Travel Insurance
Life is unpredictable
Planning a vacation? Setting aside time to visit family or friends? Whatever prompts you to mark your calendar for a trip, remember to prepare for the unexpected.
Whether you travel outside your province or to another country, it is essential that you are properly protected with insurance that covers any medical expenses that arise. The reason is simple: even if your provincial plan will pay for emergency medical treatment, the amount covered is based on what that same service costs where you live — and there are many essentials that government health insurance plans do not cover at all. As a result, you could be out of pocket for a substantial sum, depending on where the emergency occurs and the treatment received.
Also, between the moment you book your tickets and the day you’re due to depart, anything can happen — making travel suddenly impossible. A family member could be injured or become ill, requiring you to stay at home to provide essential care.
When you have travel insurance, you have more options — and fewer worries.
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Understand your coverage — and your options
Travel cancellation or interruption insurance covers any prepayments and deposits that you can’t first recover from a travel provider, such as a transportation company or tour operator.
It’s also important to remember that while policies can be flexible, compensation is payable for a “covered” medical reason or a “named peril” event. The policy will pay only if your reason for cancellation is covered. That’s why you need to talk to an expert when selecting your coverage.
You can buy a travel insurance policy that allows you to cancel for any reason. This broader coverage comes at a higher premium, but an “any reason” policy can provide the ultimate flexibility when you need it.
Learn more about medical expense, emergency and other coverage options >
- Medical Expense Coverage will cover you for accidents and emergency medical care when you travel abroad.
- Emergency Evacuation Coverage will pay to airlift you back to Canada or your home province. Even if your current health insurance provider covers you for basic emergency care overseas, it’s highly unlikely that they will pay to evacuate you.
- Baggage Coverage can reimburse you if your luggage is lost, stolen or damaged.
- 24/7 Travel Assistance Services can help you with a wide array of issues, including locating medical treatment and transportation and dealing with lost passports and stolen luggage.
Contact a HUB broker to get started.
Who needs travel insurance?
Travel insurance is not one-size-fits-all. The right coverage depends on who you are, where you are going and how long you plan to be away. HUB advisors work with all kinds of travellers across Canada to find coverage that suits their situation, such as:
- Snowbirds and retirees heading south or abroad for extended stays. If you plan to be away for 30 days or more, a snowbird-specific policy provides the comprehensive protection that a standard short-trip plan may not. It is also important to notify your home insurance broker before leaving for an extended trip, as a prolonged vacancy can affect your home coverage. Families travelling together. Families can often be protected under a single policy, covering spouses and dependent children without the need for separate plans. This simplifies the purchase process and can reduce the overall cost of coverage.
- Students studying out of province or abroad. Students face significant gaps in their government health coverage. A student travel insurance policy can cover emergency medical expenses, hospitalization and other unexpected costs for the duration of an academic program.
- Frequent travellers. Individuals who take multiple trips throughout the year may benefit from a multi-trip or annual plan rather than purchasing a separate policy each time they travel. This structure typically covers an unlimited number of trips within a 12-month period, subject to per-trip length limits. Visitors to Canada, including tourists, temporary foreign workers, international students and parents or grandparents travelling on a super visa, are not covered under Canada's public health system. Dedicated visitors to Canada insurance fills this gap and can be structured to meet super visa requirements.
Understanding your government health coverage and its limits
Many Canadians assume their provincial health insurance plan will cover them when they travel. In reality, Government Health Insurance Plans (GHIPs) provide very limited coverage outside your home province and even more limited coverage outside Canada.
When travelling to another province, you may have access to some basic medical services through interprovincial agreements. However, these agreements have meaningful gaps. Costs such as ambulance services, prescription medications and medical repatriation, the process of returning you home for ongoing care, are often excluded or only partially covered. Purchasing travel insurance for domestic trips gives you the comprehensive protection that interprovincial agreements simply cannot provide.
When travelling outside Canada, GHIP coverage becomes more limited still. Your provincial plan may reimburse a portion of emergency medical costs, but it does so based on what that same service would cost in your home province, not at the rate charged at your destination. In many parts of the world, that gap can be substantial, leaving you responsible for significant out-of-pocket expenses.
Choosing the right plan structure
Once you have decided to purchase travel insurance, the next step is choosing the plan structure that best suits your travel habits.
- A single-trip policy covers one specific trip from departure to return. It is the right choice if you have one upcoming trip and do not expect to travel again within the year. You set the dates, select your coverage and you are protected for that trip.
- A multi-trip or annual plan covers an unlimited number of trips within a 12-month period for a single annual premium. Each trip is subject to a maximum length per journey, commonly 30 or 60 days, so it is worth confirming that limit suits your plans before purchasing. For frequent travellers, this structure is often more cost-effective than buying individual policies each time.
- Top-up coverage is worth considering if you already have some travel benefits through a group benefits plan or credit card but are not confident the limits are sufficient. A top-up policy extends your existing coverage so there are no gaps.
- A cancel-for-any-reason policy is a good fit for individuals who need maximum flexibility. This policy allows you to cancel your trip for reasons beyond the standard covered perils. This broader protection comes at a higher premium but gives you options that a standard policy does not.
Why work with a HUB travel insurance advisor?
Working with a HUB advisor means you are not limited to a single insurer's products. HUB advisors have access to multiple travel insurance providers, including TuGo and Allianz, and can compare options across the market to find coverage that fits your needs and budget. Rather than navigating policy language and medical questions on your own, you have an experienced professional who understands your health history, your travel plans and the specific risks you face.
For travellers planning extended trips, a HUB advisor can also help you think through related coverage considerations, including what your home insurance policy requires while you are away and whether your auto coverage extends to rental vehicles at your destination. It is a single point of contact for the full picture.
FAQs
A pre-existing condition is any illness, injury or medical condition that existed before your travel insurance policy took effect, including conditions that are being monitored, treated or managed with medication.
Whether it affects your coverage depends on whether the condition meets the stability requirements outlined in your policy at the time of departure.
Most travel insurance policies include a stability clause, which requires that a pre-existing condition be stable for a defined period before your departure date in order to be covered. Stable generally means no new symptoms, no changes in medication or dosage and no new medical consultations or treatment related to that condition. Specific definitions vary by policy and carrier.
The required stability period varies by policy and by age, so reviewing the specific terms of your coverage carefully is important. This is particularly relevant for seniors and snowbirds who may have ongoing health considerations.
Failing to disclose a pre-existing condition or misunderstanding a stability clause is among the most common reasons travel insurance claims are denied. A HUB advisor can walk you through the medical questions on your application, help you understand what your policy covers and recommend the right plan for your health history.
Provincial health insurance provides limited coverage when you travel to other provinces through interprovincial agreements, but this coverage has meaningful gaps. Services such as ambulance transportation, prescription medications and medical repatriation may not be covered or may only be partially reimbursed.
Travel insurance fills those gaps and also protects you against non-medical risks such as trip cancellation, baggage loss and travel delays, none of which your provincial plan covers.
Credit card travel insurance can provide a baseline of coverage, but it typically comes with significant limitations. Maximum benefit amounts are often low, coverage types may be restricted and many cards impose age limits that reduce or exclude benefits for older travellers. Credit card policies also tend to have stricter eligibility conditions and shorter coverage windows than standalone travel insurance policies.
Before relying on your credit card for travel protection, review the terms carefully and speak with a HUB advisor to identify any gaps that a dedicated travel insurance policy should fill.
Contact a HUB broker to get started.
