Wondering how to get expat travel insurance?

You’re not alone! One of the most common questions we get is how to find travel insurance for expats, digital nomads and other long-term travelers.

Expats and digital nomads struggle with travel insurance, because many travel insurance policies:

• have six months or a year maximum coverage
• can only be bought when you’re physically in your home country
• only cover people from the US or Canada

In this article we look at SafetyWing insurance. SafetyWing specializes in expat travel medical insurance, and is working to solve many of the problems nomads like us have finding expat travel insurance.

Visit SafetyWing now to learn more.

Nomad Insurance covers COVID-19. Coverage works the same as any other illness as long as it was not contracted before your coverage start date, and does not fall under any other policy exclusion or limitation.

Testing for COVID-19 will only be covered if deemed medically necessary by a physician. The antibody test is not covered, as it is not medically necessary.

Update! As of April 15th 2021, Nomad Insurance covers quarantine of $50/day for up to 10 days (once within a 364-day period). The quarantine coverage requires that you’re covered by Nomad Insurance for a minimum of 28 days and you are outside your home country. Your quarantine must be mandated by a physician or governmental authority, because you have either tested positive for COVID-19 or you are symptomatic and waiting for your test results.

Expat Travel Insurance

Most travel medical insurance policies top out at six months (or a year, if you’re lucky). That can leave expats, digital nomads, and long-term travelers either without insurance, or scrambling to find private health insurance in a single country. Either way, short policy lengths mean finding long term health or travel insurance is a real problem for travelers.

Whether you call it expat travel insurance, digital nomad insurance, insurance for long term travelers, or international medical insurance, it’s still a tricky thing to find.

Coupled with short terms, it can be hard to purchase travel insurance when you’re already abroad. That means expats either need to go back to their home country (if they have one) to get insurance, or have a much smaller choice of insurance companies that will start cover when you’re out of country.

If you’re wondering “do I need travel insurance?“, we definitely think medical travel insurance is an absolute necessity! We’ve been grateful for insurance when Micki had a three day hospital stay in Thailand, when our son needed stitches for his ear in Greece, and when we quickly needed the addresses of the nearest hospitals in Quito, Ecuador. Even if you’re in perfect health, accidents can happen in an instant.

Expats have a problem that many lose residency in their home country when we settled in their new one, and that often means losing medical benefits. Traditional travel insurance often won’t cover travelers without a base medical insurance from their home country, like Canadians traveling without provincial health care coverage. Luckily, SafetyWing doesn’t have that requirement.

Travel medical insurance vs heath insurance

In this article, we talk about travel insurance, not health insurance. Travel medical insurance won’t generally cover you for routine checkups and preventative care. Instead, travel insurance covers you for unexpected illness or injury, for example, if you get in an accident or develop an emergency medical condition.

SafetyWing insurance review

SafetyWing medical travel insurance is tailored to the needs of expats, and digital nomads like online freelancers, entrepreneurs and workers with remote companies.

In fact, the founders of SafetyWing are digital nomads who wanted to create insurance for other digital nomads. In the future, they plan to move onto offering comprehensive health insurance and eventually disability and pension.

It’s a little bit different than other travel medical insurance in that it works like a subscription. Once you purchase your policy, you can auto-renew in four week increments while you travel (or you can just choose a set number of days.

SafetyWing Insurance is available to anyone from any home country in the world (unless your home country is Iran, North Korea or Cuba, or if you have Cuba as your citizenship).

Visit SafetyWing now to learn more.

Can I buy SafetyWing insurance if I’m already abroad?

Yes, you can buy SafetyWing medical travel insurance before or after you leave, there is no restriction saying you have to buy it before you leave.

You can buy SafeteyWing in 180 countries. It can be purchased when already traveling.

With SafetyWing, you don’t need to pre-purchase your insurance for the full length of travel. Instead, you can set up a subscription that’s renewable in 4 week increments. It’s really popular with digital nomads who travel to multiple countries, and who often change travel plans.

Where am I covered?

