Working Overseas

Working Overseas travel insurance

Living and working abroad

Working overseas can be one of the most enriching experiences of your life. It’s a great way to understand different cultures, learn new skills and discover all the world has to offer. But when it comes to travelling, there’s always room for the unexpected to happen, so it’s important to protect yourself with comprehensive travel insurance. 

Our Working Overseas travel insurance policy is designed to provide the comprehensive benefits of a standard travel insurance policy, whilst also covering while living and working abroad.

Get a Working Overseas quote now

 

What is travel insurance for working holidays?

Whether you’re planning a big OE to Canada or the UK, a working holiday travel insurance policy can be a great option for you. It provides comprehensive coverage for a range of travel-related issues, including medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, trip cancellation, trip interruption, lost or stolen baggage, and more.

As a working holiday traveller, it's important to have adequate coverage to protect yourself financially and ensure you receive the necessary medical treatment if something goes wrong as you may not be eligible for healthcare at your chosen destination.

 

What our Working Overseas travel insurance policy covers

We want people to relax and enjoy their time spent working overseas. Our Working Overseas travel insurance is specifically designed to remove the worry and anxiety should something not go quite to plan.

Maximum cover
medical
Medical and evacuation
Includes cover for medical treatment, doctors’ visits, prescribed medication, specialist treatment and medical transport costs. Plus 24-hour emergency assistance, support of qualified medical advisers, guarantees for medical expenses and contact with family.
Unlimited cover
Medical treatment
Unlimited
24-hour emergency assistance
Unlimited
Medical evacuation
Unlimited
Medical repatriation
Unlimited
Optical treatment
Including optometrist consultations, spectacles/lenses.
$1,000
Ancillary services
Including acupuncturists, chiropractors, physiotherapists and Chinese medicine.
$2,500
Rehabilitation and occupational therapy
$10,000
Maternity care
For each pregnancy.
$3,000
Mental health
$2,000
Emergency dental treatment
$2,000
Cash allowance while in hospital (after 72 hours)
$100 per 24 hours.
$3,000
Extra travel and accommodation
Unlimited
Accompanying person
Unlimited
Funeral expenses or return of mortal remains
For each deceased person. No excess applies.
$50,000
Replacement staff
$15,000
Repatriation benefit
$5,000
Directly or indirectly relating to terrorism
$100,000
cancelling your journey
Cancelling or changing your journey before you leave
Includes cover for cancellation fees and prepaid travel costs if your trip is cancelled or changed due to an illness, injury or natural disaster. Plus, cover for additional costs to help you attend a special event including a wedding or sporting event.
$2,500
Options to increase up to Unlimited
Cancelling your journey
$2,500
Options to increase up to Unlimited
Changes before you leave
$2,500
Options to increase up to Unlimited
Existing conditions of a relevant person
$2,500
Delayed journey to a special event
$2,500
changing your journey
Changes to your journey once you have left
Includes cover for transport, accommodation, meals, activities and tour costs if you cannot reach your next destination on time, or if you need to cut your trip short and return to New Zealand.
$50,000
Changes once you have left
$50,000
Existing conditions of a relevant person
$2,500
Travel interruption
$30,000
Resuming your journey
$20,000
Cutting your journey short
$50,000
Delayed journey to a special event
$2,500
baggage
Baggage and personal items
Cover for lost, stolen or damaged items and help to purchase essential items of clothing and personal effects, if your bags are delayed, misdirected or misplaced for 12 hours or more.
$25,000
Unspecified jewellery and watches
Up to $1,500 for each item, for each person. Depreciation applies.
$2,500
Unspecified laptops, personal computers, tablets, cameras
Up to $3,000 for each item, for each person. Depreciation applies.
$10,000
Other unspecified items
Up to $1,500 for each item, for each paying person. Depreciation applies.
$25,000
Optional: Specified items
Up to $10,000 for each item, for each person.
$15,000
Baggage delay
$1,000
Essential medication
$500
cash
Cash, bank cards, travel documents and passports
Includes cover to replace lost, stolen or damaged bank cards, travel documents and passports, and to replace lost or stolen cash.
$1,000
Lost or stolen cash
$500
Essential bank cards, travel documents and passports
$1,000
personal accident
Personal accident (18-65 years)
Includes financial support for you or your loved ones if you’re injured whilst on your journey.
$50,000
Loss of income
Up to $500 per week. For each injured person. No excess applies.
$6,500
Total permanent disablement
For each injured person. No excess applies.
$50,000
Loss of life
For each deceased person. No excess applies.
$50,000
personal liability
Personal liability

Cover towards legal liability for damages, compensation and legal expenses.
No excess applies.

$1,000,000
rentalvehicle
Rental vehicle excess

Payment towards any excess you must pay if the rental vehicle you hired is stolen or damaged.
No excess applies.

