Study: Canadians still confused regarding travel health insurance

A new study by the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA) has found that Canadians still have a lot of misconceptions about their travel health insurance.

The report revealed that 13% of Canadians are not sure if they have travel insurance before going on a vacation. Of those who indicated they bought insurance, 17% said they do not know what their policy covers.

“A broken leg down in California could cost anywhere between US$35,000 to $50,000 in a hospital in California. Your provincial medical plan may contribute somewhere around 5% of that amount,” Brad Dance, president of THIA, told Global News in an interview.

In this situation, travel insurance would pick up the rest of the tab, Dance said.

Dance added that Canadians need to find out what kind of coverage they have. Some employers may cover travel insurance – and even some credit card companies – but travelers should make sure they know what they have before going on a trip.

He enumerated four golden rules every consumer should follow when purchasing travel insurance:

• Know your trip – Ensure that your policy covers the correct number of days you will be out on vacation.
• Multiple trips call for multi-trip insurance – If you will be travelling many times throughout the year, consider buying a multi-trip policy instead of a single trip policy.
• Know what activities you will be doing during the trip – Activities such as parasailing, paragliding, and scuba diving are often exclusions for travel insurance policies.
• Study – Consumers should understand their travel insurance policy, know their health, and must be aware of their rights and responsibilities within a policy.