Airports during the holidays can see an uptick of traffic passing through their terminals. In 2018, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority estimated that 2.8 million passengers would come through Toronto Pearson International Airport over the course of the holiday season.
Clearly, the holidays are a time of travel for many Canadians, though that doesn’t mean all of these soon-to-be passengers are purchasing travel insurance, even though weather, extreme winter sports, and many other circumstances can disrupt their travel plans.
“When people are taking a vacation trip to a resort, because they’re travelling typically with their children or their family, there’s heightened awareness around protecting the family, both from a medical standpoint as well as cancellation disruption of the trip,” said Stacey Hughes-Brooks, head of travel for RBC Insurance. “If I’m just traveling back home or even to another province to see my relatives, I might not be as aware that there are some risks in terms of interprovincial travel and what may or may not be covered.”
Incoming government changes in Ontario to travel insurance should be especially notable for residents of the province.
“It essentially means that the government is no longer providing any out-of-country coverage for Canadians, so that means if you’re from Ontario, you’re fully at risk if you don’t have supplementary travel insurance or some form of travel insurance, such as a credit card or employee plan,” explained Hughes-Brooks, though she added that this isn’t necessarily bad news. “Although the government is no longer providing the coverage, I think it does create awareness for travel insurance, which I actually think is a really good thing because there’s still, from my perspective, too many Canadians that do take a risk when they leave the country.”
The risks of not getting travel insurance include paying out of pocket for medical expenses if an insured lands in a hospital. Even for a minor incident, an individual could be looking at a few hundred dollars, versus something much more critical that perhaps involves an air ambulance and medical evacuation, and leads to multiple thousands of dollars and even upwards of a million dollars in medical bills.
“Once you leave Canada, there’s just greater risk and [for example, with] a cardiac situation in the US, you could be into hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the severity,” explained the RBC Insurance expert. “As Canadians, we’re largely insulated from those costs because we typically don’t see them. When we go to see a doctor, those bills are all paid by the government in the background and we don’t actually walk away with a bill in our hands or have to pay for it up front so it’s not necessarily top of mind. The awareness of what medical care actually costs is not something that is as transparent to Canadians, as perhaps it should be.”
Hughes-Brooks’ advice is to get insureds doing their research – don’t let them wait until they’re on their trip and have cause to seek medical treatment or need additional help to figure out what coverage they actually have.
“I always ask people to invest in yourself – take a little bit of time to research what coverage, if any, that you have currently, whether it be through an employer plan, whether it’s on a credit card, or another source of insurance, and then figure out what you need, what’s really important, and what’s key to be covered,” she said. “Some people just don’t have the time or just don’t want to put the effort in, and I always suggest to buy supplemental insurance. It can end up being the best investment you make, versus a potentially financially devastating outcome if you find that there’s a gap and you need to seek treatment and don’t have the coverage. It’s just such an unfortunate situation when that happens, and it’s so, so easily preventable.”
Brokers can play an important role in providing the education that clients so desperately need when it comes to travel insurance.
“It’s always a fun conversation to have with people about their travel plans. Canadians like to talk about travel, so I think it’s a way of staying close to clients,” said Hughes-Brooks. “Ask them what the year ahead looks like as far as travel plans. Something that’s interesting that can be promoted is an annual plan, so if clients are travelling two or more times a year, an annual plan is a super convenient and cost-effective way to have coverage in place for the year – taking multiple trips and not having to think about it each and every time you’re getting on a plane or crossing the border.”
