Does travel insurance cover elective surgery overseas?

Does travel insurance cover for elective surgery overseas?

Whether you’re going overseas to get your eyes lasered, your teeth whitened or for breast augmentation, it’s essential to ensure you are covered before you go under the knife!

Medical tourism is more popular than ever, with competitive prices and the rising quality of healthcare abroad attracting about 15,000 Aussies overseas each year. Singapore, India and Thailand, in particular are increasingly becoming renowned medical tourism destinations with huge numbers of Australians travelling to all three for affordable procedures each year.

But...does standard travel insurance actually cover you for elective surgery overseas?

In short, no. Travel insurance exists to cover the unforeseen, not situations you already know about that could potentially put you at risk.

Travelling for cosmetic surgery and elective procedure overseas can significantly increase your risk profile therefore it’s rare for standard travel insurers to cover you for elective treatments.

Good news!

There are a few companies that specialise in travel insurance or services relating to Australians travelling overseas for medical treatment.

Medical Travel Shield: Medical Travel Shield is a specialist travel insurance company that provides cover to those travelling abroad for elective surgery. Cover includes those travelling either dental treatment, cosmetic surgery, elective surgery or IVF/fertility treatment.

Go Insurance: Go Insurance now offers add-on coverage for elective dental procedures abroad. Cover includes emergency dental treatment along with cancellation in the event your treatment doesn’t go as planned. You would also be covered to return overseas in the event that you require remedial dental treatment.

Standard travel insurance & elective surgery

If the purpose of your trip is specifically to receive cosmetic surgery, many insurers will not only exclude you for medical cover but will also exclude you for all other travel insurance benefits too. That means you wouldn't be covered for theft, cancellation, rental car excess and more.

However, some insurers will still allow you to buy a policy and will provide cover for travel insurance benefits unrelated to your procedure (such as travel delays or loss of luggage), but you will not be covered for anything relating claims related to the surgery, or for any complications that may arise from the surgery.

So, for example, you wouldn’t be covered if you’ve had elective surgery and due to complications, are unable to return home on your scheduled flight. However, claims unrelated to your surgery would be assessed on an individual basis. Always read the PDS and get in touch with your insurer to check what their policy covers in terms of elective surgery abroad.

Is travelling overseas for medical treatment worth it?

Although certain cosmetic procedures abroad may be cheaper than in Australia, you should consider the costs of flights, accommodation and any possible medical complications into the full cost of your treatment too.

After taking into account all the costs involved you may find that the difference in price is negligible. It's important to think long and hard before jetting overseas to go under the knife as the risks can be greater in a foreign country, far from home.

Disclaimer: The information in this guide should be taken as general advice only and the full policy details should be reviewed to see if the policies are right for your own circumstances.