As a Canadian citizen or resident, why do you need travel insurance when traveling within Canada? Aren’t you already covered for all your medical bills? The answer is that you are covered for most of your medical bills.

HOWEVER, what you are not covered for when you are in another province could cost you a lot of money. 

• You are not covered for air ambulance. Canada is a big country. If you get sick or have an accident you may need an air lift to hospital. The bill could easily reach $5,000 to $20,000.
• You are not covered for the cost of wheelchairs, crutches, braces and many other items of that kind.
• You are not covered for the cost of returning your vehicle home. 
• You are ready to go home but you need assistance. Perhaps you need air ambulance to get you home, or you are able to fly home on a regular airline.

If you have Within Canada travel insurance all the above costs would have been covered by the travel insurance company.

There are a few travel insurance companies that cover you in a special way. With these companies, if you have an annual plan with them, they will cover you within Canada for the whole 12 month period that the annual plan is active but each trip out of province can be any length. They also will cover you for traveling to another country from whatever province you are leaving from and you can return to any province you choose.

e.g. You live in Ontario. You have purchased a 4 day annual plan with one of these travel insurance companies. You travel to B.C. and stay there 2 months. You go on a 4 day trip into the USA from B.C. and return to visit a friend in Alberta on the 4th day. You then fly to Nova Scotia to visit another friend and stay with him for 6 months. You then return to Ontario. During all those trips your 4 day annual plan was providing you with the emergency medical coverage you need.

Are you one of the many Canadians who love to travel and enjoy the beauty of this wonderful country of ours? There are so many beautiful provinces to visit and whether you are on a ski trip to BC, whale watching in Nova Scotia, visiting family or friends in the prairies, traveling to compete in or watch sports, RVing across country, it is absolutely vital that you take out emergency medical travel insurance. Most people do not realize that they need travel insurance when they travel within Canada but the fact is that provincial health coverage only covers basic health care needs. What a lot of Canadians don’t realize is that they could incur charges above and beyond basic provincial health coverage which can only be covered by an insurance plan.

This information is taken from Ontario Ministry of Health website regarding OHIP Out of Country Services:

Every Ontarian deserves the opportunity to safely travel abroad. That’s why Ontario’s government is launching a new program to fund out-of-country dialysis services, ensuring that Ontarians living with kidney failure can continue to have access to the care they need when they are travelling outside of Canada.

Starting January 1, 2020, this new program will be operated by the Ontario Renal Network with funding from the Ontario government and patients will receive the same reimbursement rates as currently provided through existing programs.

The launch of the new program to fund out-of-country dialysis services will coincide with the wind down of the limited Out-of-Country Travelers Program. Insured Ontario residents will continue to receive coverage for physician and hospital services when visiting or moving to another Canadian province or territory. Ontarians travelling abroad are encouraged to purchase the appropriate travel insurance coverage in the event emergency health care is needed out of country. 

Effective January 1st 2020, other than what is being provided by the out-of-country dialysis program, Ontario travelers will have no medical coverage available through OHIP for medical issues occurring in other countries. It is more important than ever to purchase travel insurance before you leave the country.

What happens if you are away on vacation and you have a heart attack, a car accident or a medical episode that takes you to the hospital? DO YOU KNOW THE CORRECT STEPS TO MAKING A CLAIM FOR YOUR EXPENSES WITH YOUR INSURANCE PROVIDER?

WHEN A MEDICAL EMERGENCY OCCURS:

• Know your emergency medical assistance phone number. You should be able to phone toll-free or make a collect call.
• IF POSSIBLE contact the emergency medical assistance before seeking treatment. If you are unable to do so, have someone else make the phone call for you. Some policies have a penalty for failing to contact them within a set period of time unless it was unavoidable.
• The travel insurance company will work with the medical facility to help get you the emergency treatment you need, even if that means moving you to another medical facility that can provide the right care for you. It may be that you are stable enough to travel so you may be brought back home to a local hospital by air ambulance. Let them do the work. Let them guide you, not you guide them.

You all know that travelling without emergency medical travel insurance is NEVER a good idea. It could cost you thousands of dollars if an emergency occurs. But when you need to use your insurance, do you know the steps to take in making a claim? It is extremely important to know these steps…

Cannabis and Canadian Travel Insurance?

What does this mean for Canadian Travelers?

• Canada’s border rules have not changed because of the Cannabis Act.
• Taking cannabis or any product containing cannabis into Canada or outside of Canada remains illegal. As a result this could result in serious criminal penalties for you in Canada and abroad. This will apply even when travelling to or from places where cannabis is now legal.
• Bringing cannabis used for medical purposes across the Canada/US border will also remain illegal.

The Government of Canada recommend downloading “Don’t travel internationally with cannabis”. You can also get copies by ordering online.

Traditional long term care insurance was considered the most logical solution to ensure that you have the resources when the time comes for you to need care, rather than relying on the government to provide the care. These traditional products require full underwriting and are difficult to obtain as more than 50% of applicants are declined. These traditional products are also very costly and are out of the reach of most Canadians.
MyDignity (CARP-endorsed) long term care plans underwritten through recognized Canadian insurers offers you an affordable solution to this issue. MyDignity plans have been referred to as a gift for Canadians as they are easy to obtain and affordable. Underwriting consists of a short health declaration allowing for a 95% approval rate and immediate acceptance. If you are under 81 years of age you are eligible to apply.

Contact Steve at www.insurance247.ca for more information

Firstly, regardless of whether it is hurricane season or not, check the Canadian Government travel advisories before you travel. You can get the advisories at Travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories.

Below are the levels of risk provided by the Canadian Government that you will want to be aware of…

The two highest risk levels “avoid non-essential travel” and “avoid all travel” may have implications on your travel insurance coverage.

Here is the scenario:  You have purchased your emergency medical travel insurance for your trip, or you already have it through your credit card or health plan. You don’t expect to need it so you put it to the back of your mind and probably don’t think about it again. However, CONSIDER BEING PREPARED for all eventualities BEFORE YOU EVEN TRAVEL…IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW THE STEPS LISTED BELOW: