About to travel? Don’t forget your travel insurance

Emergency medical insurance can help cover any uninsured services you may need while travelling. For some policies you may be required to pay a deductible, which is the amount of covered expenses for a claim that you’re responsible for paying out-of-pocket.

Most policies cover emergency medical treatment, related paramedical services such as physiotherapy, emergency dental and ambulance transportation. In addition, some other expenses resulting from your medical emergency may be covered such as having to extend your stay, childcare and certain emergency medical expenses incurred by your travel companions.

Your policy will describe the specific types of expenses that are covered and any maximums, exclusions, and limitations. For instance, most policies exclude certain types of medical treatment such as non-emergency or elective treatments and emergencies that occur while you’re participating in certain risky activities such as parasailing or rock climbing.

To be eligible for emergency medical insurance you must be a Canadian resident covered under a government health insurance plan for the entire duration of your trip. In addition, when you apply for coverage, you must not have been advised by a physician to avoid travel and must not have certain medical conditions, such as a terminal illness, that are listed by the insurer. Dependent minors covered by the policy must be at least 30 days old on the date you apply for coverage.

Travel insurance premiums are based on your age and the length of your trip. For some plans there are no medical questions if you’re under a certain age, such as 60, but if you’re over this age your premiums may be affected by your answers to the medical questions.

Many travel insurance policies offer discounts for travel within Canada, for family policies and if you purchase your insurance with a travel companion. If you choose a policy with a deductible, you’ll pay lower premiums and the more you choose to pay as a deductible, the less your premiums will be. If you travel frequently, you may also realize some savings by buying a multi-trip insurance policy.

You can buy emergency medical insurance for someone else, and you don’t need to travel with them. For instance, unaccompanied minors can be insured.

Single trip coverage typically begins on the day you leave on your trip.  Multi-trip coverage begins each time you leave your province or territory of residence on or after the starting date for your insurance that is stated on your confirmation.

Single-trip coverage typically ends on the day you return home. Multi-trip coverage ends on the day you return home or the expiry date of your insurance— whichever comes first. When you’re travelling outside Canada, it ends when you reach the maximum trip length you purchased for each trip.

If you want to stay longer on your trip you may be able to extend your coverage by calling your insurer and paying an additional premium. Your coverage will automatically be extended up to a maximum time stated in your policy if you or a travel companion are still receiving emergency medical care or if your transportation home is delayed.

You can cancel a single-trip policy any time before your departure and can request a return of your premium for unused days if you return early. You can cancel a multi-trip plan before the day your coverage starts but refunds aren’t available.

Travel insurers require that you contact them immediately at the number given on your confirmation or have someone else call as soon as possible if you are medically unable to call. Manulife also has a mobile app that will give you immediate access to the Manulife Assistance Centre. After your emergency care, you will have to submit proof of claim with receipts, bills, invoices, medical records and proof of travel. The benefit will be paid directly to the health service provider, to you if you’ve already paid the provider or to your estate in the event of your death.

Trip interruption insurance will pay a benefit if you are unable to travel due to one of the covered events specified in the policy occurring before you leave home or if your trip is interrupted because one of the covered events occurs on or after the day you plan to leave home.

Your policy will list the events that are covered but they may include you or your travel companion or someone in your immediate families suddenly becoming ill, losing your job without cause, cancellation of the business meeting you were travelling for, transportation that is delayed for a significant portion of your trip due to weather or certain natural disasters or missing a connection for reasons specified in the policy.

Your policy will describe, in detail, the specific types of expenses that are covered and any maximums, exclusions and limitations. For instance, most policies exclude expenses related to unstable pre-existing medical conditions, events that you or people travelling with you could have reasonably expected, the failure of your travel supplier, certain acts of terrorism and acts of war.

To be eligible for trip cancellation and interruption insurance, you must be living in Canada or travelling through Canada and have paid the appropriate premium.

You can purchase your trip cancellation and interruption coverage up to 365 days before you leave on your trip, and you maximize your length of travel insurance by purchasing it as soon as possible.

Trip cancellation and interruption premiums increase with your age and the amount of coverage you buy.

Trip cancellation insurance starts on the day you pay the premium for the coverage, which is shown as the purchase date on your confirmation. Coverage typically starts on your departure date and usually ends on your departure date or the date you cancel your trip — whichever comes first. Trip interruption coverage usually ends on the day you return home.

If you want to stay longer on your trip you may be able to extend your coverage by calling your insurer and paying the extra premium. Your coverage will automatically be extended up to a maximum time stated in your policy if you or a travel companion are still receiving emergency medical care or if your transportation home is delayed.

Cancellations and refunds are not available for trip cancellation and interruption plans.

To cancel your trip before your scheduled departure date, you must cancel your trip with the travel supplier and then notify your insurer on the day the cause of cancellation occurs or on the next business day at the latest. You’ll be required to submit supporting documentation within a certain time specified in the policy. The benefit will be paid directly to you or to your estate in the event of your death.

An all-inclusive plan combines emergency medical travel insurance with trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and also includes flight accident and baggage loss coverages.

The separate coverages have the same start and end dates and other details as they would if they were standalone policies; multi-trip and family coverages are also available. The baggage loss, damage and delay and flight and travel accident coverages start on the later of your departure date or the effective date of the coverage and end on the earlier of the day you return home or the expiry date of your coverage.

Baggage loss, damage and delay can reimburse you for items that might be lost or damaged during your trip, cover the replacement of official documents such as your passport and driver’s licence and help purchase toiletries, clothes and other items you might need if your baggage is lost or delayed.

Flight and travel accident insurance can help cover unexpected expenses if an accident results in death, blindness or dismemberment. The benefit, limitations and exclusions will be detailed in your policy, but exclusions commonly include injuries resulting from participating in certain risky activities such as rock climbing or parasailing and acts of war or terrorism.

Manulife CoverMe travel insurance for students provides emergency and non-emergency medical benefits for students who study outside their home province or territory. It’s available to Canadian students, their spouse and children who are under the age of 45, covered under a government health insurance plan from a Canadian province or territory, or international students temporarily living in Canada as students. Applicants must be full-time students or completing post-doctoral research.

CoverMe Sstudent travel insurance can help cover hospital expenses, physician services, ambulance transportation, emergency dental treatment, an annual medical examination, tuition reimbursement and more. Plus, it allows students to return home for special events without terminating their coverage.