Jenni's Outsourced Health Insurance Experience.

So I call our new Australian health insurance provider's customer service line to request they send our membership card to our US address. The conversation went something like this: (The following is a dramatization and may or may not depict the actual conversation).

Jenni: "Yes hello, I was wond - "
Outsourced representative: "Hello I am talking to you."
Jenni: "Yes, I wanted to-"
Outsourced representative: "You want to check on your insurance policy, I am capable of checking this."
Jenni: "Yes, I do nee-"
Outsourced representative: "The current policy you have is not what you need. I will change that."
Jenni: "But I--"
Outsourced representative: "Do you want to being injured with inadequate policy?"
Jenni: "Uhhhh. Okay."
Outsourced representative: "Good everything has taken care of. Your coverage will begin in 6 months. Have a nice day." Click.
Jenni: "Hello?"

Preparedness

We've finally received notification that our Visas have been approved. That means that we can start pushing ahead with the move. I wish moving to Australia was as easy as preparing a home anti-terrorist kit...finding duct tape is a lot easier than choosing an insurance company. Australia has a socialized health-care system, but foreigners aren't allowed to use it, so we need to have our own insurance. We are also choosing a bank to give our money to. Currently our selection criteria is based on who has the best automated email response. You'd be surprised how little these companies actually answer your questions. Most respond with "Our website makes it very easy to sign up for our service," to questions like "What fees does your bank charge for currency exchanges?"

We also have to prepare to ship our stuff overseas. Jenni continues her insurgent-like techniques of slowly getting rid of any item purchased outside of our relationship; "We won't need to take these towels with us, they have a loose thread." We actually do not have that much to ship; no big furniture items, no bed, etc. The hardest choices will come with which books to take. They have to be books that we are not too attached to, because, apparently, the humidity in Darwin does a number on the paper. Hugh and Basil (pronounced Basil) are packing up too, picking their favorite leaves, bottle caps, and wads of paper to take with them.

Well, I can only ramble on for so long about online application forms, but this is the point where we are in the move...just getting started.

OzBlog Intro

Welcome to the OzBlog! This will be about our experience living and working abroad in Darwin Australia. Darwin is located on the northern most part of Australia. Here is a map.

I'm hoping that this blog will be a way for our friends and family to stay up-to-date on our adventure, and stay connected.

Enjoy!