Canadian experience with TravelEx, CSA, TravelGuard etc.

[LiftLockCouple]

I have been doing research regarding medical travel insurance on another insurance related thread here on CC. Time to get some actual experience from Canadians. What experience do my fellow Candians have with American insurers, their coverage limits ( some as low as $10K for medical ), exclusion waivers on Pre-Existing conditions, etc. Which insurers will or will not sell policies to Canadians. One policy available from an American TA only has $10K medical coverage but $150K evacuation, the medical limit seems very low for us Canucks. From what I have learned so far, there seem to be two major differences between Canadian and American policies ie coverage limits and the Pre-existing condition exclusion waiver.

Thanks

[LiftLockCouple]

Hmmm. 48 views of this thread but no responce. Hopefully there are Canadians with experience and can offer some personal insight.

In any case in the interest of determining what protection we have on this side of the border if doing business with American Insurers, 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]

I believe this will be the final post on this subject. Based on my discussion this morning with the FSCO this is what I believe is the situation. The American Insurers do not need to be licensed in Ontario ( or Canada ) to sell here. Any Canadian can call directly or through a TA and purchase a policy from CSA or Travel Guard etc. if that is what they want to do. They do need to be licensed if they advertise here or have an office or agent here. The same applies to Canadian Insurance companies from outside Ontario such as Quebec or British Columbia. For the FSCO or OLHI to have dispute juristiction the insurer has to actually be in the province. The Canadian Insurance companies in most cases have agents or offices in Ontario and therefore a dispute mechanism exists here in the province. In the cases where they do not, any dispute has to be handled in their own province or state. That includes any court cases that may arise.

From what I have found most if not all Canadian travel insurance policies for Canadians have very significantly greater max coverages for medical expenses than do the American companies. A Canadian policy will have an total upper limit of between $2M and $5M. American insurer TravelEx has a policy with as little as $10K medical coverage and $150K emerg evac coverage.

There are no Pre_ex condition waivers on Canadian policies but one company has a 7 day stability period for people under 55 but you cannot have any testing or diagnostic procedures in that 7 day window.

Hope this helps any Canadians watching this thread, even if I am the only one contributing:rolleyes: I see others have been reading.

[cherylandtk]

Thanks for the updates, I have been watching, but did not have anything of value to add. One thing I do know is if you look at the often mentioned sites like insuremytrip or tripinsurancestore, you can compare the DOC's from any company for both Canada and the US, but they are vastly different sets of coverages. For that matter, some states have vastly different coverages than others, even with a policy of the same name and insurer.

 

What works in one place does not apply globally. It all comes down to rules and regulations and applicable statutes.

[LiftLockCouple]

Cherylandtk: Thank-you for making me feel less lonely:). There is also a insuremytrip site for Canadians and Canadian insurers.

I do have one more update for my Canadian readers, Travel Guard has a Canadian presence with a Canadian website and policies for Canadians. Their policies are VERY similar to the other Canadian insurers. They do not include the pre-ex condition exclusion waiver. I certainly feel for the CC member from Kingston whose wife was diagnosed with High Blood pressure 21 days before their trip. IMHO They were able to identify the best insurer for them. Hope all went well.

[sabookkeeper]

Thanks for the information you have shared. We are in the process of getting insurance for our cruise in February. Previously we always purchased our insurance through the RBC and this year we were looking to see if there was anything cheaper available. I'm thinking we might just go back to RBC.

 

Darlene

[LiftLockCouple]

Thanks for the information you have shared. We are in the process of getting insurance for our cruise in February. Previously we always purchased our insurance through the RBC and this year we were looking to see if there was anything cheaper available. I'm thinking we might just go back to RBC.

 

Darlene

 

Hello Darlene: Wow, a second reader !! and the first one with a Canadian address !! :rolleyes::D If you have no pre-existing conditions or they have been stable for a long time then RBC has a great reputation. Not sure if you have used insuremytrip.ca , if not you can compare several Canadian providers that way. Looking ahead to February? wish I could get some of my offspring to do that:o. We are hoping to cruise immediately after New Years Day with those same off spring and their girls !! Haven't booked yet since some of the funding by some of the participants has not yet been secured.:confused: I need a couple of tests to be negative and then all quiet on the medical front for the last half of the year. That way the insurance decision becomes simple.

[seait]

I have with great interest read the comments regarding travel insurance. I will certainly be checking out the sites mentioned. RBC does do alot of advertising and have wondered if they were as good as they sound.

