Emergency Medical Insurance should provide coverage for travel medical emergency expenses incurred while travelling outside of your home province. Keep in mind that coverage differs from provider to provider, so be sure to review your credit card travel insurance coverage or employee benefits plan to see if/how you’ll need to top-up your travel coverage.
Now, let’s dig into how and why travel medical insurance benefits you while you’re travelling abroad.
12 ways emergency medical travel insurance should cover Canadians
We’ve gone through our Traveller policy and have pulled out the top 12 benefits we know are needed to take care of you and your loved ones in a medical emergency. The last thing you should have to deal with at a time like that, is having to contact your provider to see how you’ll be taken care of.
1. COVID-19 coverage is top-of-mind for every single traveller – does your provider offer it?
While the Level 3 travel advisory due to COVID-19 has been lifted, new developments like the omicron variant unfortunately continue to make COVID-19 a travel concern. Your Emergency Medical Insurance should offer a coverage benefit, like TuGo does.
2. Emergency hospitalization and care is a must under any emergency medical travel insurance plan and should be available to you, no matter your age.
There is nothing more important than ensuring you have the best care and treatment possible while you’re away from home! And while COVID-19 might be all we’re thinking about as we prepare for travel, we can’t forget that other medical emergencies can arise. Take 3-year-old Annebelle*’s situation…
The Truman family was away for a winter family vacation in Maui. Although she had a history of gastroesophageal issues, Annebelle had been stable for many months before leaving. But soon after arriving in Maui, Annabelle became lethargic and eventually started vomiting. She was admitted to the local hospital, where she was diagnosed with dehydration and low blood sugar. Doctors gave her IV rehydration and kept her under observation for 2 days. Thankfully, Anabelle recovered well, and the family resumed their vacation. Without their family travel insurance, the Trumans would have been out-of-pocket nearly $25,000—due to hospital and doctors’ fees, and the fact that their provincial health care plan covered less than $830!
3. Dental travel emergencies might not be something you’ve contemplated coverage for, but you’ll be glad to have this benefit if you do need it.
We all know how quickly dental costs can add-up at home—imagine how they can abroad! From a painful toothache to the unfortunate experience of an accident that involves a blow to the face, you’ll want to know what your provider covers and how much your limits are for these benefits.
4. Make sure you understand how your coverage applies for pre-existing medical conditions.
From understanding, to answering a medical questionnaire, researching travel insurance for seniors can be overwhelming. Unstable pre-existing medical conditions are a major reason for claim denials, so make sure to read and understand your travel insurance policy before travelling. If you have any questions or concerns, be sure to reach out to your insurance professional and/or travel insurance provider as soon as possible, to make sure you’ve got the right coverage for your travel needs.
5. Emotional and mental health conditions should be covered by travel insurance.
A good emergency medical policy should take into consideration that sometimes, medical emergencies aren’t just physical ones, but emotional ones too. While some travel insurance providers may shy away from this type of coverage, TuGo will cover you if you’re hospitalized for an emotional or mental disorder while away. We’ll cover the hospitalization of “an emotional condition, state of anxiety, situational crisis, anxiety or panic attack, or any other illness or disorder impacting mood, thinking and/or behaviour”, unless the condition is an unstable pre-existing medical condition or if drug, alcohol or medication induced.
6. If you’re pregnant, your travel insurance should cover you in case of illness, injury or premature birth of a child.
Now that travel is picking up again, some expectant couples may be considering babymoons. If you’re one of them, be sure to review how your coverage cares for you in the event of a premature birth, or unforeseen illness or injury, while on vacation. Read TuGo’s “Babymoon Travel Insurance: Pregnancy & Premature Birth” blog post for a detailed breakdown on the 5 things you’ll need to know.
