one.