Emergency Travel Medical Benefits, What You Need to Know

“It is highly recommended that you purchase private insurance before departing Canada, to ensure adequate coverage.” - Government of Canada

What is emergency travel medical?

When people discuss “travel insurance” they are usually referring to a specific type of travel insurance known as Emergency Travel Medical. This is arguably the most important of the travel insurances.

Emergency travel medical insurance is a type of insurance that provides coverage for medical expenses that may be incurred while travelling. This can include coverage for medical emergencies, hospital stays, transportation to a medical facility, and return to Canada.

It is a good idea for a people to consider purchasing emergency travel medical insurance before they travel, especially if they are travelling to a foreign country, because medical care can be very expensive, and having this type of insurance can not only provide peace of mind but also help protect against financial loss in the event of a medical emergency.

Additionally, many travel insurance policies also include other benefits, such as coverage for lost or stolen luggage, trip cancellation, trip interruption, and more, which can also provide valuable protection for travellers.

Travel within Canada

As a Canadian citizen and a resident of a province or territory, you'll be covered by your provincial/territorial government health care plan.

In short; if you experience a medical emergency while travelling within Canada your home province will reimburse the province/territory you are visiting for medical expenses you may incur.

Most provinces/territories have reciprocal agreements with each other - which means that generally you will not face point-of-service charges if you present your health care card and number. There are a few exceptions to this (e.g. Quebec), where there is no reciprocal agreement in place, and you may therefore be required to first pay expenses “up front” and can later seek reimbursement by your home province/territory plan.

As a Canadian resident, your risk while travelling within Canada is certainly more limited, but you can potentially incur medical expenses for certain items - in particular ambulance rides (ground and/or air). These types of expenses can potentially run into the tens of thousands of dollars, for which you will be solely responsible.

For a more complete explanation we encourage you to read this article on the Government of Canada website regarding the Canada Health Act.

Having emergency travel medical coverage in place will cover you while travelling within Canada as well as outside of Canada.

Case Study:
Bill and Cindy Stewart travelled from Alberta to Manitoba to visit family for a week. While in Manitoba, Cindy experienced a medical emergency and required transportation to the nearest medical facility. In this case, the best and most appropriate facility was across the provincial border in neighbouring Ontario. A combination of ground and air ambulance was required to transport Cindy to the facility in Ontario for her treatment. The bill for these services was approximately $35,000, which was covered by the emergency travel medical insurance benefits included in Bill and Cindy's healthcare plan.

Travel outside of Canada

It's a common misconception that people are fully covered for medical expenses when they are travelling outside of Canada.

Generally, when travelling outside of Canada you are responsible for the difference between the amount that is charged, and the amount that which your provincial/territorial health care plan is willing to reimburse you for.

For example, Alberta residents can expect around $100 per day limit, and B.C. residents can expect around $75 per day limit for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred outside of Canada – which is well short of what your medical bills have the potential to be.

If you were to require medical care while you are outside of Canada, you will be responsible for the majority of these expenses. For this reason, best practice is to always have some emergency travel medical coverage in place prior to your departure.

Case Study:
John and Melinda Mitchell travelled from Alberta to Hawaii for a 2-week vacation. While in Hawaii, it was determined that Melinda needed immediate attention and treatment for cancer and received treatment at a local facility until they could return to Canada. The bill for these services while in Hawaii was approximately $250,000.

Stability period exclusions

One very important but often overlooked detail for travel coverage is known as the Stability Period Exclusion.

All emergency travel medical insurance, regardless of which insurance company will have a Stability Period Exclusion provision in the fine print. Understanding the Stability Period Exclusion is essential to understanding your travel coverage.

A Stability Period Exclusion means that pre-existing medical conditions that have not been ‘stable’ or controlled for a certain period of time before the start of the insurance coverage will generally not be covered.

A Pre-existing Condition is any health condition that you are being treated for or taking medication for.

What does ‘stable’ mean? In short; it means ‘no changes’.

