Best Trip Cancellation Insurance
Travelling abroad is an extremely exciting time. Canada is a beautiful country, but getting out of it to see the world is one of the best opportunities out there. Not to put a damper on your travel plans, but do you have trip cancellation insurance yet? Nobody wants to think about their trip being cancelled or delayed before they’ve even left. It is, however, always a possibility.
Ensuring you have the best travel insurance possible means you won’t have to worry. Your credit card may have travel insurance, but does it include trip cancellation insurance? In this article, we’re going to discuss what trip cancellation insurance is and why it’s important, so let’s dive in!
Why You Need Trip Cancellation Insurance
When purchasing insurance for travellers, trip interruption tends to be included. This is because people are often worried about losing any pre-paid money if they need to cancel a trip. In many cases, things you have pre-paid for like hotels, tours, and flights may be non-refundable. With trip cancellation insurance, however, you will be protected if you have to cancel your trip due to covered reasons.
What the covered reasons for cancelling are is different based on your trip cancellation policy. Here are a few of the main reasons.
- You or your travelling companion become sick or die.
- Your home is damaged in a natural disaster.
- You or your travelling companion must go to court.
- There is a terrorist attack or travel ban in the place you are travelling to.
- You or your travelling companion get laid off or terminated from work.
- You or your travelling companion are in a car accident on your way to your destination.
- Your means of transportation is cancelled for at least 24 hours.
- You or your spouse becomes pregnant and cannot travel.
This is not an extensive list of covered reasons for trip cancellation. Be sure to check with your insurance company before you cancel your trip. If you don’t have trip cancellation insurance in these scenarios, you will likely lose anything you’ve pre-paid for on your trip already.
RATESDOTCA
There are many great travel insurance companies in Canada. Finding the perfect travelling insurance can be challenging. Conditions, coverage, and costs will differ greatly, so how can you make a decision? The easiest way is to use an insurance search engine such as RATESDOTCA.
RATESDOTCA will help you search through a variety of insurance providers all at once. On RATESDOTCA, you can find travel insurance and health insurance, as well as insurance for your car, home, business, pets, and life! Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using RATESDOTCA to find travel insurance.
Pros
- RATESDOTCA partners with over 50 reliable insurance providers. This will ensure there is a travel insurance plan for everyone.
- You can quickly and easily compare multiple travel insurance providers at once. This will save you time.
- The online search engine has been available since 1999. RATESDOTCA is Canada’s premier online comparison site.
- You can receive a travel insurance quote for free on RATESDOTCA.
- There is no obligation to sign up for a travel insurance policy once you see all your options on RATESDOTCA.
- If you need any other insurance policies, such as car insurance or home insurance, you can bundle them on RATESDOTCA. This is not only convenient, it will also help you get a lower premium.
- Travel insurance coverage is available for a trip to another province, the U.S., or anywhere internationally.
- The coverage you can find on RATESDOTCA is customizable. You can find policies with trip cancellation, trip interruption, emergency medical coverage, etc.
- There is also travel insurance for visitors to Canada, snowbirds, and international students. Also, for those looking to apply for a Super Visa.
Cons
- RATESDOTCA is only available to Canadians in Ontario, Alberta, or Quebec. Those in other provinces will need to use other online search engines.
- Customer service from RATESDOTCA is limited, as there is no live chat feature.
- RATESDOTCA is not an insurance provider themselves, simply a middleman between you and the provider.
Summary
Using RATESDOTCA is free, and there is no obligation to sign up with any travel insurance provider they suggest. So, there’s nothing to lose by using the search engine. It is simply one of the best ways to receive multiple personalized travel insurance quotes at one time. Otherwise, you would have to spend time contacting every insurance provider yourself for a quote.
You can find a wide range of travel insurance policies on RATESDOTCA for a wide range of reasons. Whether you are a Canadian travelling abroad. Or, you’re an international student, snowbird, or a Super Visa holder, you can find the perfect policy on RATESDOTCA.
What Does Travel Insurance Cover?
What your travel insurance covers will depend on your specific policy. That being said, here is what most travel insurance policies cover.
- Trip cancellation/ interruption insurance. If you need to cancel, delay, or cut your trip short for a covered reason, trip cancellation/ interruption insurance will reimburse you.
- Emergency medical insurance. If you get into an accident or require emergency medical help on your trip, this coverage will pay for the costs of any treatment or evacuation you need.
- Dental emergencies. This coverage is not as common as emergency medical insurance is. If your policy does have it, you will be covered for any emergency dental work needed. This does not cover general dental work, such as cleaning or whitening.
- Death overseas. If you pass away on your trip, most insurance companies will cover the costs of your family coming to retrieve your body.
- Lost, damaged or stolen property. If your bags or personal items or lost, damaged or stolen, your insurance company will reimburse you for most of the costs.
- Rental car coverage. Some policies include rental car insurance if you plan to rent a car on your trip. If not, your credit card may provide rental car coverage.
How Much Coverage Do I Need?
