Students coming to study in Australia must buy an OSHC policy for the entire length of their student visa, which can range from 1 year to 5 years. You might think that a 3-year policy, for example, would cost three times as much as a 1-year policy, but it probably costs more. The premium costs per year for a policy can increase for longer student visas.
This image shows the average cost of an OSHC policy for different lengths of student visa, based on the policy of Allianz Global Assistance OSHC.
The reason that a 4-year policy, on average, costs more than five times the price of a 1-year policy is not clear. It may be that the average person studying in Australia on a visa is more likely to require hospitalisation if they stay in Australia for a longer period of time.
Your OSHC policy may not pay for the whole bill from your doctor or the hospital. The portion of the bill that you pay is called the “gap” or “out of pocket expenses”. But you do not have to pay any “excess” for the cost of being admitted to hospital – so there is no amount that you automatically have to pay when you make a claim with your OSHC insurance.
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We could also be contacted at info@oshcstudents.com to assist you with any of your OSHC enquiries.