Study abroad insurance

No, it only covers emergency care in the public system of European Union, European Economic Area, Swiss and UK countries, under the terms of the country you are staying in. It does not cover medical repatriation, planned care or private clinics, and offers no direct billing: you often have to pay upfront. Outside that zone, it has no value at all. A student plan fills that gap without duplicating your existing contributions.

Most American universities automatically enrol international students in their own plan (often expensive) unless a waiver is requested. To get one, your insurance must be underwritten by a US-based provider, run for the whole semester, include a US PPO network and carry a high cap, waiver forms generally require at least $100,000 per illness or injury. A policy taken out in France, however complete, is almost always rejected for the waiver: it is best to check this point before you leave, not on arrival on campus.

Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) is compulsory for every holder of a subclass 500 student visa, and must run for the entire length of the visa, without interruption. For a single student, expect somewhere around 500 to 700 Australian dollars a year depending on the approved provider chosen. The OSHC certificate is an integral part of the visa application: without it, the application is not complete. The comparator identifies compatible insurers, and we add cover where needed for items OSHC leaves out, such as dental or optical care.

It depends entirely on the province. Some cover international students through their public scheme from enrolment; others, such as Ontario, exclude them entirely and impose a dedicated compulsory insurance: UHIP, whose annual premium rose to 948 Canadian dollars on 1 September 2026 at participating universities. This provincial or compulsory cover generally does not include dental care, optical care or prescribed medication. We check the exact scheme in place at the province and university you are targeting before pointing you towards a suitable supplementary policy.

As soon as possible once your admission is confirmed: the certificate itself is issued immediately once the file is complete, but the university or consulate often asks for it several weeks before term starts, sometimes as a condition for finalising enrolment. Many plans also impose a waiting period on certain items of care, which is better covered before you leave than after a first emergency once there. Do not leave this document for the last week: an incomplete file delays enrolment itself.