Travel Insurance
Travel with confidence, wherever you're headed.
✓ Independent comparison✓ No cost for my advice✓ Licensed ON · BC · AB
Whether it's a winter getaway, a business trip or a visit home, travel insurance protects you from the cost of medical emergencies abroad and the expense of trips that don't go to plan. Your provincial plan covers little to nothing outside Canada — travel insurance fills that gap.
I arrange single-trip and multi-trip annual plans for individuals, families and snowbirds, with the right mix of emergency medical, trip cancellation and interruption coverage for how you travel.
What this coverage gives you
Emergency medical abroad
Coverage for illness or injury outside Canada, where provincial plans fall short.
Trip cancellation & interruption
Recover non-refundable costs if you have to cancel or cut a trip short.
Single & multi-trip plans
Insure one trip, or get a multi-trip annual plan if you travel often.
Snowbird-friendly
Extended coverage for longer winter stays in the U.S. and beyond.
Who it's for
- Vacationers and business travellers
- Snowbirds wintering abroad
- Families travelling together
- Frequent flyers wanting annual cover
- Anyone with non-refundable trip costs
Travel Insurance questions
Doesn't my credit card already cover me?
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Card coverage is often limited in duration and amount, and may exclude pre-existing conditions or older travellers. I'll review what you have and top it up only where needed.
Single-trip or multi-trip — which should I buy?
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If you take two or more trips a year, a multi-trip annual plan is usually cheaper and more convenient. For one big trip, single-trip is fine. I'll do the math with you.
Are pre-existing conditions covered?
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Many plans cover stable pre-existing conditions subject to a stability period. Getting this right matters — I'll match you to a plan with appropriate terms.
Do I need travel insurance within Canada?
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It is worth having. Provincial plans cover emergency care in other provinces only partly and not always the full hospital bill, ambulance or getting home. Out of Canada they pay very little or nothing.
What is a stability period?
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It is the time a pre-existing condition must be stable before your trip, with no new symptoms, treatment or medication changes, commonly 90, 180 or 365 days. A small change like a dose adjustment can reset it, so we check your recent history carefully.
What does trip cancellation insurance cover?
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Non-refundable costs such as flights and hotels if you have to cancel or cut the trip short for a covered reason, like illness, a family emergency or certain travel advisories. It does not cover simply changing your mind.
I'm a snowbird. What do I need to know?
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Choose a plan long enough for your whole stay, disclose your medical history accurately, and keep an eye on your province's residency rules so your provincial health coverage stays active. Ontario, for example, generally requires 153 days a year in the province.
Government figures, contribution limits and eligibility rules on this page were last reviewed in October 2026. These are indexed and change periodically — always confirm current figures with Canada.ca or the CRA before acting.
The four things sold as “travel insurance”
These get bundled and confused constantly. They cover completely different risks, and you may need one, some or all of them.
| Type | Covers | Typical trigger | Who usually needs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency medical | Unexpected illness or injury abroad | A medical emergency while travelling | Everyone leaving Canada |
| Trip cancellation | Non-refundable costs if you cannot go | Illness, death in the family, specified events before departure | Anyone with significant prepaid costs |
| Trip interruption | Costs of cutting a trip short or getting home | Emergency during the trip | Longer or multi-leg trips |
| Baggage & delay | Lost, delayed or damaged belongings | Airline mishandling, delays | Often the least valuable of the four |
Emergency medical is the one that protects against genuinely catastrophic cost. The others protect against inconvenience and prepaid money. If budget is limited, that is the order of priority.
Single trip or multi-trip annual?
An annual multi-trip plan is excellent value if you travel several times a year — but nearly all of them cap the length of each individual trip, often at 15, 30 or 60 days. Travel beyond that cap and coverage can end mid-trip, precisely when you are furthest from home.
Many insurers sell a top-up that extends one trip beyond the cap. For someone taking several short trips plus one long winter away, an annual plan plus a top-up is usually the most economical structure. Just never assume “annual” means a single four-month stay is covered.
