Which OVHC Provider Covers Your Visa? A Subclass-by-Subclass Comparison

Most OVHC shopping starts with the wrong question. People ask “which provider is cheapest?” before they’ve confirmed the more basic point: does this provider actually sell a product for my visa subclass? Insurers don’t cover every subclass equally, and the visa list each one publishes on its website is often the only public clue you get before you start a quote. This article works through the major OVHC brands subclass by subclass, using what each insurer states on its own site, so you can narrow the field before comparing price or benefits.

This is a companion to two other guides on this site: Visa Condition 8501 Explained covers what the condition actually requires and which visas typically carry it, and Comparing OVHC Providers looks at network access, claims and digital tools once you’ve narrowed down your options. Neither of those articles maps individual visa subclasses to specific providers — that’s the gap this one fills.

A word on scope before we start

Subclass 500 (student visa) requires Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), not OVHC. If you’re on a student visa, this article isn’t for you — see our OVHC vs OSHC vs Medicare guide instead for the distinction between the two products.

Everything below is drawn from each insurer’s own published visa lists at the time of writing, with the source page linked under each provider. Insurers update these pages without notice, so treat this as a starting point for your own check, not a final answer.

What each provider publicly lists

Allianz Care Australia

Source: allianzcare.com.au/en/visas.html

Allianz Care Australia publishes the most extensive visa list of the insurers reviewed here, broken into categories:

• Working visas: 188, 400, 401, 402, 403, 407, 408, 416, 457, 461, 476, 482, 485, 489, 491, 494
• Working Holiday visas: 417, 462
• Visitor visas: 300, 580, 590, 600, 601, 651, 870
• Bridging visas: 010, 020, 030

nib

Source: nib.com.au/overseas-working-visitors

nib’s site itemises working-visa subclasses specifically, rather than a full spread across visitor and bridging categories: 401, 407, 408, 416, 417, 420, 457, 461, 462, 482, 485.

Bupa

Source: bupa.com.au — working-visitors and touring-visitors pages

Bupa splits its list across two product pages:

• Working visas: 457, 482, 485, 489, 400, 403, 407, 408, 417
• Visitor visas: 600, 601, 651

Medibank

Source: medibank.com.au/overseas-health-insurance/visitors/

Medibank’s visitor cover page lists 600, 601, 651, 417, 462, 870, 590 — and adds “and more” in its own site copy, meaning the list isn’t presented as exhaustive.

AIA Health

Source: health.aia.com.au/international/overseas-visitors-health-cover

AIA Health’s site states directly: “If you’re applying for visa subclasses 188, 400, 403, 407, 408, 417, 462, 476, 482, 485, or 489…” — a single combined list rather than separate working/visitor categories.

CBHS International

Source: cbhsinternationalhealth.com.au/overseas-visitors-ovhc

• Working visas: 403, 407, 408, 457, 482
• Working Holiday visas: 417, 462
• Bridging visas: 010, 020, 030
• Also listed: 485, 590

Australian Unity

Source: australianunity.com.au/health-insurance/overseas-visitor-cover/faqs

Australian Unity needs a separate note because of how its product range is structured, not just which subclasses it lists.

Read the product line, not just the brand. Australian Unity’s FAQ page states that its Working Visa Cover range (which includes subclasses 482 and 485) satisfies condition 8501. It also states that its Non-Working / Visitor Cover range does not satisfy condition 8501. In other words, the same insurer sells one product line that meets the condition and one that doesn’t — checking “does Australian Unity offer OVHC?” isn’t enough. You need to check which specific product line matches your visa. This is worth keeping in mind for any insurer, not just this one: always confirm the exact product name against your visa condition before paying, not just the brand.

Quick-lookup table by visa subclass

Providers listed below are the ones whose published pages explicitly name that subclass at the time of writing. A blank cell means the subclass didn’t appear on that provider’s public list — see the caveat underneath before you rule a provider out.

Visa subclass	Allianz Care	nib	Bupa	Medibank	AIA Health	CBHS International
400 (Temporary Work – Short Stay)	✓		✓		✓
403 (Temporary Work – International Relations)	✓		✓		✓	✓
407 (Training)	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓
408 (Temporary Activity)	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓
417 (Working Holiday)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
457 (legacy Temporary Work – Skilled)	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓
462 (Work and Holiday)	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓
476 (Skilled Recognised Graduate)	✓				✓
482 (Temporary Skill Shortage)	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓
485 (Temporary Graduate)	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓
489 (Skilled Regional, provisional)	✓		✓		✓
590 (Student Guardian)				✓		✓
600 (Visitor)	✓		✓	✓
601 (Electronic Travel Authority)	✓		✓	✓
651 (eVisitor)	✓		✓	✓
870 (Sponsored Parent Temporary)	✓			✓
Bridging visas (010/020/030)	✓					✓

Note: this table reflects the categories each insurer’s own site groups its products under (working, working holiday, visitor, bridging). It is not a claim about underwriting rules — it’s a summary of what’s published.

Two caveats that matter more than the table

1. Not appearing on the list doesn’t automatically mean “excluded.” Insurer marketing pages are written to promote their most common visa categories, not to serve as an exhaustive underwriting reference. A subclass missing from a provider’s website may still be insurable through that provider — it may just not be itemised on the page we reviewed. Don’t self-exclude a provider based on this table alone. If a subclass you hold isn’t listed, contact the insurer directly and ask specifically whether they can issue a policy for it, rather than assuming the answer is no.

2. Appearing on the list doesn’t guarantee the specific product meets condition 8501 for your visa. As the Australian Unity example above shows, some insurers run parallel product lines under one brand, and only some of those lines satisfy the visa condition. Confirm the exact product name against your visa grant notice, and cross-check against the Department of Home Affairs guidance on adequate health insurance if you’re unsure.

How to use this before you compare prices

1. Find your visa subclass on your grant notice (not just the visa name — the number matters, since categories like “Temporary Work” cover several different subclasses with different rules).
2. Check which providers above list that subclass, and click through to the source page to confirm it’s still current.
3. Where a provider runs multiple product lines (working vs visitor, as with Australian Unity), identify the specific product line that applies to you.
4. Only once you’ve narrowed to providers that clearly cover your subclass, move on to comparing benefits, network access and price — our provider comparison is a reasonable next stop.
5. If your subclass doesn’t appear anywhere, call the insurer before ruling them out, and don’t buy a policy until you have that confirmation in writing.

What this comparison does — and doesn’t — do

CompareOVHC is an editorial resource. We are not an insurer, underwriter, or recommendation engine. The subclass lists above reflect what each insurer’s own website stated at the time of writing; insurers change their published visa lists without notice, and we cannot verify real-time underwriting decisions on their behalf. This is general information only and is not immigration or financial advice.

Before you buy, confirm your specific visa subclass and the exact product name directly with the insurer, and check your own visa grant notice for the conditions that apply to you. If you’re unsure whether condition 8501 applies to your visa at all, the Department of Home Affairs’ own guidance is the authoritative source.