Stay Connected with Travelinsurancefile.
Sign up for our new, FREE newsletter and whenever a new item is posted on our site we will send a notification right to your inbox. All you have to do is click and you’ll have the full story as soon as it’s posted. Sign up by clicking Newsletter Subscription on the top line of our home page, or the Subscribe To Our Newsletter box on the top right side.
Enjoyed your “no-nonsense” article in Canadian Money Saver (March/April issue). My problem is not travelling without insurance, but how much to buy over and above the full-time coverage that I do have. I (and my younger wife) have a Sun Life supplementary (to Ontario provincial) medical policy that has quite good medical coverage for travel abroad. In addition and specifically for US travel, I (not my wife) am covered by US Social Security Medical A, that is, coverage for hospitalization (but not doctors, surgeons, etc.). We travel a lot abroad, and yes, I would like to shop around for the best plan, especially one that recognizes the coverage I already carry, but most plans, RBC, cruise ship company, etc. seem very standardized and set.
While medical coverage is the principal concern for the Canadian-resident traveller, other coverage usually packaged with the medical insurance, such as lost luggage, delayed flights, etc. are also of importance (but not so financially devastating as a medical event); this was brought home to us on a Caribbean cruise in January when our travelling companions’ bags were lost by the airline and the emergency allowance for immediate travel needs (eg. clothes) was very helpful. But, yes, medical coverage is the prime concern, and I would like to know how to go about getting “tailored” insurance for my specific situation. I wiil be 74 in March, 2010.
Ken:
I don’t know what kind of coverage limits your existing retiree policy has. These differ a lot from company to company. But I will tell you the minumum out-of- country coverage you should have: $1 million per incident for out-of-country medical emergencies, guarantees of direct payment by the insurer to foreign hospitals and doctors (you don’t want to be stuck with a $150,000 bill to be put on your credit card), and air ambulance repatriation to a hospital at home if medically necessary. I don’t know if your existing plan has that extent of coverage. Many do not. You also need to know if the medical limits are per incident or per lifetime. As you may know, your OHIP covers only a minuscule share of out-of-country medical costs, so it is up to your supplemental insurance to do the rest. The complaint I hear often about company employer or benefits plans is that the administrators of those plans are not always knowledgeable about the out-of-country emergency medical benefits and it is often difficult for beneficiaries to get a look at clear cut contracts specifying not only the benefits but the exclusions–and that’s what you need to know. If you travel a lot, the best option for you may be an annual multi-trip plan which allows you to take as many trips of a given duration (eg 30 days, 60, 90, etc) over the course of a year and you apply and pay only once. This is also a lot cheaper than buying three or four single trip plans per year. The only reliable way to make sure you meet the minimal standards I have outlined without having a lot of nasty loopholes is to check out your existing plan with a broker or insurance company that specializes in health travel coverage and especially in who offers several products and specializes in “topping up” company plans such as yours.
About your U.S. Medicare: you are correct that as a Medicare beneficiary you are entitled to hospital benefits up to the extent of Medicare coverage.
But since you don’t have Medicare Part B, you will not be covered for doctors services, phamaceuticals, specialists. And because many doctors–especially specialists–do not accept Medicare rates–you will either have to pay for their services out-of-pocket (which can be staggering) or you’ll have to wait and get the best service you can by whoever is available and prepared to do the job. Also, if you need to be rehabilitated to a hospital at home, or a specialty centre somewhere else in the U.S. neither Medicare nor OHIP will pay for that.
As for baggage loss, trip interruption or cancellation benefits, your existing insurance may cover some of that–check it out. Certainly some Homeowner’s policies cover baggage loss. But all out-of-country travel insurers routinely include such coverages in their medical plans too. I agree with you that the major item is health coverage. That’s what can cripple you financially. You won’t lose sleep over a lost bag full of a lot of stuff you probably didn ‘t need.
Milan
Milan:
Thanks for your comments. My Sun Life medical insurance policy with travel benefits is not bad, but, because of my age (74) limits the length of each trip (30 days and the frequency of trips. The multi-trip insurance plans that you mention sound like a good idea, but I suspect there will be similar restrictions on frequency of travel etc., which negates its usefulness. A travel insurance broker’s service, as you suggest, will probably help.
Ken