 

Thanks everyone for your valuable insights into this important issue.

[LiftLockCouple]

I have with great interest read the comments regarding travel insurance. I will certainly be checking out the sites mentioned. RBC does do alot of advertising and have wondered if they were as good as they sound.

 

Thanks everyone for your valuable insights into this important issue.

 

Hello Seait: Glad that the info is of some use. If you do your research you will find that RBC seems to have a good reputation for prompt claims etc. However I find their pre-ex exclusion clause to be more specific and in some ways more restrictive than some of the others. For my purposes and situation, I like Travel Underwriters the best.

[gordandmichele]

I have been in the insurance business for 35+ years, and my wife and I travel a fair amount. On average, 2-3 big trips per year.

 

First thing I would recommend to all Canadians - stick with a Canadian company. The coverages are generally much better, but the big difference is when you have a dispute. You really have no recourse when dealing with an American company.

 

The policy that we have is the Manulife Cover Me Multi-Trip plan. It's an annual policy that covers you for an unlimited number of trips. You buy the package for 4/10/18/30 days depending on the average length of your trips. We choose 18 days, since it covers a 2 week vacation plus a couple of days at either end. If you need extra days, you can top it up.

 

The best thing is that the premiums are about the same as what you'd pay for a single trip with one of the other carriers. It's the best-kept secret in Canada.

 

Here's our personal experience with RBC:

 

My wife and her friend had a horrible experience with RBC a couple of years back. Her friend fell and shattered her elbow in Cuba and needed surgery. This happened on a Monday. RBC was contacted immediately and agreed to evac. her to Canada. Only problem was, they could figure out how to do it. Cuba has strict rules as to who can purchase airline tickets for a 3rd person and RBC was unaware of this. They told my wife and her friend to go to the airport on Wednesday to get a flight out. RBC had purchased the tickets for them. Problem was, there is a 48 hour waiting period after the ticket is purchased before the 3rd person can leave. So, the authorities wouldn't let them board the plane.

 

Now the 48 hours starts all over again. RBC told my wife to buy the tickets and she would get reimbursed. Problem was, all electronic banking in Cuba was down for 3 days (this is not unusual). So the earliest they can leave is now Friday, but their scheduled return flight is Saturday so RBC says to just get on that flight instead.

 

I should mention that their hotel was in Varadero, but the hospital was in Havana, so my wife had to stay at a Havana fleabag hotel in order to be with her friend. So from Monday to Saturday, they were stuck in Havana. My wife's friend was in great pain and under heavy sedation. She didn't have the surgery until arriving back in Canada, and her arm will never be normal again.

 

All because of RBC's incompetence at not knowing Cuba's restrictions. If they had, my wife could have purchased the tickets on Monday (the banking system was working then) and left immediately.

 

Yes, RBC covered their out of pocket expenses, but the vacation was ruined and my wife's friend's health was affected. And RBC saved themselves the cost of 2 flights home.

 

Basically, this was a prime example of why you need travel insurance. Unfortunately, due to the insurer's incompetence, it was a waste of money. No insurance will do you any good if the people handling the claims are not able to do their job properly. If you are selling coverage that is designed to get people out of a foreign country and back home to Canada, then your claims people better have a clue as to how to get them out. Maybe if they were stuck in Senegal or Madagascar I could cut them some slack, but CUBA !!!! It's probably the #1 destination for travellers from Eastern Canada. How can you not know the rules to get people out?

 

I should also mention that they could have sent an air ambulance to get her out with no problems, but RBC said it would cost too much since the injury wasn't life-threatening. True, but it did turn out to be permanently disabling.

 

So, no I wouldn't recommend them. However, we do have recourse in the small claim courts. We wouldn't if it was an American company.

 

And the company I work for doesn't sell travel insurance, so I have no conflict of interest in case anyone was wondering.

[iancal]

gordandmichele...we reached the same conclusion about Manuflife and will be taking an annual policy now that I am about to retire. But I should add one thing. We actually filed a claim with Manulife. The claim was handled by a third party claims adjustment company. The claim was paid promptly and in full. It was about $500. per person. They actually covered losses due to a forgone Priceline prepaid hotel, air cancellation/rebook fees, and cruise line admin charges for cancelling one passenger and replacing him with another. We also use Manulife for our children when the go down to the States for a few days of vacation etc. We have found their prices and terms to be far better that what we can get through RBC, CIBC, etc.

