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When travelling to a foreign country, the difficulties and costs of unexpected emergencies can be emotionally and financially devastating. This is why purchasing travel insurance when travelling outside your province/territory of residence is key, even if you are only making a day trip.

For people living in Canada, there are numerous carefully designed travel insurance products that provide reasonable options with adequate coverage for most of the common issues that travellers may unexpectedly encounter.

When crossing the border outside of Canada, Canada’s universal healthcare system provides very limited or no coverage at all. This means that if you experience a medical emergency in the USA and you do not have insurance, you would be paying all expenses out-of-pocket, resulting in your shopping day costing you more than you budgeted.

Why do cross-border shoppers need travel insurance too?

When you cross the border for a day or even a few hours, it’s simple to forget about coverage. But you still need it! Even for non-life-threatening conditions, the expense of medical care in another country can be astronomically high. Don’t be surprised by unexpected medical expenses while cross-border shopping, purchase coverage each and every time you leave your home province because an emergency could arise at any time.

Benefits of an Annual Plan
An annual plan is a 12-month policy, in which the traveller can take multiple trips, up to the plan limit selected. Our Annual Emergency Medical Plan and Annual All Inclusive Plan both provide a 15 or 30 day option. If you are a frequent traveller or cross-border shopper, this plan is for you! Annual plans provide the flexibility to travel without purchasing a plan each time you travel, as well as provide cost savings. And, should you plan to travel more than the 15 or 30 days selected at the time of purchase, a top-up can be purchased for the additional travel days required.

How much would a medical emergency cost in the USA?

Claim #1

Insured took a day trip to a museum in Seattle with family. Outside on the steps of the museum, he was bumped and knocked over. He complained of hip pain and the family was afraid he might have broken his hip. An ambulance was called and he was taken to the nearest hospital. He was taken to the ER and x-rays were done. A large bruise had formed but he did not have any fractures. He was given a prescription for Naproxen for pain. The insured filled the prescription at the hospital paying in cash. His family paid the hospital fee which included the x-rays. The ambulance billed the insurance company directly.

Claim #2

Insured travelled to Buffalo on a one-day bus tour to see the Buffalo Bills play. The insured ate food from the concession stand. A few hours later, while still in Buffalo, the insured had abdominal pain and started vomiting. He went to the ER at the local hospital. He was seen by an ER doctor and it was advised he probably had food poisoning. He was discharged later the same evening.

Claim #3

An insured who resides in Windsor, ON, crossed the US/Canada border to go to the casino. On the way home, while in the parking lot, her car was bumped by another vehicle. The insured exchanged insurance information with the driver. The insured experienced neck and back pain. She attended the local hospital and was diagnosed with mild whiplash. She was advised to take Advil for pain medication and advised to follow up with her family physician if needed.

What does Travelance offer?

At Travelance, we have Travel Right Insurance Plans (TRIPs) that are an excellent choice for eligible travellers who plan to travel outside their resident province/territory or outside of Canada.

The All-Inclusive Plan provides bundled benefits of emergency medical and non-medical insurance coverages all-in-one! Available as a single trip policy, annual plan, or Canada-only plan. We also offer the stand-alone Emergency Medical Plan and a plan specifically for travellers under 30 years of age.

Looking for more information?

Contact a licensed insurance broker to further discuss the options that are available to you, to protect you while travelling outside your province/territory of residence.

Call – 1-855-566-8555
Chat – www.travelance.ca

This blog is intended as an overview. Please review the Travelance Travel Right Insurance Plans (TRIPs) policy wordings for complete details of the benefits, exclusions, conditions and limitations.