Best Travel Insurance for Visiting Canada
Did you know that in order to visit Canada, or work or study here, you should have travel insurance? Sometimes it’s even mandatory. Well, here is some advice on which companies to use.
When visiting Canada, as a tourist or temporary worker or student, it’s good to know you have a number of options for buying insurance to cover medical and other emergencies for the duration of your stay. It’s something many travellers don’t think too much about, but should an accident or other emergency occur, you will be glad you took the time and spent the extra money to insure you and your family and loved ones before taking the trip. Here are a few of the choices you have available, which we have grouped into possible categories for those who come to visit Canada.
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Oil Workers Hell-bent for Fort McMurray
Whatever oil patch you gained your hard-experience in, you now have a temporary job waiting for you in northern Alberta. It’s a short term contract but working in the oil industry can be dirty and dangerous. You need an insurance policy just in case and who better than the Alberta Motor Association? Their ‘Visitors to Canada’ insurance plan provides CAD$150,000 in emergency medical coverage and is available for visitors and immigrants to Canada, as well as those who hold a work or student visa. Please note that if you are 60 or older, you will be required to fill out a medical questionnaire.
Grizzly Bear Loves
You’ve always wanted to see the great brown bear in its natural habitat, and so you’ve come to the Northwest, say Yukon, to view this awesome creature. Did you know that the British Columbia Automobile Association, like its Alberta counterpart provides travel insurance? Including for foreign visitors? And it covers the Yukon as well, by the way. Its ‘Visitors to Canada’ travel insurance plan includes coverage of up to CAD$300,000 for hospital expenses, prescription drugs, ambulance services, and medical care. Just in case you get a little too close to a mother Grizzly and her cubs.
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Young Backpacker / Kayak People
While it does not cover every province or territory in Canada, if you are planning on hiking or paddling in B.C. , Alberta, Ontario, Quebec or the maritime provinces of PEI, New Brunswick, or Nova Scotia, then April Insurance may be your best choice. They cover sports activities, though not motorized or professional sports activities, and are among the most affordable of insurance plans in Canada. Their April International’s ‘Plans for Young Travellers’ offer $1 million in emergency medical benefits, say, in case you have to be air lifted by chopper from the Chilliwack River Valley after a kayaking accident. Nice to know, just in case.
Sneering Soccer Fans from China
Say you were a huge fan of the very successful Dalian Shide F.C. and have been embittered since their merging with Dalian Aerbin F.C. a couple of years ago. Not only are you frustrated, but you’re used to success and you have a sneering contempt for footy teams that cannot achieve results. Say you happen to travel to Toronto to visit a cousin of yours who’s spent most of his life in Toronto and has no choice but to be a Toronto F.C. fan. He invites you to a game where you end up vocally insulting the local team while wearing a Dalian Shide T-shirt. Chances are no one will even notice you amongst all the complaining in the stands. The MLS is a happy league and the insults are mostly just that, verbal games by fans who are not crazed or violent. But just in case you do meet an equally frustrated Toronto F.C. fan who, like your cousin, understands and speaks Cantonese or even Mandarin and decides to take offense, it’s best to have some insurance. And who better than Manulife!? You may already have an insurance policy with Manulife Sinochem back home in China, and here in Canada, Manulife is one of the big players, with a wide range of policies to choose from. However, without Canadian citizenship you will need to take out a travel policy with Manulife Sinochem rather than the parent company in Canada.
The Next Donovan Bailey
When the cocky 13 year old stepped off the plane from Jamaica, he was not intimidated by his new surroundings, and settled in quickly. By the time he decided to be a world record sprinter at a rather late age, he was already working as a stockbroker. Maybe you’re the next Donovan Bailey and are going places in a hurry, or maybe just up visiting friends or family from your home in Jamaica. You’re likely familiar with Scotiabank back home on the island, where they opened their first branch back in 1889. So Scotialife would be your logical choice for travel insurance. They provide single and multiple trip medical coverage for individuals, couples, and families who are visitors to Canada. You can get coverage up to CAD$150,000 but if you’re 35 and over, you must fill out a medical questionnaire. And you can apply online. Nice.
