Recently the newspapers described a very unfortunate situation. A B.C. resident purchased travel medical insurance then travelled to Arizona where she had a hang-gliding accident. She incurred high medical expenses and the travel medical insurance refused to pay. The newspaper story characterized the insurance company as evil. But the reason the insurance didn’t pay? Her travel medical policy contained an “exclusion” for hazardous sports. Straight-forward and legit.
Almost every travel medical insurance policy has this exclusion. It makes sense. If somebody injures himself or herself in Canada, the medical system pays for their care. But if they injure themselves in the U.S., they will incur very high medical costs. Since the likelihood of an accident is greater for thrill-seekers than for the general travelling public, it is logical that the travel medical insurance company would isolate themselves from the thrill-seekers’ risks. This is no secret and is very clearly stated in the travel medical insurance policy that would have been given to this unfortunate traveler.
A similar potential problem exists if there is a pre-existing medical condition or an “unstable” medical condition. Similar to the concern about thrill-seekers incurring high medical expenses in the U.S., the travel medical insurance companies don’t want to pay medical bills for somebody who is medically unstable and falls ill in the U.S. A travel medical policy might say something like they “will not pay for medical expenses incurred outside Canada if the insured changed their medication or had medical treatment in the sixty days prior to travel”.
As well, please be aware that all travel medical policies have an out-of-Canada time limitation, usually “30 days” or “60 days” or “90 days”. So if you have something more than a few-day getaway planned, check your policy to make sure you don’t exceed the number of days limitation on the policy.
Many people have their Emergency Travel Medical coverage in their employee benefit plan. Since all group insurance policies are worded differently, it is very important you read your travel medical insurance policy wording before you leave Canada. There are many people who have successfully claimed on their travel insurance policies, but that doesn’t make headlines! Make sure you read your policy before travelling so your expectations are accurate and you don’t become the headline.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY REFERENCES TO POLICY WORDING ARE “IN MY WORDS”. THE ACTUAL TERMS AND PROVISIONS OF ANY COVERAGE WILL BE FOUND IN THE INSURANCE POLICY DOCUMENTS.