Renew or extend your insurance
If you’re studying in New Zealand for more than a year, you need to renew your Studentsafe Inbound University cover. You can suspend it in some circumstances.
You must have approved medical and travel insurance for the full length of your student visa.
Renew your Studentsafe Inbound University insurance
Your insurance cover is automatically renewed when you re-enrol each year—usually for 12 months at a time.
If you’ll be completing your studies and leaving New Zealand in less than 12 months, speak to International Student Experience about reducing your cover.
Family policies are not renewed automatically—you’ll need to contact International Student Experience.
Making changes to your cover
Changes to family policies
If there are any changes to your family, eg. a new baby or other family members joining you from overseas, contact International Student Experience to add them to your policy. They will not be automatically covered.
If your family leaves the country and you want to change from a family policy to an individual policy, contact International Student Experience before they leave. You may be able to get a partial refund.
Suspending your cover
Contact International Student Experience if you need to reduce your usual cover—insurance is not automatically suspended if you suspend your studies.
Travelling overseas during the holidays
If you return to your home country during the summer holidays and intend to return to continue study the following year, you won’t be able to suspend your insurance—you’ll need to keep paying for it while you’re at home. (Full degree students are insured up to 90 days, in respect of medical expenses up to NZ$200,000.)
Cancelling your policy and reinstating it when you return means that any medical conditions you received treatment for under the old policy will be considered pre-existing conditions and will no longer be covered.
Doctoral students travelling to study
Doctoral students can apply to suspend their cover for up to 180 days if they leave New Zealand for study or research related to their Doctorate.
If you’re undertaking the research:
- in your home country, you’ll remain covered for your medical expenses and loss of deposits while you’re away—for everything else, you’ll need to arrange your own travel insurance
- outside of your home country, you’ll need to arrange top-up cover using Explorersafe.
Cancelling your cover
If you’re completing study at the end of Trimester 1 or you’ve withdrawn from the University, you’ll need to contact International Student Experience to cancel your cover. Your insurance will not be cancelled automatically.
Insurance on the Wellington Global Exchange programme
If you spend a semester on student exchange with the Wellington Global Exchange programme, your Studentsafe Inbound University policy doesn’t cover you while you’re away—you’ll need to purchase additional travel and medical insurance for your trip.
You can’t suspend your Studentsafe Inbound University policy while you’re away, and it won’t be cancelled automatically. To cancel your policy, contact International Student Experience before you leave—you’ll have to reapply once you return.
Changing to a resident visa
Changing to a resident class visa has implications for your status as an international student and may affect your eligibility for insurance.
If you are insured with Studentsafe Inbound University insurance through Victoria University of Wellington, your cover for medical claims within New Zealand will automatically expire 21 days after your Resident or Permanent Resident visa has been issued. This is because as a Resident or Permanent Resident you are eligible for publicly funded healthcare in New Zealand.
Your cover for all non-medical claims remains until your current policy period expires, but you will no longer be able to renew this insurance.
If you are granted a Resident Visa or Permanent Resident Visa during your studies, it is your responsibility to let the International Student Experience Team and Enrolment Office know immediately about this.