There is no cap on the duration of a trip and no need to know how long you’ll be travelling in advance or what destinations you’ll visit.

What’s the maximum duration I’m covered?

With SafetyWing, there’s no cap on the duration of travel.

Honestly, having no cap on how long you can travel is huge. When we traveled Australia and southeast Asia for a year, we struggled to find travel insurance companies that would cover us for our one year trip. In fact, one of the major reasons we went back to Canada after a year was because we no longer had medical travel insurance!

If SafetyWing had been around then, we likely would have extended our travels past a year.

What’s covered?

There is coverage for medical and travel, which includes including lost luggage, trip interruption and delay, and emergency medical evacuation.

SafetyWing cover includes coverage for a lot of common recreational activities and sports like ballooning, bowling, camel riding, canoeing, canyoning, deep sea fishing, dog sledding, ice skating, kayaking, orienteering, SCUBA (with some conditions), wake boarding, and stand up paddle surfing.

Some sports are excluded, including boxing, ice hockey, kite surfing, parasailing, quad biking, snowmobiling, and whitewater rafting. See an exhaustive list of sports. See the policy for specific sports that are included or excluded. There’s also no coverage for organized athletics or professional sports.

How much does it cost?

SafetyWing travel medical insurance starts from $40 for 4 weeks, or just $1.42 per day. You can also buy for a set number of days.

It can work like a subscription, you can choose your start date and cancel any time. You can set up monthly auto-renewal payments to avoid having your coverage expire and forgetting to renew in time.

There’s an additional cost if you’re visiting the USA, or if you’re over 39 years of age.

To buy, simply visit the SafetyWing website, choose your age, if you’re traveling to the USA, and then add family members. It’s that simple.

What if I want to visit my home country?

For every 90 days, you can use your medical coverage for 30 days in your home country if something happens while there. (you can’t start in your home country, 15 days if your home country is the US)

Visit the SafetyWing website now.

This article is only intended as general advice. Please check your own policy carefully.

Any information here is from one traveler to another. If you have any travel insurance questions, please chat with a qualified travel insurance agent or broker. Because policies and plans can and do change all the time, without warning, always consult your insurance policy since that is the legal document to which you are agreeing.

Already overseas and forgot to buy travel insurance before you left?

Has your travel insurance run out while you’re on vacation and you want to extend your stay or, heading to an area where it might be a really, really good idea to have travel insurance and you never bothered to buy any before? No matter the reason, buying travel insurance while you’re already abroad happens a lot more often than you’d think.

If you find yourself without travel insurance, and you’re already on the open road, don’t worry, we have the solution.

Can I buy travel insurance if I’m already abroad?

Whether you’re a classic procrastinator and forgot, or if your travel plans have changed: the good news is you can probably get travel insurance when already abroad for the remainder of your trip. Even better, the coverage you get will likely be similar to a policy you’d have purchased before you left.

This is important: No matter which policy you buy, you won’t be covered for injuries or accidents that happened before you buy your policy. So waiting until you’re on the way to the hospital isn’t the best time to buy travel insurance.

Not all travel insurance companies offer travel insurance if you’re already out of the country. In fact, many require that you haven’t already left on your trip. That said, there are some companies that let you get travel insurance after departure.

World Nomads

SafetyWing Nomads Insurance

SafetyWing Nomad Insurance offers flexible medical insurance while traveling.

If you’re on a budget, SafetyWing lets travelers pay for insurance on a monthly basis, as opposed to all at once in the beginning. 

Travel medical coverage starts from $42/4 weeks.

You can buy Nomad Insurance from SafetyWing in 180 countries. You can also by it while already traveling, in case you forgot to purchase insurance before leaving on your trip.

Learn more about SafetyWing Nomad Insurance here.

Waiting periods before coverage starts

Some insurers have a waiting period before coverage starts, which is usually just a few days, before your travel insurance coverage takes effect. This is more common for Australian and New Zealand companies, but we’ve also heard it happens with Canadian, UK and US companies. So, the answer to “Can you get travel insurance when already abroad?” is yes, but you may have to wait a few days.

