Canadians Travelling Abroadtraveller baggage luggage insurance canada trip cancellation insurance
According to the Conference Board of Canada and some private polling agencies, 20 per cent of Canadians are under the misconceptions that they are covered 100% by provincial, and/or employee health plans should they have a medical emergency while travelling outside of Canada. The misconceptions can be disastrous considering the cost of medical care outside Canada can be much higher than the amounts payable by a Canadian provincial plan, and/or extended health care plans. Occasionally you'd read in the paper that someone is forced to sell their house to pay the hospital bills racked up overseas because they did not purchase travel health insurance. But there are far more cases that went unreported.

For complete protection, you may need to additional medical insurance from a private insurance company as recommended by your provincial government, even if you only plan to leave the country for a day. Check the exclusions and limitations of your private insurance policy carefully to ensure that the policy meets your personal needs. If  you have extended health benefits through your employer you should contact them to determine the policy provisions prior to purchasing additional medical insurance.

When you receive medical services outside Canada (or in some instances outside your home province), you will need to claim reimbursement from your provincial plan and employee benefit plan separately. But if you have a private travel insurance policy in place, you can leave all the hassles to the travel insurer, who will coordinate payment with the government and your benefit plan administrator and handle all the paper on your behalf.

A Note to Retirees
A question frequently put to us by retirees relates to payment coordination with, or subrogation against, their extended health plan provided by their former employer. All travel insurers we represent abide by the guidelines issued by Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, which requires its members to leave a retiree's extended health plan alone if the lifetime limit is $50,000 or less. If you have more than $50,000 available, the insurers will only subrogate against the amount in excess of the $50,000 and leave the rest intact. 		A Note to Canadians Studying Abroad
More and more young Canadians are attending schools of higher learning in other countries. Instead of buying health insurance from the schools, these students should consider keeping their Canadian provincial coverage and take out a private travel health insurance policy every year. This combination is not only more economical but also provides far superior coverage. For details please contact us or your provincial health insurance administrators.