Here’s Why You Need Travel Insurance the Next Time You Visit Canada
Across the country, all year round, Canadians will be hosting visitors from near and far, with hopes of a gratifying and memorable experience. A vacation is truly an investment and life can be uncertain. While you can plan your flights, accommodations, and itinerary to a tee, the unexpected can still present itself.
If you are welcoming visitors from abroad this summer, encourage them to purchase visitors to Canada health insurance before their arrival. Travel insurance can save you from unexpected expenses due to illnesses or accidents while providing you peace of mind when travelling. Without travel insurance, you could be on the hook for medical costs and more.
Health Care for Visitors to Canada
Canadian citizens are fortunate to have a provincial health care system that covers them when an unexpected accident, sickness or injury occurs. However, if you’re visiting the country, Canada’s health care system does not provide free medical coverage for non-citizens.
Are your parents or grandparents planning to apply for the super visa for an extended stay? Then super visa insurance policies are designed for them! A super visa policy is a type of visitor to Canada policy and provides the coverage required under super visa rules. Super visa applicants are required to have travel health insurance from a Canadian insurance company that is valid for at least one year, and a minimum sum insured of $100,000. Super visa policies are required to provide coverage for health care, hospitalization, and repatriation and be valid for every entry into Canada.
Emergency Room Visits and Medical Expenses Can be Costly
When you put time and effort into planning a trip or vacation, you don’t expect these plans to be disrupted – but when they are, it can be expensive.
The following lists real visitors to Canada insurance claims that were submitted to one of the travel insurers featured through Kanetix.ca, and paid in full last year. These claims show how expensive health care in Canada can be if you’re a tourist without coverage, even for something as simple as a rash or insect bite:
| Reason for Claim | Claim* |
| Rash (caused by contact with an allergen, like poison ivy) | $1,386 |
| Urinary tract infection | $1,615 |
| Kidney infection | $1,905 |
| Hives | $2,032 |
| Insect bite that led to infection | $2,044 |
| Dislocated shoulder | $2,055 |
| Broken arm, just above the wrist (usually the result of a fall) | $2,190 |
| Shortness of breath | $2,377 |
| Heart palpitations | $2,723 |
| Vertigo | $2,786 |
| Fractured forearm and dislocated wrist | $3,047 |
| Concussion | $3,092 |
| Mini-stroke (TIA) | $4,245 |
| Kidney disease | $5,348 |
| Pulmonary embolism | $7,437 |
| Acute appendicitis | $8,672 |
| Fractured clavicle | $14,280 |
| Acute pancreatitis (usually caused by gallstones) | $14,288 |
| Ovarian cyst | $25,461 |
| Heart failure | $68,549 |
Stay Ready So You Don’t Need to Get Ready
For many of the activities scheduled on your trip itinerary, a Visitors to Canada travel insurance policy will ensure your family and friends are protected in the event things don’t go as planned.
Typically, a Visitors to Canada travel insurance policy provides coverage for:
- Ambulance
- Emergency hospitalization, medical services and treatment
- Diagnostic services (such as tests and x-rays)
- Prescription drug expenses (as a result of a medical emergency)
- Emergency dental work caused by an accidental injury to the face
So if you or a loved one is planning to visit Canada soon, don’t risk leaving without a visitors to Canada travel insurance policy.
That way you will have peace of mind while you travel, so you can remember Canada for all the beauty it has to offer.