Travel insurance

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Since I am an ex -airbalancer , I no long get the benefits 

what is a good traveling insurance to get 

is it best to get a single trip policy or a yearly policy ?

[canadianbear]

We purchase a yearly coverage with Blue  Cross.  It depends on how many trips you do but for us it was better doing the yearly as we will fly more often now to see grandkids.  We bought the 30 day per trip coverage but if longer we can top up. 

[Heidi13]

35 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Since I am an ex -airbalancer , I no long get the benefits 

what is a good traveling insurance to get 

is it best to get a single trip policy or a yearly policy ?

 

The best insurance policy depends on your personal circumstance and level of risk tolerance. If you have pre-existing conditions, it is critical to read the fine print to determine what, if any, coverage is provided. Most important to also check the exclusions and how to submit a claim, including any time restrictions.

 

With respect to single trip, or annual policy, it again depends on your travel goals.

 

I always find it best to research using the assistance of insurance brokers, both local and online. I also note that insurance companies also change their terms & conditions, so what was the best deal last year, may no longer be the best this year.

 

When working, we routinely used Blue Cross, as we had their extended health, so received discounts. When getting quotes for our 2020 cruise, we noted they changed the pre-existing conditions coverage, which no longer worked for us, so we no longer use them.

 

Please note, I'm not recommending against Blue Cross, just providing an example of how changes to previously acceptable insurance can render it unacceptable at a later date.

[canadianbear]

I forgot to say although we don’t have any pre-existing conditions we do add on the 7 day look back pre-existing.  Yes, it costs more but not that much and as seniors we never know what might come up.  
 

It can be exhausting checking out insurance and coverages.  We have Blue Cross as our extended coverage so usually go with them.  

[Fouremco]

We've had an annual policy for a number of years. One of the advantages that many people overlook is the coverage for out of province travel. For example, a few years ago we had a a trip to Montreal planned, with a hotel booked and train tickets purchased, both non-refundable. A medical issue arose a couple of days before our departure and the insurance covered us without any issue.

[canadianbear]

24 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

We've had an annual policy for a number of years. One of the advantages that many people overlook is the coverage for out of province travel. For example, a few years ago we had a a trip to Montreal planned, with a hotel booked and train tickets purchased, both non-refundable. A medical issue arose a couple of days before our departure and the insurance covered us without any issue.

 
Totally agree.  A lot of people don’t think or decide not to purchase out of Province insurance. 

[LHT28]

also depends on if you just want medical or  trip cancellation/interuption coverage

 

We do have Medical through DH retirement plan so we do single trip as we do take trip cancellation out  & it has come in handy a couple of times

YMMV

[lots-of-km2]

16 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Is it best to get a single trip policy or a yearly policy ?

 

Depends on your circumstances and travel plans. The deciding factor is cost.  

 

Best to get quotes for both a single trip and a yearly policy to help in your decision making.  If you intend to travel more than once over a one-year period,  a multi-trip (one year) policy might make financial sense.   

 

In my own case, a multi-trip (one year) policy was the most cost-effective option, even with a $ top-up added for a trip exceeding 28 days duration.  I bought Manulife travel insurance sold by Costco. 

 

[Barwick Cruiser]

14 hours ago, LHT28 said:

also depends on if you just want medical or  trip cancellation/interuption coverage

 

We do have Medical through DH retirement plan so we do single trip as we do take trip cancellation out  & it has come in handy a couple of times

YMMV

We also have travel medical coverage through my hubbys work so you just purchased cancellation/interruption insurance? Who did you get it through and will they cover quarantine expenses following a cruise? We’re traveling in Sept and it’s hard finding something to cover non medical expenses. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

We also have travel medical coverage through my hubbys work so you just purchased cancellation/interruption insurance? Who did you get it through and will they cover quarantine expenses following a cruise? We’re traveling in Sept and it’s hard finding something to cover non medical expenses. 

