Travel Insurance File
Your Marketplace for Travel Insurance

By Milan Korcok, Travelinsurancefile Editor

Snowbirds heading for Maricopa County in Arizona, or Southeast Florida, can cut up to 25 percent off their travel insurance costs by using pre-designated hospitals and clinics for their medical emergencies. This is how the plan works.

A new travel insurance plan that offers up to 25 percent premium reductions for snowbirds travelling to southeast Florida and Maricopa County in Arizona has been released to the Canadian market for the 2010/2011 winter season. If you travel to these areas, normally stay relatively close to your winter home, and are prepared to use only specified hospitals and clinics for medical emergencies, you can save money on your travel insurance. But there are requirements, so read your policy well.

The ViaCare plan, administered by etfs, one of Canada’s largest travel insurers, and underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance, has targeted this program for visitors to Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties in Florida, and the many snowbirds who winter in the Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Apache Junction area in Arizona. To see details of this plan, click on “Snowbirds Click Here for New and Updated Travel Insurance Products,” then click on the etfs logo and you will see ViaCare.

I caution that the hospital sites are limited, and if you go to a hospital outside of the designated network, the insurer will only pay 75 percent of the billed charges, leaving you to pay the remainder. That could be thousands of dollars as hospitals in the U.S. are the most expensive in the world. However, in case of a life-threatening 911 emergency, where it’s not practical to get to a network hospital, you may be covered if the emergency occurred while you were in Maricopa County in Arizona, or in any of the three Southeast Florida counties covered by the etfs network (Palm Beach, Broward, Dade). But you must have someone call the insurer immediately to get that dispensation.  It’s not automatic. And the insurer’s case manager must be satisfied that your emergency warrants use of an out-of-network facility. Best if you can call beforehand.

To give you more flexibility, etfs allows you four days to travel to your winter destination and four days to return home free of any restrictions on hospital use. In addition, if you plan on travelling out of your destination county for a few days, to take a cruise or other side trip, you can get supplemental coverage for that period from your insurer—but you must call and make that arrangement ahead of time.

In the U.S., hospitals routinely negotiate reduced fees with insurers who can provide them with a steady stream of patients. In Florida and parts of Arizona, the large numbers of long-term Canadian visitors provide a client base the hospitals would like to attract. In return they are prepared to offer substantial fee reductions and that is reflected in your premium discounts.

Each plan offered by ViaCare lists all the outpatient clinics and hospitals in its network. As yet there are not many, although the number may grow. But the facilities and their locations are listed on the plan brochure. I suggest you do a little research and look the hospitals up on the internet to see what they specialize in and if they meet your requirements.

Understand that this is for emergency care only, and the plan it is subject to certain pre-existing conditions requirements and limitations and exclusions, as are all Canadian travel insurance plans. So ask questions, read your policy and make sure you know what you are buying.

To get more information or to apply for coverage, Travelinsurancefile subscribers can call

1 877-455-3541. We are working now to get a direct link to allow you to buy this product online. We’ll let you know when that happens.