It’s rare that a vacation goes totally to plan. While it’s often those unexpected situations that make your trip more memorable, you don’t want an unforeseen disaster to ruin your trip. If something really unfortunate happens, travel insurance is a way to ensure that you’ll be able to get help. Depending on the policy you choose, your travel insurance plan can help you through a major theft, illness, or accident.
Do you really need travel insurance? Yes! But not all plans are created equal. Here are a few things you should keep in mind before you set out on your next vacation:
Determine if you already have some coverage.
If you receive group insurance benefits from your employer, there’s a chance that you may already have at least some travel insurance coverage. Review your policy to determine if personal travel and travel to your desired destination is included. Of course, don’t forget about your credit cards – depending on the type of card you have your credit card company may also offer various types of travel insurance. Confirm exactly what will be available to you while you’re traveling the world so that you’re only purchasing what you need.
Research your options.
Even if you find that you already have some coverage, it’s likely that you’ll need an additional travel insurance plan to ensure that an unexpected disaster doesn’t ruin your vacation. After you have a good understanding of what, if anything, you’re already protected against you’ll have a better idea of what you still need. Speaking broadly, the main types of travel insurance available to Canadians include:
- Trip Cancellation or Interruption Insurance: protects the insured should an illness, injury or other unforeseen event, such as the death of a family member, causes you to cancel, delay, or interrupt your travel plans.
- Travel Medical Insurance: coverage of expenses incurred because of a medical emergency anywhere outside of your home province, territory, or country. Canada Protection Plan also offers travel health protection that covers pre-existing medical conditions.
- Travel Accident Insurance: often travel involves many modes of transportation, this type of insurance protects your family in the event of a catastrophic accident.
- Baggage & Personal Effects Insurance: protection coverage for the loss, theft or damage to your baggage and other personal effects that you take with you on your vacation – be sure to look for a plan that also includes your travel documents.
- Visitor to Canada Insurance: this type of insurance is for Canadian visitors, temporary residents, returning Canadians and landed immigrants. It ensures that medical coverage is available in of illness or accident.
Your existing coverage and the type of vacation that you’re planning will dictate the type(s) of travel insurance you need.
Ask questions.
When you’re searching for travel insurance, ask your insurance agent about any restrictions in your coverage, the type of assistance provided if you encounter a serious problem and how reimbursement gets determined. If you’re traveling to a country where you’re going to be participating in any extreme sports – like hang gliding, skydiving or white water rafting – check to be sure that your travel insurance includes protection for those activities. The same goes for traveling to destinations that have travel advisory warnings from the Government of Canada.
Buy through an established insurance company.
While most travel companies have insurance, to be confident that your family will be protected for the duration of your trip it’s best to purchase a travel insurance plan from an established company. Often, larger insurance companies can offer you more competitive rates for your travel insurance than your travel agent. However, purchasing insurance from an established insurance company also provides continued protection should the travel company go bankrupt.
Canada Protection Plan offers a wide-range of travel insurance plans at competitive rates in order to best meet the needs of Canadians. In many cases, our premiums are among the lowest in the country. Call us today for your no-obligation travel insurance quote 1-877-851-9090.
