A Must-Have: Why You Can't Afford To Leave Canada Without Travel Insurance

If you plan to travel outside Canada ? even for a day in the United States – you should buy travel health insurance before you leave.If you're flying, make sure you get insurance for trip interruption, lost luggage and document replacement. If you're driving, make sure you have driver and vehicle coverage in case you have an accident.

Here's everything you should know about it.

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Why you must buy travel health insurance

• Your Canadian health insurance may not pay your medical bills while you're outside Canada
• Your provincial or territorial health plan may cover none, or only a small part, of the costs of your medical care abroad. It will never pay your bills up front
• Foreign hospitals can be very expensive and may require immediate cash payment
• In some countries hospitals and clinics will not treat you if you do not have enough insurance or money to pay your bills
• The Government of Canada will not pay your medical bills

Where you can get travel insurance

You can buy travel insurance through your:

• travel agent
• insurance broker
• employer’s insurance provider
• credit card company

What your travel health insurance should cover

No matter where you're travelling, your travel health insurance policy should always cover the following 3 things:

1) Medical evacuation

Make sure your policy covers medical evacuation to Canada or to the nearest place with appropriate medical care. The policy should also cover the costs of a medical escort to travel with you to your final destination.

2) Pre-existing medical conditions

Ask the company to explain the definition of, and the limitations and restrictions on, any pre-existing conditions and tests and treatments you may have had.

• Make sure you get a written agreement that your insurance covers your pre-existing medical condition, or you could find your claim “null and void” under a pre-existing condition clause.
• The agreement must also include a stability clause that says that if you're to be covered for any pre-existing medical conditions for a specific period of time (stability period):

1. you must have no changes to your medical condition
2. you must have no new medical conditions, symptoms or medications during the stability period before your trip.

• The agreement should include:

1. a compassion clause saying that an inaccurate statement may not invalidate the entire policy, and
2. a change of health clause.

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3) Repatriation in case of death

Make sure that your plan includes everything necessary to help your loved ones if you die outside Canada as the result of an accident or a sudden and unexpected illness. Make sure your insurance covers:

• The preparation and return of your remains
• Local cremation or burial outside Canada
• Reasonable additional expenses if someone needs to travel to identify your body

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