Student Info
Insurance
IELKS requirements
IELKS (As part of Leadership ACT) requires that all learners have health and travel insurance.
IELKS does not sell health and travel insurance.
We can recommend a few options. Please contact us for further information.
International Health Insurance
International health insurance is designed to provide a comprehensive level of health care to those relocating from their home country for a sustained period of time
- Hospital stay
- Routine check-ups
- Cover for pre-existing conditions
- Cover for chronic conditions
- Choice of medical providers
The flexible nature of these plans allows you to tailor them to your specific needs, making the right combination of cover for you and your family more financially accessible. Core plan and out-patient plan deductibles offer an opportunity to reduce premiums, as can careful consideration of the region of cover. For example, taking ‘Worldwide excluding Europe’ instead of ‘Worldwide’ will alter premium significantly.
As an expat, it can be tempting to try to keep costs down by opting to rely on local healthcare when you are abroad. However, should you fall ill, you may find that the local healthcare options do not meet your needs.
Before venturing to another country on expat assignment, it is important to weigh your options and ensure that you have a health insurance plan you can rely on. Having the correct cover in place will provide peace of mind as you settle into your new home.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance provides cover for emergency treatment while you are in another country for a shorter space of time.
- Cancellations
- Loss of luggage
- Loss of personal belongings
- Emergency medical treatment
- Out-patient treatment
- Maternity care
- Dental care
- Repatriation
Why travel insurance is very important
The U.S., Canada and the U.K. remain preferred destinations for learners studying abroad, followed by Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and other European countries like Germany and France.
Health and travel insurance information for students who plan to study abroad
While planning to go abroad for education purposes, there is a plethora of arrangements that you need to make prior to your departure. From making financial arrangements to booking flights and packing the right stuff, there are numerous things that you need to take care of. And while preparing for all other important things, it is quite possible that you may miss out on one of the most important details while travelling to study abroad — overseas health insurance / comprehensive travel insurance policy. Other than for Australia, New Zealand and some European institutions, students can buy travel insurance from their own country by signing/opting for the student health insurance waiver. However, it is always advised to buy student overseas insurance while going abroad for study as it functions as a safety net for you if you get into any trouble or inadvertently cause damage during your stint overseas.
One of the most important reasons why students travelling abroad for higher studies must buy travel insurance is to cover medical expenses, given that the cost of healthcare overseas is quite expensive in comparison to that in their own country. For instance, a doctor’s consultation fees in the U.S. are about $300-$400 i.e. about Eu250–Eu330 in Euro currency.
Other risks
Apart from providing comprehensive coverage against medical emergencies, student travel insurance also covers you against other possible incidents like study interruption, sponsor protection, school/university insolvency, loss of laptop/table, loss of baggage, passport and important documents. While buying student travel insurance, it is important to consider some crucial aspects. One, ensure that your student travel insurance adheres to your school/university-issued guidelines, including sports, extracurricular activities and excursions.
While buying student travel insurance policy, do compare different plans offered by various insurers. This will help you choose a plan that caters to specific needs and requirements and make the policy much more comprehensive by attaching required add-ons.
Covid-19 Update
Does travel insurance cover pandemics?
Some travel insurance policies bought before 1 March 2020 did not have coronavirus as an exclusion. If you are trying to buy travel insurance today, you will need to speak to insurance providers and discuss the cover that will best suit your needs.
If you’re thinking of planning a trip abroad later this year, or even in 2022, you’ll need travel insurance. Also, ensure your insurance policy cover you for specific coronavirus-related scenarios.
- emergency medical and repatriation costs
- cancellation cover if you are diagnosed with coronavirus
- cover for cancellation due to self-isolation without a positive test
- cover for cancellation due to government advice
Comprehensive travel insurance is a must when planning a future trip. Please speak to insurance providers and discuss the cover that will best suit your needs, looking for a policy that provides cover for specific coronavirus-related scenarios.
Before you travel
Anyone planning to travel should check the following:
- We always strongly advise you to check the restrictions for where you wish to travel before you leave. Any insurance policy purchased to cover a trip while the local authority has instructed citizens not to travel will not be valid. Many countries have introduced entry restrictions, barring entry for travellers from countries with high transmission rates. Foreign visitors may have to go into quarantine, with periods of self-isolation varying between destinations. Some countries have introduced screening and temperature checks at airports.
- Self-isolation rules and regulations: As different countries take different approaches, and with the situation changing rapidly, if you intend to travel, check the restrictions and quarantine rules of your destination country, as well as any that would apply once you’ve returned back home.
- Essential and non-essential travel: Anyone planning to travel should check Government advice. You will need to speak to insurance providers and discuss the cover that will best suit your needs. There may be instances where cover is not available. If you are travelling against Government advice, your travel insurance could not be valid unless it is essential.
- Deciding not to travel to areas that the government has not advised against visiting: You should check your travel insurance policy to understand what is covered. Travel insurance does not usually cover ‘disinclination to travel’ (which means you have decided not to travel but the FCO advice has not changed to advise against travel). If you have decided not to travel, your travel insurer will not offer compensation.
When booking a trip, you should consider whether you need a travel insurance policy that provides cover for:
- cancellation due to new Government advice against travelling, or restrictions imposed by overseas governments
- cancellation due to a member of the party or a close relative contracting coronavirus
- emergency medical treatment or repatriation resulting from the policyholder or a member of the party being diagnosed with coronavirus while travelling
Policies may contain exclusions that would affect your ability to claim for events caused by Covid-19, therefore you should always read carefully all the information or exclusions relating to coronavirus (or other pandemics) within your travel insurance policy.
Please note:
You should always make your own independent inquiries before relying on any information or materials contained on these pages. The information is correct to the best of Leadership ACT/IELKS’s knowledge at the time of publication and is being reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis by Leadership ACT/IELKS staff, given the rapidly evolving nature of the international response to the COVID-19 outbreak Leadership ACT/IELKS cannot guarantee its accuracy and can accept no liability for any errors or omissions. Leadership ACT/IELKS reserves the right to add or change information at any time. Links to third party websites of third parties are offered as a courtesy. Leadership ACT/IELKS expresses no opinion on the content of the websites of third parties and does not accept any responsibility for third-party information.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and quality of information contained in this web page, Leadership ACT/IELKS, its employees, agents or partners cannot take responsibility for the subsequent use of this information, nor for any errors or omissions that it may contain.