Friday, May 24, 2013

Travel Insurance - do you need it?

Vacation season is fast approaching and with it, comes the question – “Do I need to purchase travel insurance?” The simple answer is if you are travelling outside of Ontario, OHIP may not provide adequate coverage. For example, Cuba now requires proof of private Emergency Medical Insurance coverage before you can enter the country.

Travel insurance comes two ways – Emergency Medical only or Complete coverage that includes coverage if your bags are lost, you need to cancel the trip due to a medical emergency, the plane is delayed and you miss your connection to the cruise ship, as well as the Emergency Medical coverage.

If you are enrolled in a group benefits plan, you may have emergency medical coverage already – check your booklet. Similarly, it may be included on your Premium Credit Card (normally only if you are under age 65).

Should you need to purchase coverage for your trip, make sure to answer all medical questions completely. Most individual plans will not cover pre-existing conditions if they are not stable prior to your trip and may not provide any coverage (even unrelated) if you do not answer all questions fully.

So, if you’re travelling outside of Ontario this summer, talk to a lisenced insurance gent prior to your trip.

For more information, to help you decide if you need to buy Emergency medical travel insurance – check out these articles in the Toronto Star:


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey can you please tell me the tips to choose cheap travel insurance plans? I have decided not to go without travel insurance so it would be better to ask people which one would work well.

Heather Freed said...

You should not be looking for "cheap" coverage, you need to look for coverage that meets your specific requirements. Since that varies depending on your specific requirements, my recommendation is to talk to an agent / broker who deals with more than one insurance company.