[Cygneagile]

My former company has retirement benefits with Manulife.

I would love to get Travel Health insurance but because of my high blood pressure and my husband's pace maker the cost would be over 1500.00 For a 30 day max trip. we have a Pine Log Cabin in PA so we travel 2 to 3 times a month. Then I have my trips to Las Vegas and Cruises.

So far we have been using CARP. But now my husband has a pace maker so I need to look for travel insurance elsewhere. We need to find one that will allow us to exclude existing health issues.

It is sad to see that as you get older..... your choice dwindle.

I know we will find something. We need to renew our travel insurance by July 1.

Julie

[LiftLockCouple]

My former company has retirement benefits with Manulife.

I would love to get Travel Health insurance but because of my high blood pressure and my husband's pace maker the cost would be over 1500.00 For a 30 day max trip. we have a Pine Log Cabin in PA so we travel 2 to 3 times a month. Then I have my trips to Las Vegas and Cruises.

So far we have been using CARP. But now my husband has a pace maker so I need to look for travel insurance elsewhere. We need to find one that will allow us to exclude existing health issues.

It is sad to see that as you get older..... your choice dwindle.

I know we will find something. We need to renew our travel insurance by July 1.

Julie

 

Julie: I don't know if this excerpt will help or not but this is from a company based in Vancouver "Travel Underwriters" I have not copied all of the exclusion clauses as they are specific to age and length of trip. I also searched the document and found no mention of a pace maker. They might be worth a look.

"

Exclusions Applicable to Emergency Excess Hospital/Medical Insurance

In addition to the General Exclusions this Insurance does not provide payment or

indemnity for expenses incurred directly or indirectly as a result of:

1. Any Pre-existing Condition as defined' date=' except as follows:[/font']

 

( this is shortened to only the Cardiovascular section )

 

3. A cardiovascular condition for persons 65 years and over if:

a) you are taking a total of 3 or more medications that have been ordered by a

Physician, other than medication taken for high blood pressure, and

b) one or more of these medications is related to a cardiovascular condition.

Medication taken for thyroid, glaucoma, allergies, eczema, heartburn,

menopause, migraines, sleeping disorders or a Minor Ailment, are not

considered unless these medications are taken as a result of a cardiovascular

condition.

4. Any condition(s) for which the Insured is registered on a Canadian hospital list

waiting to receive treatment.

[Cygneagile]

Thank you the LiftLockCouple

I have emailed them for the application form. I trust they can send it VIA email. This makes everything faster to view to see if this is to our benefit.

 

Julie

[SweetP2]

Thank you for this thread. I have been reading with great interest too.

 

We always purchase travel insurance, and we generally stick with Pacific Blue Cross as they provide my extended med/dental benefits at work. Actually wouldn't think of purchasing outside of Canada.

 

I was told a few years back that some travel insurance policies coverage will only kick in once our local provincial (BC in this case) 'life time' limit has been used up first. We were told that Pacific Blue Cross coverage kicks in first before our own BC medical insurance.

 

Anyone know much about this? How much of this is true? I believe it was a staff person from our HR dept that explained that many years ago. Thought since we have a few CC'rs that understand the in's/out's of travel insurance that I would try and verify this information.

[LiftLockCouple]

Thank you for this thread. I have been reading with great interest too.

 

We always purchase travel insurance, and we generally stick with Pacific Blue Cross as they provide my extended med/dental benefits at work. Actually wouldn't think of purchasing outside of Canada.

 

I was told a few years back that some travel insurance policies coverage will only kick in once our local provincial (BC in this case) 'life time' limit has been used up first. We were told that Pacific Blue Cross coverage kicks in first before our own BC medical insurance.

 

Anyone know much about this? How much of this is true? I believe it was a staff person from our HR dept that explained that many years ago. Thought since we have a few CC'rs that understand the in's/out's of travel insurance that I would try and verify this information.

 

 

SweetP2

 

I don't know the details of either plan. However the travel insurance that you buy to suppliment your provincial plan is either a "primary" plan which means they pay up front and, as I understand it, directly to the health provider. The other option is a secondary plan which will pay after your primary plan is exhausted. For Canadians our primary plan is our provincial coverage. Not sure what a "lifetime limit" means to BC residents. For us here in Ontario traveling outside the province the daily limit that OHIP will pay is $400/day. In this case a secondary plan would pay the difference if the charge is more than that while a primary plan pays up front. In Ontario $400/day is less than half what it actually costs in an Ontario hospital and a pittance in many American hospitals. As I understand how the plans work, and I may not, If the plan was a "primary", that plan pays for the care right away before the provincial plan gets involved. They might recover some of the costs from the BC plan after the fact but I am not sure about that. If anyone else has a better insight, please speak up. The plan that I have mentioned earlier on this thread "travel Underwriters" is a secondary plan. Sounds like Pacific Blue Cross is a primary plan. Hope that helps.

