Dan@Disney

A lot of people seem to be confused about insurance – what you need and where you can get it.

Basically whatever insurance you get has to meet the minimum J1 requirements which are:

1. Medical benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness

2. Repatriation of remains in the amount of $7,500

3. Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $10,000

4. Deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness.

You can get insurance from any company. You have to have medical cover and any travel cover is a benefit but not required. A lot of travel insurance covers you for medical expenses but if you are going to go with this route then make sure that the company know that you are working and are still happy to cover you. Most companies will not give this information online and you will need to ring them to check. Last year a lot of people went with Insure&Go although I have no idea if they still provide the necessary cover – if you choose to go with them PLEASE check!

Yummy Jobs recommend Seven Corners insurance which covers you for everything you need but is a little pricey, however going with them does save a lot of legwork.

There are a few companies that I know people have used in the past. I do not specifically recommend any company because things change all the time but check these out…

Whichever company you decide to go with make sure you get an insurance certificate that you can take to Orlando with you. You have to show it to Disney on your first day so that you can prove that you have the necessary cover.

If you want to know who I have gone with I can’t be a lot of help – my family already has travel insurance that covers us when we are working and gives more than enough medical cover.

My top tip: Shop around and see what you can get and remember the cheapest places may not cover you if you are working and medical treatment in the states is extremely expensive – you do not want to end up having to pay the bill or getting terminated by Disney because you do not sufficient cover.

Hope that helps clear things up a bit 🙂