Canadian Travel Insurance
Quote and Compare the Best Priced Travel Insurance Plans in Canada
There are various terms and phrases used to describe travel insurance in Canada. There's the must-have:
- Travel Medical Insurance, otherwise known as travel insurance or emergency medical travel insurance;
- and there's the nice-to-have: Trip Cancellation/Interruption, or Trip Interruption only as a stand alone plan.
- There's package plans called all-inclusive coverage that combine emergency medical with trip cancellation/interruption benefits as well as a bit of baggage coverage;
- and now with COVID-19, there's Covid Only travel insurance and plans that come with quarantine benefits (and some plans that don't!)
- We'll go through some of them here and link you to our other pages that contain more precise information:
If you need more questions answered, browse through our Canadian traveler blog page before your next holiday!
Travel Medical Insurance
Referred to as either medical emergency travel insurance, emergency medical insurance, travel medical insurance, or travel health insurance. Medical insurance is a necessary form of travel insurance. It offers protection against certain financial losses arising from sudden, unexpected and unforeseeable circumstances.
Some people might refer to this as trip insurance, but that would be oversimplifying a little. You may find, for example, that your credit card provides you with accidental travel insurance. Still, when you look closely, you may find that it only covers medical emergencies arising from accidental injury, not from an unexpected illness.
See travel medical insurance for information on what is and isn't covered and your single-trip and multi-trip insurance options. Check out our Q&A pages. Get informed, get a quote, and get insured!
Trip Cancellation Insurance
Whether you are travelling away from Canada or out-of-province in Canada, trip cancellation insurance protects you against the risk of having to cancel your trip before it even gets started. Many events can sidetrack your travel plans.
Sometimes, with cancellation penalties or non-refundable tickets, as well as reservations and tour expenses that might not be fully refundable, the costs of having to cancel a trip can add up to more than pocket change. For a fraction of those costs, you can rest assured that if you do need to cancel because of an insured risk, the only money that will be out-of-pocket is the cost of your insurance.
See trip cancellation insurance for information on which types of risks are covered and how to save.
Trip Interruption Insurance
Trip interruption insurance helps prevent you from paying out-of-pocket costs that can occur if your trip is interrupted. This insurance would help insure things like a family emergency, a missed connection or flight due to any number of events such as weather, roadblocks, immigration/visa issues, accidents or sicknesses.
See trip interruption insurance for Canadians to review an example list of covered risks.
Travel Insurance Packages
Travel insurance companies often package the three types of coverage mentioned above with baggage insurance as well as accidental flight insurance and offer everything at a price that's usually much lower than the sum of the parts. Baggage insurance covers certain types of baggage loss damage and delay, while accidental flight insurance would pay a lump sum benefit if an insured person is partially dismembered or dies in a flight accident.
These package plans are usually referred to as all-inclusive plans and can be an excellent way to save insurance costs.
See travel insurance packages for more details.
Out-of-Province Insurance
When Canadians travel outside their province or territory, they often believe that any medical emergencies will be covered the same way as in their home province. While that's perhaps 90-95% true, coverage differences exist between provinces (how much each province charges, and how much your home province covers), and not all costs will be coordinated between provinces upfront.
You might be put in a position where you have to file a claim in your home province to recoup most costs (especially for Quebec).
But out-of-province travel medical insurance covers non-medical costs related to emergencies that your provincial health provider doesn't. The insurance would include things like sending a loved one to your bedside, returning your vehicle home and more. Some companies offer this coverage at roughly half the price as out-of-country travel medical insurance.
See out-of-province insurance for the list of unique benefits, and get covered for inter-provincial trips as well.
When Canadians travel outside their province or territory, they often believe that any medical emergencies will be covered the same way as in their home province. While that's perhaps 90-95% true, coverage differences exist between provinces (how much each province charges, and how much your home province covers), and not all costs will be coordinated between provinces upfront.