On Mon, 06 Oct 2003 23:24:04 +0000, Raffi Balmanoukian wrote:

Poms and Aussies have reciprocal arrangements. Give it a miss. Insurers
bet than nothing bad is going to happen - you bet it will.

I think this is really poor advice. Yes, there is a reciprocal arrangement
on Medicare, but it doesn't cover anywhere near what normal holiday
insurance does. The ambulance isn't covered. Being choppered out on a
Barrier reef liveaboard or from a remote outback location could prove very
expensive. As could having to re-arrange your flights because you're ill.
Or having to use an air ambulance to get home. Do you really want to sit
in hospital on the other side of the world from all your family?

Not to mention the cover on possessions.

One of my friends had to have an appendix operation in Argentina whilst
backpacking. The operation was botched. Her insurance company flew her and
her partner by air ambulance to a decent hospital in Brazil. Then they
flew them home to the UK when she was well enough to travel.

So I think having decent insurance is worth it.

Jason

--
http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for Aussie diving reports including
the wrecks of the SS Yongala, Lady Bowen and the HMAS Swan