Card coverage frequently caps trip length at 15 to 30 days, often reduces sharply at older ages, and commonly excludes pre-existing conditions entirely. It may also require the trip to be paid on that card. It is a useful supplement; it is rarely a solution for an extended trip or an older traveller. Read the certificate of insurance rather than the marketing summary.
Long absences and your provincial coverage
Provincial health plans require you to be physically present in the province for a minimum period each year. Exceed the allowance and you can lose provincial coverage — which undermines your travel insurance too, since most travel medical policies are designed to sit on top of provincial coverage rather than replace it.
Some provinces offer extended-absence provisions for longer trips, sometimes requiring application in advance. If your winters away are getting longer, confirm your province’s current rule before you book.
Different trips, different gaps
A beach week, a cruise, a ski season and a business trip expose you to quite different risks. The wording that matters changes with the trip.
Cruises
Onboard medical care is billed privately and can be expensive, and a serious case may require evacuation from the ship — one of the costliest forms of medical transport there is. Check that the policy covers care at sea and evacuation, not only treatment once ashore. Itineraries touching US ports usually mean US-rate pricing applies.
Skiing, diving and adventure activities
This is the most common exclusion people discover too late. Many standard policies exclude or limit injuries from activities they classify as hazardous — which can include skiing off-piste, scuba diving below certain depths, motorcycling, mountaineering and sometimes even quad biking on a resort excursion.
If your trip involves anything more energetic than sightseeing, read the exclusions and ask about an activities rider. It is usually inexpensive relative to the risk.
Business travel
Check whether your employer's plan actually covers you abroad and to what limit, and whether it covers a personal side-trip tacked onto a business trip. Coverage frequently ends the moment the trip stops being business, which is not obvious until a claim.
Visiting family in your home country
A pattern I see often among clients with family overseas: long trips, older travellers, and an assumption that being “home” means being covered. Your provincial plan does not follow you, and care in the country you grew up in is still care abroad as far as your coverage is concerned.
Two things matter here. Trips are frequently longer than a standard annual plan's per-trip cap. And if you are visiting to help a relative through illness, check whether the policy restricts travel undertaken for medical reasons.
One-way travel and extended stays
If you are leaving Canada for an extended period, confirm your province's residency rule before you go. Provincial plans require physical presence for a minimum period each year, and exceeding it can end your coverage — which in turn undermines travel insurance, since most travel medical policies assume provincial coverage sits underneath them.
Is the activity I am actually going to do covered? And does the per-trip limit cover the full length of this trip? Those two catch the majority of surprises.
What Travel medical insurance covers — and what it does not
This is emergency coverage. Understanding the boundary before anyone travels prevents the most common disappointment.
| Generally covered | Generally NOT covered |
|---|---|
| Emergency hospitalisation and emergency surgery | Routine check-ups and physicals |
| Ambulance transport | Prescription refills for existing conditions |
| Physician visits connected to an emergency | Dental cleanings and routine dental work |
| Diagnostic tests needed for an emergency | Vision care, eye exams and glasses |
| Prescription drugs administered during emergency treatment | Elective or scheduled procedures |
| Emergency dental following an accident | Ongoing management of a chronic condition |
| Repatriation where medically necessary | Anything arising before coverage began |
| Stable pre-existing conditions, where the plan includes them | Unstable pre-existing conditions |
The distinction that matters
The test is not “is this medical?” but “was this unforeseen and urgent?” A chest pain at 3am is an emergency. A follow-up appointment scheduled last month is not, even though both involve a doctor.
This is why medication supply matters so much. If a parent takes daily medication, bring enough for the whole visit or plan to pay for it — refilling an existing prescription is not an emergency and will not be covered.
Deductibles, and choosing one sensibly
The deductible is what you pay before coverage responds. Choosing a higher one meaningfully reduces the premium, and it is the most sensible place to economise — provided the family could genuinely pay it.
A $1,000 deductible you could cover tomorrow is a good trade. A $5,000 deductible you could not pay leaves you effectively uninsured for anything smaller, which defeats the purpose.