If you have looked through a variety of travel insurance plans already, you may have noticed that the amount of coverage you receive varies greatly. This is because every trip and every person requires different amounts of coverage. To determine how much coverage you need, you should look at the following five questions.
1. How much does your trip cost?
If you are going on a big trip and it costs $15,000, for example, you will need coverage that will cover that amount.
2. Where are you going?
Your destination does not change the price of the quote, but it may determine the amount of coverage you need. For example, if you are going to remote areas with limited hospitals, you will need higher emergency evacuation coverage.
3. Do you have any pre-existing medical conditions?
Unfortunately, travel insurance with pre-existing medical conditions will cost more. But, you need to ensure your conditions are known; otherwise, you won’t receive coverage for them if anything happens on your trip.
4. What are you bringing with you?
If you are bringing expensive items with you, such as jewellery or camera equipment, you want to ensure you have extensive coverage for your personal property.
5. What is your budget?
You will need to take into consideration what your budget is before you buy travel insurance. You don’t want to spend too much on it that you can’t afford to have the best trip possible. But, you also don’t want to spend too little and have to pay out of pocket for something or lose non-refundable deposits.
What is Trip Interruption Insurance?
Trip interruption insurance is a type of coverage that begins once your departure date comes, and you are on your trip. If you need to go home early, your insurance company will pay for the cost of your travel arrangements. Trip interruption insurance will also reimburse any unused travel expenses once you leave.
Some trip interruption insurance plans will cover you if you are able to return to your travel plans. In this case, your additional transportation cost to go back on your trip will be reimbursed.
Trip interruption insurance can only be claimed if you need to leave due to a covered reason. The covered reasons are similar to the ones we discussed above for trip cancellation. Every trip interruption insurance plan will provide different coverage for different reasons. So, make sure you know what your exact coverage is before your departure date.
Trip Cancellation Interruption Insurance vs. Travel Medical Insurance
As most insurance policies cover trip cancellation interruption and medical insurance, you may be wondering what the difference is. Trip interruption and cancellation insurance will only pay for your travel costs. This includes things like hotels, plane tickets, and tours. Essentially, any money you already put towards the trip can be reimbursed from trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
Travel medical insurance, however, is strictly for medical bills. Typically, travel medical insurance is only for emergencies. This could include your travel to the hospital or doctor’s, your medical bills, necessary prescriptions, and even surgery if need be. As it is meant for emergencies, travel medical insurance will not cover things like a general check-up.
Thus, trip cancellation/ interruption is for the cost of your travel, even things that may say they are non-refundable. Travel medical insurance is to cover the cost of any medical emergency you have. Ensuring your travel insurance plan has both will ensure you have the best trip possible.
Will My Provincial Insurance be Valid Overseas?
If you live in Canada, you likely know about the government health insurance plan. The plan the Canadian government provides is one of the best healthcare programs in the world. This is because the Canadian government provides residents with free health care coverage. What you can receive with that coverage depends on the province you live in. Generally, you get free doctor visits, hospital visits and stays.
So, you may be wondering if you can use said provincial insurance while you are overseas. Unfortunately, your provincial insurance will not be valid overseas. The Canadian provinces have an agreement between them where you can use your provincial insurance across Canada. That agreement does not extend to any outside countries. Thus, you should get travel insurance; otherwise, you will need to pay out of pocket for any medical expenses incurred abroad.
Will My Provincial Insurance Work in Another Province/Territory?
Every province in Canada has some form of health insurance from the government. Coverage in each province tends to be similar, but each province’s insurance comes with different rules and regulations. Every province, however, has a health care card. With this health care card, you can receive free health care in every province but Quebec.
The Canadian provinces have an agreement where they bill each other for the care they provide to Canadians outside of their province. Quebec, however, has not joined the agreement. So, if you need health care in Quebec, you will have to pay for services upfront. Thankfully, you can apply for reimbursement for those services once you arrive home.
If you forget your health care card at home when you are in a different province, no worries! You can still receive care; you will likely just have to pay upfront. You can then apply for reimbursement for the services once you are back in your home province.
The Bottom Line
Although you may not need to use it, travel insurance is invaluable. Purchasing it ahead of time and ensuring you are covered for all of your potential needs will give you peace of mind. Credit card companies often offer travel insurance, but only a limited amount of coverage. So, it is best to buy a separate plan.
When looking for travel insurance, there are three main types of coverage you should have. The first is emergency medical insurance to cover you for any medical emergencies abroad. The next is trip cancellation insurance, which will reimburse you for any trip costs if you are unable to go. The last is trip interruption insurance. It is similar to trip cancellation, but it covers the cost of you going home if you need to leave your trip early.
In all three scenarios, there are different conditions depending on your insurance provider. Similarly, you will receive different amounts of coverage for each. Ultimately, the amount and type of coverage you get are up to you. It is always better to be safe than sorry, though. You don’t want to be left in a foreign country paying for your medical bills out of pocket. Head over to RATESDOCA for a free travel insurance quote today!