Changes can include for example an adjustment in prescribed medication (i.e. change in dosage - either up or down, change of brand, type, or the addition/subtraction of a prescribed medication from your treatment protocol) within the specified period.

The duration of this exclusion will vary, most often due to your current age and/or your medical history.  Most common are periods of 3-months (90 days), 6-months (180 days), and 9-months (270 days).

If you aren't aware of the stability period exclusion, it can be easy to overlook, but it is vitally important that you understand it to avoid any potential issues with your coverage when you really need it.

Case Study:
Robert had been treated by his attending physician for atrial fibrillation (heart condition) for many years. Approximately 2-weeks before going on a trip to Palm Springs, California, Robert visited his physician and was advised to increase the dosage of his medication that was treating his atrial fibrillation. Because, this change to medication occured within the 'stability period exclusion' it meant that Robert would not be covered for medical emergencies related directly/indirectly to his atrial fibrillation when in Palm Springs.

If you're going on a trip and you've experienced a material change to an existing medical condition (or have developed a new medical condition) within the stability period of your travel insurance policy, we encourage you to speak with an advisor who can assist you with potential options for ensuring you are properly covered.

Where do I get emergency travel medical coverage?

There are four options:

1. Single Trip plans: You can purchase emergency travel medical coverage on a per-trip basis prior to your departure for your specific travel dates.
2. Multi-trip plans: You can purchase a multi-trip plan that will cover you for up to one year for multiple trips of a specified duration. e.g. multiple trips of up to 15 days, 30 days, 60 days.
3. Annual renewable plans: these are standalone policies specifically for emergency travel medical insurance only and do not expire, but rather will automatically renew each year usually through until the insured person is age 80, and offer coverage for a specified duration (e.g. 30 days).
4. Built-in to your healthcare plan: travel coverage can be a benefit included on your health care plan or in some cases is available as an optional add-on to your health care plan. Aeva helps you to see which plans include travel and which do not.

Emergency travel medical coverage built-in to healthcare plans

The most convenient of the available options for emergency travel medical is often to simply have coverage included on your healthcare plan – whether it be included by default, or as an optional add-on.

This type of travel coverage will continue up to a certain specified age (usually 70, 75, or 80), and will offer coverage for multiple trips per year, for a specified number of consecutive travel days.

For your trips that exceed the number of covered travel days included, you have the ability to top-up (i.e. extend) as needed to ensure that you are covered for the entirety of your trip.

Again, as with any of the other forms of emergency travel medical insurance this coverage will also have a stability period exclusion, and it will be important for you to be aware of the duration of the stability period.

What should I do?

Not everybody considers emergency travel coverage as being an essential item included in their health care plans - and that's OK. That's exactly why many plans in the marketplace make travel coverage optional.

It really comes down to how frequently a person intends to travel. If you are someone who intends to travel regularly, or don't want to worry when going for a simple trip to a neighbouring province, then it probably makes sense for you to have emergency travel medical coverage included in your healthcare plan as compared to someone else who does not intend to travel or leave their home province very often.

Summary

To recap;

• Always have some form of emergency travel medical coverage when travelling outside of Canada. Your risk exposure is greater when travelling outside of Canada, but having some coverage for travel within Canada is also encouraged.
• Emergency travel medical coverage helps to cover costs associated with a medical emergency while travelling.
• Be aware of the stability period exclusion that forms part of your policy. All emergency travel medical coverage will have such an exclusion - regardless of insurance company.
• There are several options available for getting emergency travel medical coverage prior to your trip. Having emergency travel medical coverage as part of your health care plan is a convenient way ensure you are covered.

Next steps

Aeva helps to make finding a plan that includes emergency travel medical benefits easy, as well as showing you the plans that offer travel coverage as an optional add-on.

You can get started with Aeva today by clicking here.

Want to chat? Professional advisors are available to help you.

We look forward to assisting you with your health insurance needs. Thanks for reading!