Visits and trips run long more often than people expect. Most policies can be extended, but usually only if you request it before the current policy expires and there have been no claims or new medical issues. Extending is far simpler than buying a fresh policy mid-visit, which may bring a new waiting period and new exclusions.
What actually drives the price of travel insurance
Quotes for the same trip can differ substantially between insurers. Five things do most of the work, and three of them are within your control.
| Factor | Effect on price | Within your control? |
|---|---|---|
| Age of traveller | The largest single factor. Pricing steps up at bands, often sharply after 60 and again after 70. | No |
| Destination | The United States costs considerably more to insure than most of the world, because US medical costs are the highest anywhere. | Sometimes |
| Trip length | Priced per day, so a four-month winter costs far more than a two-week holiday. | Sometimes |
| Pre-existing conditions | Covering a stable condition typically raises the premium; an unstable one may be excluded entirely. | Timing, yes |
| Deductible | A higher deductible meaningfully lowers the premium. | Yes |
Why the United States is priced differently
It is not an arbitrary surcharge. Emergency care in the US routinely costs multiples of the equivalent treatment elsewhere, and an air ambulance repatriation to Canada is expensive on its own. Some policies let you exclude the US to reduce the premium — useful if you genuinely will not transit through an American airport, and a false economy if you might.
Where to economise, and where not to
Do consider a higher deductible, provided you could genuinely pay it if a claim arose. A $500 deductible you can cover is an efficient trade; a $5,000 one you cannot leaves you effectively uninsured for anything smaller.
Do not reduce the coverage limit to save money on a US trip. The premium difference between a moderate and a high limit is proportionally far smaller than the difference in exposure, and the limit is the number that matters if something serious happens.
If you take three or more trips a year, an annual plan is usually better value than buying single-trip cover each time. Just check the trip-length cap — annual plans limit each individual trip, often to 15, 30 or 60 days. Many insurers sell a top-up to extend one longer trip, and an annual plan plus a top-up is frequently the cheapest way to cover several short trips plus one long winter.
Snowbirds: four things that catch experienced travellers out
Clients who have wintered in Florida or Arizona for a decade often carry a policy that would not respond the way they expect. These are the four points worth checking before booking.
1. Your provincial coverage has a residency rule
The one people miss entirely, and it has consequences beyond travel insurance. Provincial plans require you to be physically present in the province for a minimum period each year. Exceed the allowance and you can lose provincial coverage — which matters enormously, because most travel medical policies are designed to sit on top of provincial coverage rather than replace it.
Allowances differ by province and some offer extended-absence provisions, sometimes requiring application in advance. If your winters are getting longer, confirm your province’s rule and whether you need to apply before you travel.
2. The trip-length cap on annual plans
Annual multi-trip plans typically limit each individual trip to a set number of days — often 15, 30 or 60. Travel beyond that cap and coverage may simply end mid-trip. A top-up extends a single trip beyond the cap, and an annual plan plus a top-up is usually the most economical structure for someone taking short trips plus one long winter.
3. Coverage limits matter more than premium differences
US healthcare pricing is the reason to think carefully about the limit rather than shaving the premium. An emergency admission with surgery in the United States can run into six figures, and air ambulance repatriation to Canada is itself very expensive.
The premium difference between a moderate limit and a high one is usually far smaller than the difference in exposure. For an extended stay, buy more coverage rather than less.
4. Days in the US add up across three years
Separate from insurance but worth flagging, because it surprises people. The US substantial presence test counts all days in the current year, plus one third of last year’s days, plus one sixth of the year before. Reach 183 on that weighted total and the US may treat you as a resident for tax purposes.
Someone spending four months a year — about 120 days, comfortably inside the immigration limit — reaches roughly 180 on the weighted count. A slightly longer winter tips them over. Form 8840, the Closer Connection Exception Statement, is the route most snowbirds use, and it must be filed on time.
I arrange the travel insurance and can flag where these rules interact. For the US tax filing itself, use a cross-border accountant — it is a narrow specialism and worth the fee if you are near the threshold or own US property.
A pre-departure checklist
- Confirm your province’s absence rule, and apply for any extension in advance.
- Check the stability period and count back from your departure date.
