Do you need travel insurance?

We all know that medical expenses in the USA are expensive, but they are in other parts of the world as well.  Here is an example of costs in Mexico due to appendicitis.  14-year-old Male: Abdominal Pain Led to Appendicitis in Mexico Tomas was in Mexico during spring break. After a few days, he started having severe abdominal pain and saw the hotel doctor. He was diagnosed with appendicitis and sent to the hospital by ambulance. Tomas was in the hospital for two days before he was released with various prescriptions and caught a new flight home. Hotel doctor fees ......................................$950.50 Ambulance fees ........................................$1,200.00 Hospital fees .............................................$22,530.47 Doctors' fees .............................................$7,165.00 Prescriptions .............................................$47.11 Provincial medical ....................................- $330.16 Amount paid by TuGo (the insurance company)  ......$31,562.92   If you have a group plan, Emergency Medical coverage may be included in your plan.

The need for Travel insurance

A study released by the Bank of Montreal (BMO) on March 24, 2015 examines why and how Canadians use travel insurance.

One of the findings of the study is that 36% of Canadians do end up requiring medical attention while they are on vacation, and that many have had to file a claim when they returned home in order to recover out-of-pocket expenses. Among those with travel insurance, 76% described the claims process as "easy" and none of those surveyed had their claims rejected. BMO says that 74% of those who had filed claims received the full balance of what was owed and 26% were partially reimbursed.

 

If you leave Ontario, do you ensure that you have Out of Province Medical Insurance? It can be part of your benefit package or on your "gold" credit card or purchased separately through your travel agent or a life insurance agent.  

Have you verified what it covers? For example some group policies will only cover you for travel in Canada. Some credit card policies will only cover you if you are under 65 and purchased the travel package using that card.

The best way to ensure that your claim is paid for is to contact the insurance company at the number on your wallet card as soon as possible. Not only will you know right away what is covered, they will often guide you through getting the medical assistance that you need.

Travel Insurance

The following article was published in the April 2013 issue of The Insurance & Investment Journal.  It discusses some of the things that could go wrong when you travel out of your home province and what you need to do to protect yourself.

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:

• Getting Sick in the States
• Protect yourself with a travel health insurance policy