Canadians Purchasing Travel and Trip Cancellation Insurance

[gordandmichele]

In addition to the exclusions outlined below under “General Exclusions,” this insurance does

not pay for any expenses incurred directly or indirectly as a result of:

1 Your medical condition or related condition (whether or not the diagnosis has been

determined) if at any time in the 90 days before you depart on your trip, your medical

condition or related condition has not been stable.

2 Your heart condition (whether or not the diagnosis has been determined) if at any

time in the 90 days before you depart on your trip:

a) any heart condition has not been stable; or

b) you have taken nitroglycerin more than once per week specifically for the relief of

angina pain.

3 Your lung condition (whether or not the diagnosis has been determined) if at any time

in the 90 days before you depart on your trip:

a) any lung condition has not been stable; or

b) you have been treated with home oxygen or taken oral steroids (prednisone or

prednisolone) for any lung condition.

[LiftLockCouple]

Thanks Gordandmichele: It is MHO from reading the exclusion clauses from several Canadian companies, you cannot have anything changing or new going on or suspected inside the stability periods. There can be no hint that the traveler even suspects anything because if the suspicion becomes reality and the insurance company finds out, then that condition will not be covered. Even a referral to a specialist made before the trip for an appt following the trip means ( to me anyway ) the condition to be investigated by the specialist is not covered by the policy. It doesn't become any easier the older we get does it? It sure seems to me that lots of folks are traveling at risk, in some cases of financial ruin. The waiver clause that Americans have would be nice wouldn't it but then that would likley mean $50K maximums wouldn't it.

I have read where a Canadian cancelled their trip recently because the colesterol medication was adjusted inside the stability period. This might have been an over reaction as some policies state that this does not cause an exclusion. Same goes for other limited medications.

[iancal]

We found the on line Manulife to be the best in terms of cost/benefit.

 

We have also filed a claim with Manulife. The claim was handled thru a third party. It was paid out quickly and with there was no attempt made to 'nickel and dime'. We were very pleased and will use them again. My parents used Blue Cross as they were members through a pension plan. The Blue Cross program was also very good and extremely cost effective (at that time) compared to agency or on line quotes.

[Bigleafsfanwife]

We are from Ontario Canada. We recently purchased comprehensive travel insurance with Presidents Choice (yes.. they sell travel insurance) and the prices were really good - better than CAA and RBC. A lot better than what our TA quoted too. We are cruising in October and I am more worried about the weather..After reading all the posts I reread our policy and I am comfortable with what we have purchased.

[LiftLockCouple]

Bigleafsfanwife: Thanks for posting. Very glad you found a good product, there are many to choose from. Have a great cruise.

[jtdlmc]

CruiseCo: Thanks again for this review. Following this suggestion I did go to the web site for the Ontario Governing body, The Finacial Services Commission of Ontario ( FSCO) and then to the the related OLHI ( Ombudsman for Life and health Insurance ). The American Insurance companies we are talking about are not members of the OLHI dispute resolution process. I talked to a OLHI rep and their suggestion is that there is no dispute resolution process available in Canada for Canadians doing business with American Insurers. At this point it seems we would have to go to an American body to attempt a third party dispute resolution. Not sure who that would be. These comapnies must be licensed to do business in Canada but still don't know what protection we have on this side of the border. I have sent an E-mail to the FSCO to try and find out.

 

LiftLockCouple, have you found out any more on this? I'm looking at a TravelGuard policy for trip cancellation/interruption only and if I buy through a US underwriter it is $130 for an all inclusive policy compared to buying cancellation/interruption insurance only directly through TravelGuard Canada at $240! Quite the difference in price.

[jtdlmc]

I found your other thread that updates your findings. What would your take be on just purchasing trip interruption/cancellation insurance through an American company. The policy is from an American agency but it is a TravelGuard policy and, of course, TravelGuard is also licenced in Canada. So if there were a dispute, would I be able to dispute it here in Ontario? Our medical plan, including evac to Canada, is through a Canadian company, so the $15,000 medical limit on the TravelGuard policy has no bearing on us - we wouldn't be using it.

[LiftLockCouple]

LiftLockCouple, have you found out any more on this? I'm looking at a TravelGuard policy for trip cancellation/interruption only and if I buy through a US underwriter it is $130 for an all inclusive policy compared to buying cancellation/interruption insurance only directly through TravelGuard Canada at $240! Quite the difference in price.

JTDLMC: I did get more info and indeed we would have to file any dispute in the juristiction where the particular company is licensed. That can be true of Canadian companies as well. In the case of Travel Guard Canada that would be here in Ontario, which is a comfort to us and is true of any company with Ontario offices. For Travelex, CSA and Travel Guard USA that would be in the US. CSA for example is San Diego. Of course that would be a worse case situation, if the company settles a dispute themselves then this would not be an issue.

I am curious about the price difference, is the US company a " secondary" insurer? During my review I did notice that the US based secondary insurers such as CSA were cheaper.

Have you tried other Canadian insurers such as Travel Underwriters in Vancouver, Tour+Med from Quebec or TIC in Toronto? There is also Primelink which is a brand of Cooperators Insurance.

If you are looking at cancellation / interruption only then you must have your own medical insurer such as through the CAW etc., that is a great advantage. If that is the case I would not be to worried about doing business with the American insurers, your only risk is the cost of the trip not $100K+ in medical bills. Some unionized people at my employer also have medical insurance through the union. I do not have that priviledge unfortunately.

On a personal note, I travelled to Edmonton in July and sat beside a lady returning early from Peru due to a medical issue. She was using TIC and they had treated her very well.

I am very interested in this subject, I would appreciate more info if you are able.

[jtdlmc]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, we do have extensive out-of-country medical insurance through my husband's employer, which includes unlimited evacuation to Canada and direct payment to the health care provider.

 

The medical portion of the TravelGuard plan is secondary and covers only $15,000 emergency medical or dental and $150,000 evacuation, so I can see where the difference lies with a Canadian medical policy and hence the increased price, but the policy I was quoted on through TravelGuard.ca was for trip cancellation/interruption only - no medical. As you said, even if there was a discrepancy in the claim, it would only be for the cost/partial cost of the trip so not as disasterous as a medical claim.

 

I did check Primelink but couldn't see that they offered trip cancel insurance only. I'll have a look at the others as well. I will certainly let you know if I come up with any other findings.

[LiftLockCouple]

With existing medical coverage, I would have no problem dealing with Travel Guard US for the cancellation / interruption insurance especially if I could get the Pre-Ex condition waiver for the cancellation portion. I doubt the dispute resolution would be available here though because they are technicaly two different companies. IE the US parent and the Canadian division.

I had Travelex offered to me in the spring through our US TA but had to turn it down because of the very low medical coverage, everything else was acceptable and a pre-ex conditoon waiver. Travel Guard US seems to have a good reputation on these boards. All the best.

[Hunter22a]

For those of you Canadians that travel frequently and use the above card go to their web site and see what they offer on a yearly basis