- Hold medication changes until after the trip where medically reasonable.
- Verify the trip-length cap, and arrange a top-up if you exceed it.
- Choose a coverage limit sized to US costs, not to the cheapest quote.
- Carry the policy number and 24-hour assistance line separately from your luggage.
What to do in a medical emergency — and the call that protects the claim
Most people never read this part until they need it, at which point they are in an emergency department at 2am. Ten minutes now saves a great deal later.
Almost every emergency medical policy requires notification before or immediately upon receiving care, and many require pre-approval for non-emergency admission. Failing to make that call can reduce or void an otherwise valid claim. In a genuine life-threatening emergency, get care first — then call as soon as anyone reasonably can.
Before travelling: three things to prepare
- The policy number and 24-hour assistance line — on paper in a wallet and saved in a phone. A policy nobody can find is not much use.
- Someone in Canada who knows the coverage exists and where the details are. If the traveller is unwell, they may not be the one making the call.
- A note of any medications and conditions, ideally with generic drug names, which travel across borders better than brand names.
What the assistance line actually does
It is not simply a claims desk. In a real emergency it can direct you to an appropriate facility, arrange direct billing so you are not paying up front, coordinate with treating physicians, and organise repatriation where that becomes medically necessary. Using it early generally produces a better outcome than presenting a bill afterwards.
Keep everything
Itemised invoices, receipts, discharge summaries, the physician’s notes, prescription records. Claims are assessed on documentation, and reconstructing it after the fact from another country is considerably harder than collecting it at the time.
What this coverage does not do
Emergency medical insurance covers unforeseen emergencies. It does not cover routine check-ups, scheduled follow-up appointments, prescription refills for existing conditions, dental cleanings, vision care, or anything that could reasonably have been scheduled in advance. Plan medication supply for the whole trip before departure.
If a claim is refused and you disagree, there is a defined path: the insurer’s internal complaint process first, ending in a written final position letter, then the independent OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance, whose members represent 99% of the Canadian market.
The reasons people skip travel insurance
Some of these are reasonable in specific circumstances. Most are not, and the cost of being wrong is unusually high.
My credit card already covers me.”
Sometimes, partially. Card coverage is a genuine benefit and worth knowing about — but read the certificate of insurance rather than the marketing summary, because three limitations catch people out.
It frequently caps trip length at 15 to 30 days. It often reduces sharply at older ages, sometimes dropping away entirely past 65. And it commonly excludes pre-existing conditions, or applies a stability requirement of its own. Many cards also require the trip to have been paid for on that card.
For a healthy 35-year-old taking a one-week trip paid on the card, it may genuinely be enough. For a longer trip, an older traveller, or anyone with a managed condition, it usually is not.
It’s only a short trip — nothing will happen.”
Probably true, and that is exactly how insurance works: most trips are uneventful. The issue is the size of the loss when the unlikely thing happens.
Your provincial plan covers little to nothing outside Canada. A single emergency admission with surgery in the United States can run into six figures, and it does not care whether you were there for four days or four months. A week-long trip costs very little to insure precisely because the risk is small — which is an argument for buying it, not skipping it.
I’m healthy, so pre-existing conditions don’t apply to me.”
Worth checking what the policy means by that. “Healthy” in ordinary speech often means “well managed” — and blood pressure or cholesterol medication, or a condition being monitored, counts as a pre-existing condition for insurance purposes.
That does not mean you are uninsurable or that it will cost a fortune. It means the condition needs disclosing, and the stability period becomes relevant. Disclosing costs you nothing at the right insurer; not disclosing puts the claim at risk.
I’ll buy it at the airport if I need it.”
Most policies must be purchased before departure, and buying after you have left Canada is difficult, more restrictive and more expensive where it is possible at all. Anything that has already started will not be covered.
Buying in advance is also what lets you time the purchase sensibly around a medication change, and it means trip cancellation coverage — which only responds to events before you travel — is actually available to you.
- Pre-existing conditions and stability — how insurers define a stable condition
- Provincial coverage waiting periods — the gap for newcomers and returning Canadians
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