$10,000
moped
Moped and motorbike cover
As per relevant section of the policy
skier
Skiing and snowboarding cover
As per relevant section of the policy
cruise
Cruise cover
As per relevant section of the policy

This table is a summary of the Working Overseas policy benefits and shows the maximum cover under each benefit for each person (unless otherwise stated). The excess you select applies per unexpected event (unless otherwise stated).

 

Why choose a Working Overseas policy?

We know that living overseas is different from going on a holiday or visiting family and friends overseas, and our Working Overseas policy reflects that. When you’re working overseas, you require a policy that suits what you’re going to be doing and will give you peace of mind while you’re enjoying your overseas experience.

Below are some of the features of our Working Overseas policy:

  • We offer cover for office-based work, educational work, healthcare and manual work, including retail hospitality.
  • We offer Comprehensive Cover with three excess options ($0, $100 & $250), so you can tailor the plan to work best for you.
  • Under Section D.1 of our policy wording (Medical and Evacuation), we offer cover for a range of services that you may require while overseas including dental treatment, optical treatment, maternity care, ancillary services (chiropractor, physiotherapist), rehabilitation and occupational therapy, and mental health.
  • Under Section D.3 of our policy wording (Changes to Your Journey once you have left), we offer cover for resuming your journey, so you can get back on track if you have to return to New Zealand as a result of an unexpected event.
  • We provide cover for COVID-19 under section D.1 Medical and evacuation for medical expenses and evacuation if you’re diagnosed with COVID-19 while on your journey. All of our policies come with worldwide emergency assistance, giving you access to one of the world's largest networks of emergency medical resources, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What we’re unable to cover

We do not cover professional sports or hazardous work. We consider hazardous work to be any work or occupation (paid, unpaid or voluntary), where you are exposed to an increased risk of physical danger, harm or any adverse health effects as a result of your duties or the location of your work.

All work, occupations, business or professions are excluded under Section D.7, Personal Liability.

Here are some examples of occupations we consider to be hazardous:

  • Aircraft crew member
  • Armed forces
  • Cement and concrete manufacturing
  • Coastguard
  • Commercial fishing
  • Construction work
  • Deep sea drilling
  • Fire fighting
  • Logging
  • Power line repair
  • Search and rescue
  • Slaughterhouse work
  • Structural and steel work
  • Stunt work
  • Tornado chasing
  • Work with wild animals
  • Working in any type of mine or oil or gas field

If you are still unsure whether your role would be considered 'Hazardous work', please feel free to give us a call on 0800 800 571 or send us an email at info@scti.co.nz. Please click here to see the policy wording in full.

 

Is the Working Overseas policy right for me?

We've designed this policy to cover people who are temporarily living overseas and working, or on a working holiday.

If you are only travelling overseas to attend a work or business conference, there may be cover under our International Comprehensive travel insurance policy and we recommend that you check whether this policy is suitable for you.

Our Working Overseas policy is available to you whether you have a return or one-way ticket. You can buy cover from one month to 12 months, and don’t have to be working while you’re overseas to purchase this policy.

For full details, please refer to the Policy Document, and if you’re unsure about the type of work you’re planning to do overseas, we would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

What destinations should I choose?

When you’re living and working overseas, we know that you may want to holiday in other countries as well. The good news is that there is cover under our Working Overseas policy for leisure trips to other destinations, as well as the country you’re spending most of your time in.

However, it is important that we know of all destinations that you’re planning to visit.

For example, if you’ll be working in the United Kingdom but you plan to visit France, you must let us know that you require cover in France, either when you’re buying your policy or before you leave for your trip to France. Depending on the country you plan to visit, there may be an additional premium that you need to pay.

When considering which destinations to choose, please check the travel advisory risk rating published on New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website. Destinations with a travel advisory risk rating of ‘do not travel’ or ‘avoid non-essential travel’ are not covered for unexpected events relating to the reason why travel advisory was issued for a destination or region by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. For more information please visit our website here.

 

What if things change?

One day you’re living in New Caledonia, the next you could be in New York! If your situation changes and you need to make a change to your Working Overseas travel insurance policy, get in touch with us, and we can make the necessary changes for you. You will need to make sure that your policy is kept up-to-date, ensuring that the destinations you travel to are covered. If you need to contact us from overseas, you can either email us at info@scti.co.nz or call us on +64 9 979 6593.


Frequently asked questions


We're here to help

We know how important it is to be able to talk to someone when you need help, that’s why we are available via email, phone and live chat Monday to Friday, 8.30am - 7pm and Saturday, 9am to 6pm,  excluding public holidays. And if you find yourself in a medical emergency our Emergency Assistance team are available 24/7 to help, wherever you are in the world.