Considering a Canada tour? Welcome! We are famed for maple syrup, snow-clad winters and universal healthcare. However, such healthcare grows quite exorbitant for non-residents lacking coverage under provincial/territorial insurance plans. Hence, procuring comprehensive Visitors to Canada (VTC) insurance before arriving becomes imperative.
This article examines what these travel policies include. We will detail everything you must know to choose suitable VTC insurance that aligns with your requirements.
Who Requires Visitors to Canada Insurance?
VTC insurance shields you from unexpected medical bills during your Canada visit. Unlike regular travel coverage, VTC insurance extends up to 365 days upon initial purchase and allows extensions too. So it perfectly suits long vacations. You would need such insurance if:
- Visiting Canada extensively
- Applying for parents’/grandparents’ super visas
- Sponsoring visiting family/friends wanting medical coverage
- Employed in Canada without provincial health insurance benefits
- Recently immigrated to Canada, awaiting eligibility for public health plans
- A Canadian resident is returning after extended international trips before provincial health insurance reinstatement.
Why Purchase Visitors to Canada Insurance?
Emergency hospitalization for foreign nationals proves extremely expensive in Canada. For instance, British Columbia levies a standard $848 ambulance fee plus $4,394 hourly charges for helicopter services! One key Toronto hospital bills non-residents $800 per emergency room visit, excluding added diagnostic charges like MRIs, CT scans, etc. Inpatient admissions across such healthcare facilities can easily cost between $3,000 and $5,700 daily. Visitors to Canada insurance assists in tackling such monumental medical bills.
What Does Visitors to Canada Insurance Include?
Visitors to Canada insurance encompasses medical travel coverage, potentially comprising:
- Physician fees for inpatient treatments
- Diagnostic tests and scans
- Prescription medications
- Semi-private hospital room charges, including intensive or coronary care
- Ambulance transportation
- Dental treatments
- Paramedical therapies
- Private nursing or home care services
- Rentals for hospital beds, wheelchairs, crutches, canes, prosthetics, etc
- Repatriation or evacuation back home
- Expenses to fly-in relatives or return unattended children/vehicles
Such policies also typically offer death benefit payouts to estates regarding certain funeral costs. Like other travel medical plans, additional benefits for blindness, loss of limbs, etc may be included. Some variants allow covering families under one plan alongside trip interruption perks.
Who Can Apply for Visitor To Canada Insurance?
If visiting Canada for tourism, employment, studies, or immigration, you can apply for Visitors to Canada Insurance. Canadians ineligible for provincial/territorial health benefits can also procure this cover.
Eligibility necessitates meeting certain age specifications, like 30 days to 85 years, besides other vital conditions. Those advised against travel by physicians or diagnosed with terminal illness/disorders requiring dialysis cannot qualify.
The policy documents explicitly detail the types of covered expenses, alongside applicable caps, protection, and limitations. Certain pre-existing diseases may exclude you from protection. High-risk adventures like skiing or rock climbing also mostly remain uncovered.
Insights on the Super Visa for Parents and Grandparents
The Super Visa represents a renewable multiple-entry visa enabling parents/grandparents to visit children/grandkids in Canada for up to 2 years per entry, totaling 10 years. However, procuring valid medical travel insurance remains imperative. For detailed application-related information, kindly refer to the Government of Canada’s website.
Can Visitors to Canada Insurance Cater to Super Visa Mandates?
Certainly, if purchased from a Canadian provider offering a minimum $100,000 coverage for at least 1 year from the arrival date. The super visa insurance purchase location could be anywhere globally, provided the issuing firm is Canada-based.
All Manulife CoverMe® Travel Insurance for Visitors to Canada plans meet super visa insurance requirements, provided you pick $100K as the minimum amount alongside 365 days of coverage from landing in Canada. Read this article to learn about the super visa application specifics and choosing optimal visitors to Canada insurance.
Influencing Factors for Visitors to Canada Insurance Premiums
Premium rates depend upon age, selected coverage value, and intended stay duration. Specific policies may not mandate medical questionnaires. However, if you want to cover pre-defined pre-existing conditions, disclosing details to insurers remains imperative, potentially impacting premiums.
Agreeing to higher deductibles can effectively reduce premium outlays. For instance, some providers offer around 15% savings on $500 deductible policies, 25% off on $2,500 deductibles, and even 35% rebates on $5,000 deductible variants. Actual deductible slabs and correlated discounts could, however, vary across insurance firms. Covering your spouse and dependent kids within a single plan can also lower premiums.
Do These Plans Cover Pre-existing Conditions?
Pre-existing medical problems denote conditions you suffered prior to policy commencement. Few plans cover “stable” pre-existing illnesses, while others exclude them entirely. If your chosen insurance omits pre-existing diseases, you cannot claim expenses related to emergencies stemming from them.
If your policy includes stable pre-existing diseases, the firm reimburses treatment charges related to them. Insurers define “stable” specifically in policy documents. Manulife classifies unstable pre-existing ailments through these parameters:
- Onset of new symptoms or worsening of existing symptoms
- Increased episode frequency or intensity
- Physician confirms the condition deterioration
- Diagnostic findings indicating potential worsening
- Doctor prescribed/recommended new or altered medications
- Recent hospitalization or referrals to specialists/specialty facilities
- Physician advised additional referrals/tests with results pending
Additionally, Manulife excludes heart diseases if nitroglycerine use was needed for angina pain relief in the 180 days preceding policy activation. Any pulmonary illness also gets rejected if prednisone treatment was taken in the 180 days before policy commencement.
Is Extending Visitors to Canada Insurance Possible?
Yes, policy documents outline applicable extension protocols and prerequisites. With Manulife CoverMe® Insurance for Visitors to Canada, you can request renewal before current policy lapses if no claims were made while maintaining existing health status. Otherwise, their Assistance Center appraises proposed extensions.
Certain events also automatically elongate your coverage as specified in your policies. These encompass return delays or you/your companion contracting illnesses/getting hospitalized, preventing travel before expiry.
Can Visitors to Canada Insurance Policies Allow Cancellations or Refunds?
Certainly, you can choose to cancel your subscription and may receive full premium refunds in particular situations.
For all its medical travel plans, Manulife issues complete reimbursement of paid premiums if requested prior to policy activation.
Maximizing Value from Travel Insurance
To optimize travel insurance rewards when visiting Canada, applying from your home country before departure is advisable. This averts waiting intervals, thereby furnishing coverage throughout your journey as well. Thoroughly peruse policy documents to comprehend the types of available protections alongside applicable constraints and limitations. Promptly notify your provider if any insured incident takes place during your trip. Taking these measures helps maximize the utility of your Visitors to Canada insurance.