[LiftLockCouple]

A female friend from Brampton recently had the following experience in a London England hospital. She and her adult daughter were on a trip to London and then Prague. Before leaving Toronto she cut her foot which while in London became infected. She visited a local hospital to have it treated. The treatment included the care of a surgeon, nurses, etc. In terms of what a medical insurance would pay ,payment for this treatment would likely be denied because the cut was a " pre-existing" condition prior to departure. To be fair to the insurance industry they might have termed the cut a " minor ailment" and payed the costs but......In this case when the hospital was asked how my friend would pay for the treatment, their responce was " You are from a commonwealth country right?" answer of course was " yes", to which they replied " this was on the house". Didn't cost her a cent thanks to the British government and their appreciation of fellow commonwealth countries. Not sure if this practice is in any way common but ,She arrived safely back in Toronto this past Sunday evening on Mothers Day. She still had a sore foot which likely needed more treatment in a good Canadian hospital. Thank-you to the UK health care system.

[SweetP2]

Thank you Wayne and Brenda for the additional information.

 

I will be sure to contact Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) and ask more questions regarding primary versus secondary...etc...

 

I just caught another thread under this regarding PBC in particular. Seems that my extended benefits plan may include travel insurance, but not trip cancellation, baggage. I'll be seeking that info out too at PBC.

 

I just have to take this opportunity to say how powerful this board is, it continues to amaze me how great people across the world eagerly share info, experience and knowledge with everyone. THANK YOU to all who contribute!

 

Regards,

SP

[LiftLockCouple]

Just a quick note to SweetP2, I just noted that you are from Victoria BC. My wife and I were in Victoria for a weekend visit two weeks ago. A great place for sure although for our visit you could have had better weather arranged !! :rolleyes:. Wasn't to bad really but some of the folks from warmer climates that we met were a little chilled that weekend. We took a drive to the cruise port and also visited the normal suspect locations ie CraigDurroch Castle and of course the Burchart Gardens. There were 3 bus loads of Aussies at the gardens that Sunday who had been to Banff, Jasper, and Lake Louise. They had also been through the mountains on the Rocky Mountaineer. We overheard one lady exclaim to her friends " We have seen many wonderful sights on this trip, but I have died and gone to heaven!" I think she and her companions liked the gardens just a little!!:) They were then scheduled to go to Seattle that Monday on the fast ferry and board a Holland American cruise to Alaska. The only disappointment that some had was no Whales on Sunday afternoon May 2. We really enjoyed our second visit in three years and hope to return again. A plus for us Canadians was we didn't need extra insurance with exclusion clauses to enjoy Victoria!!!:)

I hope that you and C'estsibon will keep us posted on what you find out from the respective insurance companies.

[SweetP2]

We really enjoyed our second visit in three years and hope to return again. A plus for us Canadians was we didn't need extra insurance with exclusion clauses to enjoy Victoria!!!:)

I hope that you and C'estsibon will keep us posted on what you find out from the respective insurance companies.

 

Yes, the weather a few weeks ago in Victoria was pretty chilly. It was warmer back in early February - we were out hitting a bucket of balls at the driving range in February (during 2010) and we were warmer than when we golfed a few weeks ago. Our weather can change so quickly. Winds bring in a few systems from a few different directions - being on the tip of the island can have it's benefits and challenges. But what is normal is green trees year round. We do get rain, but not as much as Vancouver.

 

I am mighty proud of our island. We can be in Victoria golfing, then drive 3 hours north to ski at Mt Washington where there was 10 ft of snow!

 

Butcharts is magnificient. Was out there at xmas time at night the entire gardens are lighted - and it was magical. Walked thru the gardens, then ended up having hot chocolate at the end. Nice evening with family.

 

No whales...hmmm...they must have been on a break while you were here.:D Not sure where the pod (J or L can never remember) would normally be located in early May. In the water somewhere ;) Sorry they missed you. Glad to hear you'll return again. Hopefully you can get a bit further up the island. Drive to Chemainus is nice too. Or a ship into Nanaimo and even Port Alberni.

