# Greencard and Travel Insurance



## syaped (Mar 4, 2013)

Hi there,

I'm moving from New Zealand to the States on my new diversity visa soon. I'm wondering if travel insurance from a NZ company will cover me? Or won't as I'm technically not traveling abroad... 

Thanks for any help!


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Maybe it can cover you for a couple of weeks, but probably not for a long time, because you're not a traveller.
You can get expat insurance. At least, in Europe you can, I assume you can get one in NZ too. But they are more expensive.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Read the fine print. It is very unlikely that you will be covered once you move your center of life.


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## cheeser (Jan 22, 2012)

I was advised by our insurance broker in Auckland before we left for San Fran last November that any insurance we bought would cover us no problems at all and we could pay monthly until such time as we secured US based insurance, which we would need to do as soon as we had jobs.

However the price for $20k worth of property and pretty basic health insurance was thousands per month. 

In the end we used our 90 day travel insurance that came with buying our flights with our gold card. The Visa CSR also confirmed that while their policy was only for 90 days, as long as we still had our card the policy was valid regardless of our activities (excluding 'extreme sports' and illegal activities)

I took it all with a grain of salt, and there's a high probability that I wasn't really listening properly, so your mileage may vary.


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## Chc (May 16, 2012)

Take a look at Southern Cross Working Overseas travel insurance (https://www.scti.co.nz/wo/publicmain.aspx)...

Good luck with the big move!


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Chc said:


> Take a look at Southern Cross Working Overseas travel insurance (https://www.scti.co.nz/wo/publicmain.aspx)...
> 
> Good luck with the big move!


I do not find anything but coverage for expats working outside New Zealand. OP is immigrating.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Twostep, I think that doesn't matter. We had an 'expat'insurance too when we moved. It's to give you coverage for as long as you are not back in your homecountry. For some that takes 6 months, for others 6 years (or until they qualify for local coverage).


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## cheeser (Jan 22, 2012)

the scope did seem pretty broad, as long as you're a NZ citizen you should've covered.

It raises an interesting question though, when does one go from being a person working abroad to an immigrant? It kinda comes down to intent doesn't it?


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

syaped said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I'm moving from New Zealand to the States on my new diversity visa soon. I'm wondering if travel insurance from a NZ company will cover me? Or won't as I'm technically not traveling abroad...
> 
> Thanks for any help!


Cover you for what? Bog standard travel insurance covers you for unforeseen circumstances (accidents/loss of personal items etc )*while travelling.*

Certainly not for ongoing health insurance once you are resident in the US, which any insurance company will assume pretty soon after you arrive if you don't have a permanent address in NZ. 

If you don't have a job to come to in the US, then getting health insurance is the first thing you should be thinking about (or maybe the second after a job!).


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

cheeser said:


> I was advised by our insurance broker in Auckland before we left for San Fran last November that any insurance we bought would cover us no problems at all and we could pay monthly until such time as we secured US based insurance, which we would need to do as soon as we had jobs.
> 
> However the price for $20k worth of property and pretty basic health insurance was thousands per month.
> 
> ...


Wonder what would have happened if you had required hospitalisation during that 90 day period - or even the period afterwards?

The majority of those policies given by the credit card companies are travel insurance based, and include home repatriation for sickness/illness. They don't pay for ongoing medical treatment.

If one does not have a " home" to repatriate to, what happens then?


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## cheeser (Jan 22, 2012)

I called and talked to them and it wasn't especially good cover. We would've had to pay out of pocket then claim back what we could. 

Luckily we didn't need to claim on it.


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## syaped (Mar 4, 2013)

Thanks for the replies guys.

In case anyone is interested two out of three companies I contacted said I would still be covered. As long as I'm a NZ citizen. One company did say I would not be covered for emergency flights back to NZ.


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