Pre Covid  we used RSA  & T.I.P.S

You would need to check  if they cover covid related expenses

I read here  Manulife  was covering covid related  but not sure if it was just medical

 

Sorry not much help in the current climate

[lots-of-km2]

19 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Is it best to get a single trip policy or a yearly policy ?

 

One more suggestion  --  In planning a recent cruise, it became clear that it was not a good idea to buy health and emergency insurance packages offered through the cruise line as the terms and conditions were all geared to American citizens, and American law. It was far wiser to stick with a Canadian insurer for health and emergency coverage.   The cruise lines and travel agents won't tell you that -- they're motivated by commissions. 

 

As for cancellation insurance offered by the cruise lines (often rolled in with the health insurance), I'm not sure how their terms compare with Canadian insurance company cancellation insurance.  But I stayed clear of the cruise line's offerings and relied on my credit card for cancellation coverage. 

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, lots-of-km2 said:

 

One more suggestion  --  In planning a recent cruise, it became clear that it was not a good idea to buy health and emergency insurance packages offered through the cruise line as the terms and conditions were all geared to American citizens, and American law. It was far wiser to stick with a Canadian insurer for health and emergency coverage.   The cruise lines and travel agents won't tell you that -- they're motivated by commissions. 

 

As for cancellation insurance offered by the cruise lines (often rolled in with the health insurance), I'm not sure how their terms compare with Canadian insurance company cancellation insurance.  But I stayed clear of the cruise line's offerings and relied on my credit card for cancellation coverage. 

 

Provided you are only taking short cruises, the credit card insurance may work. However, best to check the limits, as even some premium cards have fairly low limits and may require a top up. All of our cruises in the past 10+ years exceed our credit card coverage.

[Magicat]

Check your homeowners insurance.  I know at one time my neighbours were able to add this to theirs when they travelled.  Can't speak to whether something like that exists anymore.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

On 5/31/2022 at 6:30 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Provided you are only taking short cruises, the credit card insurance may work. However, best to check the limits, as even some premium cards have fairly low limits and may require a top up. All of our cruises in the past 10+ years exceed our credit card coverage.

Pricing to top up with the medical with credit card for 11 days is about $75 with CIBC 

[sun25]

We have a cruise booked for early Sept.  Have previously used Manulife for covid and cancellation insurance.  This time however I was told that if one spouse test positive, they do don pay for the couple, only the the person that tested positive.  Well that doesn't work for us.  Still searching for another option.  Any suggestions.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Just now, sun25 said:

We have a cruise booked for early Sept.  Have previously used Manulife for covid and cancellation insurance.  This time however I was told that if one spouse test positive, they do don pay for the couple, only the the person that tested positive.  Well that doesn't work for us.  Still searching for another option.  Any suggestions.

Not worried about Covid now 

 

[sun25]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Not worried about Covid now 

 

Unfortunately if I test positive at port, I don't get on the ship, and i loose the cruise.  My husband is not going alone.!! 

[cdn_tbird]

7 hours ago, sun25 said:

This time however I was told that if one spouse test positive, they do don pay for the couple, only the the person that tested positive.

Interesting. Will definitely need to look into this as I was planning to purchase for our family cruise in Aug, and would not be happy if this was the case should our 16 yr old daughter tested positive. Will be following this thread to see if you find any better option.

Edited June 10, 2022 by cdn_tbird

[macmax]

On 5/31/2022 at 2:33 PM, lots-of-km2 said:

 

One more suggestion  --  In planning a recent cruise, it became clear that it was not a good idea to buy health and emergency insurance packages offered through the cruise line as the terms and conditions were all geared to American citizens, and American law. It was far wiser to stick with a Canadian insurer for health and emergency coverage.   The cruise lines and travel agents won't tell you that -- they're motivated by commissions. 

 

As for cancellation insurance offered by the cruise lines (often rolled in with the health insurance), I'm not sure how their terms compare with Canadian insurance company cancellation insurance.  But I stayed clear of the cruise line's offerings and relied on my credit card for cancellation coverage. 

