Embarking on a working holiday is an exciting adventure, offering the chance to explore new countries while earning money along the way. However, ensuring you have the right travel insurance is crucial for a stress-free experience. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to choose the best Working Holiday Travel Insurance to protect yourself during your journey.
Table of Contents
Why you need Working Holiday Travel Insurance
Check Your Visa & Country Requirements
- Visa Obligations: Some WHM agreements mandate insurance—e.g. France requires one-year comprehensive health cover (turn0search3). Canada, Ireland and UK WHMs must show proof of cover on arrival. Australia’s subclass 417/462 doesn’t force you to buy insurance, but it’s highly recommended.
- Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA): If you’re from one of 11 RHCA countries (e.g. UK, New Zealand, Italy), you can access Medicare for emergency care, but RHCAs aren’t a substitute for travel insurance—only basic cover is provided, and it won’t pay for evacuation or repatriation
What will be covered with a WHV Travel Insurance
- Medical Emergencies: Coverage for hospital stays, doctor visits, and medical treatments.
- Accidents and Injuries: Protection in case of accidents or injuries sustained during your trip.
- Trip Cancellations: Reimbursement for trip cancellations or interruptions due to unforeseen circumstances.
- Personal Liability: Coverage for legal expenses if you accidentally cause injury or damage to property.
- Lost or Stolen Belongings: Reimbursement for lost, stolen, or damaged personal items.
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Key Factors to consider
Must-Have Coverage Areas
Here are the main guarantees on should look for:
- Medical & Emergency Evacuation
- Medical expenses + Hospitalisation up to a certain threshold;
- Public liability;
- Trip Cancellation & Curtailment
- Baggage / valuables insurance;
- Accident capital;
- Ambulance costs (you often require a seperate insurance for this in Australia);
- Search/rescue costs.
- Work-Related Risks: Manual Labor Cover is handy if you’ll do fruit picking, farm work or site jobs—tools and workplace injuries should be included.
⚠️ During your stay you will most certainly be tempted to do some activities. Do make sure your insurance covers said the activities beforehand!
Quality of Service
The services offered are a determining factor is establishing the quality of the insurance. Get information and feedback from other backpackers. Check the following:
- Ease of subscribing;
- Possibility of extending the contract (what if you want to stay longer then a year…?);
- Quality of customer service (do they follow up and answer your questions?)
- Refund schedules (how long do they take to refund your claims?).
Claims Process & 24/7 Support
- Emergency Hotline: Choose insurers with a dedicated 24/7 global assistance number—critical if you’re in a remote area.
- App & Online Portal: Fast, digital claim lodgement speeds up reimbursements.
- Local Partners: Check if they have in-country affiliates for hospital guarantee letters.
Price of Insurance cover
Obviously we would all be tempted to take the cheapest possible insurance but it would probably beat the expense of the coverage it offers you, and you could regret it! In contrast getting the most expensive insurance will not necessarily mean you get the best coverage. Again the choice is personal and will depend on your needs and budget. Hence one should compare the different options before making a choice. To give you an idea of the price, the majority of insurances range from 450 to 550 EUR per year.
Popularity of Insurance company
As with many products if a health insurance provider is popular this is very often proof of its quality. Because its reputation is not built solely on advertising trust and reputation are good indicators of quality. By browsing different sites, forums or blogs you will find that some insurance companies are mentions often. It is true that most sites and blogs put forward their insurance partners (i.e. sponsored content) but if you compare a few sites and the keep popping up that is a good indicator for quality. To get an even more ‘honest’ opinion, it is best to ask fellow travellers for advice.
Duration and Flexibility
Choose a policy that covers the entire duration of your working holiday visa, which can range from a few months to a year or more. Ensure the policy allows for extensions if you decide to extend your stay.
Countries covered
Some insurers will only cover costs in the country you are doing your WHV in. Make sure to check which other countries your insurance covers as there is a lot to see close to Australia!
Medicare cover
Consider that if you come from certain countries that Australia agreements with you can be covered by Medicare (The UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Malta, Belgium, Finland and Italy). This means that as long as you maintain your health insurance in your home country you can apply for it when you get to Australia. You will be covered for certain medical expenses. Do note that it does not cover everything. For instance, medical transport costs will not be covered and if you plan on working in Australia you will often find that nothing is covered!
Recommended Insurance providers
While the best insurance provider may vary depending on your specific needs, some well-regarded providers for working holiday travel insurance include:
- Go Walkabout: Offers travel insurance policies tailored to long term travellers, Working holiday makers and globetrotters from the UK.
- World Nomads: Known for comprehensive coverage tailored to travelers and adventurers.
- SafetyWing: Offers affordable insurance plans designed for digital nomads and long-term travellers.
- True Travellers: Designed for travellers under 40 years of age, and for last minute travellers and backpackers.
When to take out Travel Insurance?
Subscribe before your departure. Your insurance will be active as soon as you enter the country. You can choose the date you want it to go in effect when purchasing insurance.
The subscription period is specific to the time you want to spend in the country. It can go from 1 to 12 months. You should made sure that – if you think you may want to extend your WHV by a year – your insurance provider allows this! And also that you will be able to extend online if needs be.
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What does the insurance include?
Medical fees
The costs for hospitalisation, (medical) transportation or maternity expenses (not always). Some insurances even offer to pay you a daily allowance in case of a long stay. They also provide coverage for physical consultations, tests and medical examinations.
Some insurers will reimburse you (to some extent) on dental or optical costs.
Assistance
- Assistance in the event of illness or injury. For example, the conditions for the repatriation of the injured party, the payment of travel expenses for aa relative in the event of hospitalisation and vice versa;
- Travel Assistance deals with the various costs that you might be submitted to during your trip. Such as advance of bail, legal fees or assistance at sea or in the mountains;
- Assistance in case of the event of death. This part is certainly morbid in the literal sense but nevertheless important to consider. For example, in the event of the death of a loved one the insurance can take care of a return trip to allow you to be near your family.
Insurance guarantees
First off all your luggage and your personal belongings. The insurance can pay you in case of delay on the delivery (you might have to buy clothes, etc.). Or they may pay you a refund in case of theft or partial or total destruction during the trip.
The personal liability cover -> your insurance will cover you when you are personally liable for personal injury or property damage. For example during a car accident. It is therefore very important to know to what amount your are covered as these amount can get high quickly!
Finally, during your flight (outward or return), the insurance can pay you compensation in case of delay or cancellation.
Exclusions in your contract
This part is very important because it lists all the cases where you will not be covered by your insurance. It is therefore extremely important to take the time to read all these conditions. For example, it is in this section that you will find the list of sports that are not covered (generally extreme sports, bungee jumping, free fall, etc.).
Updated on 15.05.25