7. Ensure you’ve got the right coverage for adventurous and/or extreme sports or activities.
If you’re the type of traveller who craves the excitement of skiing, parasailing or snorkeling, your travel insurance needs to cover you for what you enjoy doing on vacation! And if you’re more daring than that? You should be able to add on supplemental coverage, allowing you to travel more to the extreme. If that sounds like you, read more about TuGo’s Optional Sports & Activities Coverage.
Not sure if this type of coverage is really necessary? Check out Trevor*’s real-life experience to better understand its value:
While climbing down the side of a canyon with his brother, 19-year-old Trevor slipped and fell 50 feet, fracturing his back and foot. His brother called an ambulance and the two were taken to the nearest hospital. Doctors deemed that immediate surgery was required for Trevor’s spinal injury. After 7 days, Trevor was discharged but was instructed to allow enough time to recover a little, before returning to Canada. To accommodate this, he booked 6 more days at a motel. Trevor would’ve been in serious debt if it weren’t for the Sports & Activities Coverage being added on to his Emergency Medical plan. TuGo covered over $202,000, while Trevor’s provincial healthcare covered less than 1% of the total bill.
8. Ambulance, emergency air transportation and remote evacuation are benefits every emergency medical insurance policy should cover.
While the cost of an ambulance ride may seem trivial, what if you have a medical emergency that requires you to be air evacuated back to Canada? Not only are air, sea or ground ambulance services necessities, but what if you’re hiking abroad, get stranded in a remote area and need to be rescued? Ensure your coverage has what you need, by reading “Air, sea, ground emergencies covered by travel insurance”. You can also read about fellow travellers, Mark and Lori, and their experience in “How Travel Insurance Helped These Travellers After a Motorcycle Accident”.
9. Ensure return of travel companion, children, pets, and vehicle are standard benefits of your travel medical policy.
Experiencing a medical emergency is traumatic to the one experiencing it, but also for the people surrounding them. That’s why a good emergency medical plan will ensure your travel companion and/or dependent children are provided the means to return home, if you’ve been hospitalized then air evacuated back to Canada. Plus, if applicable, the return of your pet and vehicle should also be travel insurance benefits available to you—if you’re air evacuated back to Canada.
10. “Return of deceased” should be covered by travel insurance simply because you just never know when it’ll be needed.
No one wants to think about their own death, or that of a loved one’s. But we never know when our time is up… so, having travel insurance coverage can mean one less thing your family needs to agonize over in this type of unfortunate situation. For more on how travel insurance responds to death while you’re on vacation and travelling with cremated remains, read “How to Book Bereavement Fares and Travel with Cremated Remains”.
11. Vision care and hearing aid benefits are handy in the event of breakage, loss or theft.
While the breakage, loss or theft of prescription glasses, contact lenses and/or hearing aids isn’t a medical emergency, it can be a damper on the trip if you can’t experience the sights and sounds of your destination! That’s why it’s helpful to see if your emergency medical insurance has some coverage to replace these personal items, if the event arises.
12. Added benefits for air travel delays might not be essential, but are good to have when you need them!
What’s more annoying than a flight delay, when all you want to do is get to your destination? Check to see if and how your travel insurance takes care of you, during these frustrating times. For example, TuGo has benefits for a delay of 2+ hours with our MyFlytTM service; and if you’re delayed for 4+ hours, we’ll reimburse for necessary and reasonable hotel, motel, restaurant or transportation expenses. We’ll also reimburse for essential clothing and personal care item purchases, if your baggage is lost or delayed by the airline for 6+ hours.
Another important factor in choosing travel insurance coverage is that it needs to be comprehensive, but also customizable! There should be plan options to meet your needs from a Single Trip to Multi Trip Annual plan, to a Family & Friends plan, to non-medical options including Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption and Baggage. You should have what you need available, to make your travels the safest they can be.
Does your credit card insurance, employee group plan or travel insurance provider cover everything listed above? If not, TuGo has you covered. Contact your local insurance broker or our Customer Service team at 1-855-929-8846 for assistance.
Happy travels ahead,
Melissa
*Name changed to protect traveller’s privacy