Cruise Ship Passengers
If you are planning a cruise ship vacation of any length, then you should know that most travel insurance policies do not cover emergency medical evacuation by helicopter from cruise ships. So if you are visiting Canada by cruise ship, and somewhere in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, you need emergency medical care, International SOS is a specialized insurance company that provides for precisely such a case. Note that this should be considered supplemental to normal travel insurance medical coverage. They have coverage of up to $ 1 million per incident and also provide coverage for partners or family members to join a hospitalized member. Please note that activities like martial arts, hand gliding, ballooning, parachuting, and scuba diving with a hard helmet and hose is not covered.
To help you make your decision, we have assembled comparable policies for three hypothetical people: a 19-year-old student, a 30-year-old skilled worker, and an elderly woman with a pre-existing medical condition, visiting her children in Canada. All three were assumed to be staying in Canada for 6 months with a benefit of $50,000. All amounts in Canadian dollars
19 Year Old Student
| Insurance | 21st Century | Manulife | TuGo | TIC | GMS | RSA | Travel Guard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deductible | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium |
| $10,000 | $280 | N/A | $309 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $5,000 | $303 | $306 | $357 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $3,500 | N/A | N/A | N/A | $318 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $2,500 | $350 | $353 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $1,000 | $373 | $376 | $428 | $363 | $355 | $420 | N/A |
| $500 | N/A | $400 | N/A | N/A | $408 | N/A | N/A |
| $250 | $420 | N/A | N/A | $408 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $150 | N/A | N/A | $476 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $100 | N/A | N/A | N/A | $431 | $461 | $525 | N/A |
| $75 | N/A | $470 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $50 | $467 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $447 |
| $0 | $490 | $494 | $547 | $454 | $514 | $551 | N/A |
All rates are for information purposes only and are subject to change. Please contact an insurance company about purchasing travel insurance.
30 Year Old Male
| Insurance | 21st Century | TuGo | Manulife | TIC | GMS | RSA | Travel Guard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deductible | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium |
| $10,000 | $302 | $309 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $5,000 | $327 | $357 | $321 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $3,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A | $339 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $2,500 | $377 | N/A | $371 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $1,000 | $403 | $428 | $395 | $388 | $355 | $463 | N/A |
| $500 | N/A | N/A | $420 | N/A | $408 | N/A | N/A |
| $250 | $453 | N/A | N/A | $436 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $150 | N/A | $476 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $100 | N/A | N/A | N/A | $461 | $461 | $578 | N/A |
| $75 | N/A | N/A | $494 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| $50 | $503 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $483 |
| $0 | $528 | $547 | $519 | $485 | $514 | $607 | N/A |
All rates are for information purposes only and are subject to change. Please contact an insurance company about purchasing travel insurance.
75 Year Old Woman with Medical Condition
| Insurance | GMS | Manulife | 21st Century | RSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deductible | Premium | Premium | premium | premium |
| $10,000 | N/A | N/A | $1,235 | N/A |
| $5,000 | N/A | $1,232 | $1,338 | N/A |
| $2,500 | N/A | $1,422 | $1,544 | N/A |
| $1,000 | $1,135 | $1,517 | $1,647 | $2,154 |
| $500 | $1,305 | $1,612 | N/A | N/A |
| $250 | N/A | N/A | $1,853 | N/A |
| $100 | $1,475 | N/A | N/A | $2,692 |
| $75 | N/A | $1,896 | N/A | N/A |
| $50 | N/A | N/A | $2,059 | N/A |
| $0 | $1,645 | $1,991 | $2,162 | $2,827 |
All rates are for information purposes only and are subject to change. Please contact an insurance company about purchasing travel insurance.