Actually TA'S make a LOT more commission selling Independent Canadian polices than selling the cruise line's polices. You are correct though, in that the cruise line policies are geared toward Americans. 

An exception is the policy offered by Princess. It seems to offer good coverage at a very good price.

 

 

 

 

[kasmca]

Check your Cruise line policies.  We have a RCCL booked in Aug and they will refund 100% if we catch covid and are unable to board: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-i-test-positive-for-sars-cov-2-what-is-your-refund-policy-and-costs-covered

 

We have $5 million out-of-province medical insurance with our BRIM credit card. https://brimfinancial.com/pdf_files/Brim-Insurance-Footnotes-1_Final_2018-05-15[2].pdf

 

We also have trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance with our credit card but they have an exclusion clause for Covid related issues.  We had to call the underwriting insurance company to verify this. I will need to see if I should get extra insurance to cover that for our airfare. TD offers it but it is one third of the cost of the airfare.  

 

We book hotels and cars with a 100% refundable option so we don't need cancellation or interruption insurance for those.

 

We have collision and comprehensive insurance for car rentals covered by our credit card as well, but not 3rd party liability, so when renting a car, we opt to pay for that from the car rental.  It is typically not recommended to use your own personal car insurance coverage on vacation as your rates will go up if you file a personal claim on it.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

“first 3 days of a trip if you and your spouse are age 65 or older.”

 

this is the line  that isscrewing me about using any credit card , turn 65 this week 

Happy Birthday ! 🥳

[kasmca]

5 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

“first 3 days of a trip if you and your spouse are age 65 or older.”

 

this is the line  that isscrewing me about using any credit card , turn 65 this week 

Happy Birthday ! 🥳

Yeah for those over 65 blue cross or manulife from Costco are reasonable options for supplemental health / medical insurance. 

[Mikamarii]

Has anyone ever purchased the Diver Alert Network (DAN) travel insurance. I’ve looked in to it but it’s tough to see all the fine print without purchasing a membership first. It is geared towards scuba divers but they do offer non-diver related insurance and I don’t believe you have to be scuba certified to join. Their family membership is 100$ year and they have a Canada specific travel insurance plan for 125$ (Cdn I believe) year which includes your spouse and dependants if you have a family membership. 
 

the diver insurance covers up to 500k per incident per person and the travel insurance I believe is abt 30k per person per incident. So it’s not the highest amount but for 225ish a year it seems pretty decent for a full years worth of travel insurance for your family. I do believe it’s for under 65 though. 
 

when we got certified the training center raved about the DANs policies. 
 

im not sure what blue cross charges for a full year as my wife’s policy is 5million for 60 days. Mine was only 30 days so we called to top up for an upcoming 53day trip and it was about 200 for the extra days for the 4 of us. That’s when we found out hers was 60 days! 

[Mikamarii]

22 hours ago, kasmca said:

 

We have collision and comprehensive insurance for car rentals covered by our credit card as well, but not 3rd party liability, so when renting a car, we opt to pay for that from the car rental.  It is typically not recommended to use your own personal car insurance coverage on vacation as your rates will go up if you file a personal claim on it.

I’ve never worked in insurance but have had friends who have so this is heresay and to be taken with a grain of salt. 

technically you are supposed to report all risk factors to your insurance company (speeding tickets, collisions, impaired driving, etc) as you are insured based on your driving record not just filed claims. Insurance is insurance. I don’t trust them and they will always try to find ways to not pay so they can apparently void your policy if you’ve lied about your risk factor. It’s one reason why when you sign up they’ll ask ‘any collisions, etc’ as your rates will be higher even if you’ve never been with that company and filed a claim with them before. 
 

personally, we rely on our own coverage. Insurance is hard enough to deal with and I don’t want to have to deal with a car company to get claims covered especially when they are out of province our out of country if I don’t have to. Plus,  I pay a yearly rate for coverage and don’t want to pay the same amount for a weeks worth of coverage.

 

last, Alberta is all private insurance so it may very well be different province to province. 
 

just food for thought for those considering their options.