 

Will keep you posted on what I find out thru our Pacific Blue Cross!

 

Take care,

SP

[Cygneagile]

My husband and I are trying to locate the best company for medical travel insurance. We are 73 and 72 years young.

I have high blood pressue under control and he has a pace maker inserted over 1 1/2 ago. He is good to go for the next 4 years with his pacemaker.

 

I have some quotes but for me and my husband they would be over 900.00 for multiple trips not exceeding 30 days.

[jacqueline1947]

my husband has the same sort of problems- heart bypass over 10 years ago, diabetes and canadian insurance companies will gladly insure him but exclude the heart even though has been very stable for years. i use tripinsurancestore.com and Travel safe which has a look back period of only 60 days and pre-existing conditions can be waived. I always read the policies thoroughly but you never know how good an insurance company is be it canadian or american until you have to make a claim. I know canadian companies insure in millions but they would bring you to your home province before spending that kind of money in a foreign country -mainly the US which is probably the most expensive health care in the world . my husband policy usually costs about $50 for medical only for 30 days and the coverage is 250,000. he is 65. we have trip cancellation and interruption on a credit card. there is a lot of great information on the web sibe

[LiftLockCouple]

my husband has the same sort of problems- heart bypass over 10 years ago, diabetes and canadian insurance companies will gladly insure him but exclude the heart even though has been very stable for years. i use tripinsurancestore.com and Travel safe which has a look back period of only 60 days and pre-existing conditions can be waived. I always read the policies thoroughly but you never know how good an insurance company is be it canadian or american until you have to make a claim. I know canadian companies insure in millions but they would bring you to your home province before spending that kind of money in a foreign country -mainly the US which is probably the most expensive health care in the world . my husband policy usually costs about $50 for medical only for 30 days and the coverage is 250,000. he is 65. we have trip cancellation and interruption on a credit card. there is a lot of great information on the web sibe

 

 

Hello: I have a couple of questions / comments. Comment first, I have no actual experience but have done some research. My guess given the level of coverage is that the policy is a secondary policy. I believe this means you and your provincial health care pay the health care provider first, then you have to submit some very carefully documented reciepts before the American policy will pay out. In the event of a dispute, to my knowledge there is no third party arbitrator available to you. The American primary policies I have seen have very low limits, ie $80K and lower.

Question: Will the insurance company pay for the rapid return to a Canadian hospital or will they insist on the closest hospital American or otherwise. Will they pay first or do you have to pay up front and then get reimbursed?

[LiftLockCouple]

I originally started this thread to try and find Canadians that have actual experience with the American companies and any significant claims. Jacqueline1947, you are I believe the first to respond as a person that uses the American companies. I hope you don't mind the comments etc below. I hope that you and your DH have many happy trips without incident.

Of course you are correct with your observation about how willing the Canadian companies are to cover any serious condition, even stable:(. Some are better than others but in general they avoid such " risks". It makes it very hard for many Canadians to travel with full coverage.:(

It is my opinion that the Canadian policies have high coverages because the Provincial health care systems pay so little for out of country travel. Therefore the risks of paying large bills is greater. The result is that they limit their risk by excluding heart issues etc.

The Americn plans have lower limits and the waivers etc. because the Americans that buy them usually has their own private coverage that will pay the big bills before their travel plan kicks in. In many cases the primary American travel plans are little more than emergency evac policies.

The worse that can happen to a Canadian with an American plan is to end up in an American ICU unable to travel for an extended period, IE a serious car accident or heart attack.

I am wondering if anyone has bought both an American plan for what amounts to limited coverage like Jacqeuline1947 needs and then suppliment that with a Canadian plan with the higher limits for everything else. I think you have to carefully read the "other policy" clauses but it might work?? and thoughts?

[galipemi]

Most insurance policies have wording regarding coordination of benefits. Depending on the actual insurer, some will take care of the work for you. I actually work in an insurance call center (24hr emergency line). I know that when we receive a call from someone who has more than one insurance coverage, we obtain the details and find out who was contacted first. Since most canadian coverages are considered primary coverage, whoever opened the claim first will handle the claim. That primary insurer then coordinates benefits with the other insurer. Ie: if the primary paid out $10,000 for your care and your second policy would also cover the same condition/treatments, then plan A will pay the claim and ask plan B for $5,000. You only have to fill out one set of claim forms and deal with one insurer.