Travel Insurance Services
Travel brings new experiences, whether you travel for work, study, or leisure. However, unexpected problems can disrupt your plans. You might face a medical emergency, a cancelled flight, or lost baggage. Medical care abroad can also cost far more than expected. Travel insurance helps protect your health and your travel expenses. We offer plans for single trips, students, and frequent travellers.
Travel insurance is the simple, affordable solution that protects both your travel investment and your health when you are away from home. We offer a comprehensive range of travel insurance plans for every type of traveller, from the casual vacationer taking a single international trip to the international student studying abroad to the frequent business traveller who needs year-round coverage. Whatever your travel plans, we will find the right policy to protect you.
Why Travel Insurance Is Essential — Not Optional
Many travellers skip insurance to save money. They may later face large bills after an emergency. OHIP provides limited coverage outside Canada. Other provincial health plans may also cover only a small part of overseas medical costs. A hospital stay or emergency evacuation can cost thousands of dollars. Travel insurance helps reduce your financial risk when unexpected events occur.
A single night in a U.S. hospital can cost $10,000 or more. Emergency air evacuation back to Canada can run $50,000 to $200,000. A medical emergency in the United States, Europe, or Asia without travel insurance does not just ruin your trip — it can saddle you with debt that takes years to repay. Travel insurance costs a fraction of those potential expenses and ensures that a health emergency abroad never becomes a financial catastrophe at home.
Beyond medical emergencies, travel insurance also protects the money you have already invested in your trip. Non-refundable flights, hotel deposits, tour packages, and cruise bookings represent a significant financial commitment — one that can be lost entirely if an unexpected illness, family emergency, or natural disaster forces you to cancel or cut your trip short.
Our Travel Insurance Plans
We offer travel insurance solutions for every type of traveller and every type of trip. Whether you are taking a short vacation, studying overseas, relocating to another country, or travelling internationally multiple times a year, we have a plan designed specifically for your needs.
Single Trip Travel Insurance
The elimination period is the waiting period between the onset of your disability and the date your monthly benefits begin. Common elimination periods are 30, 60, 90, or 120 days. A longer elimination period results in a lower premium because you assume more of the initial financial risk yourself. If you have adequate savings or sick leave to cover a short period, a longer elimination period can be a cost-effective choice.
Trip cancellation and interruption: Reimbursement of non-refundable trip costs if you are forced to cancel before departure or cut your trip short due to a covered reason such as illness, injury, a family emergency, or a natural disaster.
Emergency medical and hospitalization: Coverage for emergency medical treatment, hospitalization, surgery, and physician fees incurred outside Canada. This is the most critical component of any travel insurance plan.
Emergency medical evacuation: Transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility or back to Canada, including air ambulance when medically necessary. Without insurance, this can be one of the most expensive medical costs a traveller faces.
Trip delay coverage: Reimbursement for additional accommodation and meal expenses if your trip is delayed due to a covered event such as a missed connection, weather disruption, or mechanical failure.
Baggage loss and delay: Compensation for lost, stolen, or damaged baggage, and reimbursement for essential items purchased if your bags are delayed upon arrival.
International Student Health Insurance
International students face different health insurance rules in each country. Your provincial health plan may not cover you while you study abroad. You may also lack access to public health care in your destination country. Even one medical visit can create a large bill. Our plans help students manage eligible medical expenses while studying overseas.
We also help international students studying in Canada. Some students need private insurance before provincial coverage begins. Our advisors compare plans based on your eligibility, budget, and needs. This helps you arrange suitable coverage before your studies begin.
These plans are also available for students from other countries who are studying in Canada, including those in their first three months before OHIP eligibility begins. We help international students get confirmed coverage quickly so they can focus on their studies rather than worrying about what would happen in a medical emergency.
Out-of-Country Medical Insurance
For Canadians travelling internationally for any reason, whether for tourism, work, family visits, or extended stays, out-of-country medical insurance provides the emergency health coverage your provincial plan cannot. This type of plan is available with customizable deductible options to balance your premium cost against your out-of-pocket risk, and can be extended or adjusted to fit the length and nature of your trip.
Optional add-ons allow you to tailor your policy to your specific travel profile including adventure activity coverage for those engaging in skiing, scuba diving, or other higher-risk activities, and coverage for pre-existing conditions when you meet the eligibility criteria. We review your individual health history and travel plans to ensure your policy covers the risks that matter most to you.
Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance
If you travel internationally several times a year, separate policies can become costly and time-consuming. An annual multi-trip plan can cover multiple trips during one year. Each trip must stay within the policy’s maximum duration. Plans may include emergency medical care, trip interruption, delays, and baggage protection. Compare the limits and exclusions before choosing a plan.
Annual plans are available at multiple coverage levels to suit different travel patterns and budgets, and typically include emergency medical, trip interruption, trip delay, and baggage protection. For business travellers, executives, and anyone who travels more than two or three times per year, an annual plan almost always delivers better value than single-trip policies, with the added convenience of year-round coverage that is always ready when you are.
What to Look for in a Travel Insurance Policy
Travel insurance policies differ in their benefits and exclusions. Review these features before choosing a plan. Consider your destination, health needs, and travel activities.
Medical coverage limit: Ensure the emergency medical coverage maximum is sufficient for your destination. Travel to the United States requires significantly higher coverage limits than travel to countries with lower health care costs. We recommend a minimum of $1 million in emergency medical coverage for U.S. travel.
Pre-existing condition coverage: If you have a pre-existing medical condition, verify whether the policy covers it and what stability requirements apply. Many policies require that your condition be stable, meaning no change in medication, treatment, or symptoms for a specified period before departure.
24-hour emergency assistance: Your insurer should provide around-the-clock multilingual emergency assistance so you can reach a live person at any hour if a medical or travel emergency occurs.
Direct billing to hospitals: The best travel insurance plans offer direct billing arrangements with hospitals and medical providers abroad, meaning you do not have to pay out of pocket and seek reimbursement later a critical feature when facing a large unexpected medical bill.
Cancellation covered reasons: Review the list of covered reasons for trip cancellation carefully. Standard policies cover specific named events; “cancel for any reason” upgrades are available on some plans for maximum flexibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Credit card travel insurance can be a useful supplement but is rarely sufficient on its own. Coverage limits are typically much lower than a standalone travel insurance policy, the conditions for eligibility are often strict (for example, you may need to have charged the full trip cost to the card), and many credit card plans exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions entirely. We always recommend reviewing your credit card coverage carefully and filling any gaps with a dedicated travel insurance policy.
The best time to purchase travel insurance is immediately after you make your first non-refundable trip payment. Buying early ensures that if something unexpected happens before your trip such as a sudden illness or a family emergency your trip cancellation coverage is already in force. Waiting until just before departure means any pre-departure events that force a cancellation will not be covered.
Standard travel insurance policies may exclude or limit coverage for higher-risk activities such as skiing, snowboarding, scuba diving, rock climbing, bungee jumping, and similar pursuits. If your trip includes adventure activities, we will identify a policy that explicitly covers your planned activities or add an adventure sports rider to your existing plan. Never assume an activity is covered without confirming it in writing.
Yes, in many cases. Coverage for pre-existing conditions is available from a number of our insurance partners, subject to a stability period and a health questionnaire. The specific terms vary by insurer, condition, and the traveller's age. We will review your health history and identify a plan that provides the broadest possible pre-existing condition coverage for your situation — so you are not left exposed simply because you have a managed health condition.