If you get sick or have an accident during this waiting period, you likely won’t be covered. Insurance companies add this waiting period to protect themselves from fraud from people who’ve gotten sick or injured, and then buy insurance to cover the now existing injury or illness.

That said, check your policy because some insurers have a waiting period, but they’ll also cover you for emergency overseas medical expenses and emergency transport expenses for a sudden illness or serious injury that results from an accident during that waiting period. Every travel insurance company handles the waiting period differently, so talk with your travel insurance agent to see what they do and don’t cover during this waiting period.

Travel insurance coverage for people already abroad

Just like regular travel insurance, the costs and what’s covered under your policy varies a lot for travel insurance if you’re already overseas.

The exact eligibility requirements to buy travel insurance after departure, and cover you get, will depend on the specific insurer you choose for post departure travel insurance. Talk to an insurance agent to make sure you’re covered for every activity you plan on doing while you travel. The best travel insurance for backpackers can include insurance for standard backpacker activities like snorkeling, and hiking, but always make sure your plan includes the activities you’re interested in!

Age limits

Depending on the travel insurance company you choose, age limits may apply. This is common for both standard travel insurance, as well as health insurance you buy when already on a trip. There are some travel insurance policies with no age limit, but some insurance policies have age limits as low as under 60 years of age. Read the fine print to make sure you qualify.

Pre-existing medical conditions

Just like standard travel insurance, depending on the plan you choose, you may also not be covered for pre-existing medical conditions. Of course this depends on your policy, as some travel insurance policies do cover some pre-existing medical conditions like stable high blood pressure.

It’s very important that no matter whether you’re buying your travel insurance before you leave or while you’re already on the road, to always tell your travel insurer about any pre-existing medical conditions when you buy your policy. Otherwise, you might be surprised when you submit your bills that they’re declined.

If you’re over the age of 60, pre-existing conditions get more common, and also more complex. We get a lot of questions from Canadian seniors heading south in the winter (called snowbirds) about pre-existing conditions and travel insurance. However, any good snowbird travel insurance coverage should include pre-existing conditions – just be sure to check your policy to make sure that you’re covered.

Tip: Always check your travel insurance policy to know exactly what your coverage offers, and if there are any exemptions. At the end of the day, your policy is your contract and generally supersedes everything else.

It’s probably non-refundable

Of course, each insurer is different, buy many travel insurers don’t offer you a cooling off period if you buy travel insurance once you’ve already left your home country. Instead, these policies are typically non-refundable. If you have any doubt, check your own policy to make sure.

Need some more help?

Have you ever wondered “do I  need travel insurance“?

If you’re a Canadian, and looking for travel insurance, check out our Canadian travel insurance review.

Have you bought travel insurance whilst already abroad? Let us know in the comments – we’d love to hear from you!

It can give you medical coverage when you’re injured or sick, plus it can reimburse your if your expensive camera or smartphone is broken, if you need to return home if a family member becomes sick or injured, or if your flight is cancelled.

We always strongly advise people to get travel insurance. It only costs dollars a day. We’ve seen good insurance help us and so many other people, and we’ve also seen others regret being cheap and not getting good insurance.

We’ve been grateful for  insurance when Micki had a three day hospital stay in Thailand, when our son needed stitches for his ear in Greece, and when we needed the addresses of the nearest hospitals in Quito, Ecuador.

You can buy SafetyWing Nomad Insurance in 180 countries and you can purchase it while already traveling.

They also offer travel insurance to citizens of multiple countries, even if you’re already overseas.

You can use the widget below to get a free quote for your trip:

Why you need travel insurance

So why do you need travel insurance? The same reason you need car insurance, home insurance and so forth. It’s insurance, something you need to insure that you don’t lose everything else you have in your life in case something bad happens. Without it you open yourself to a lot of unnecessary risk.

Now, you might be thinking, how much can it cost me if I don’t have insurance? I mean, you’ve traveled dozens of times and haven’t needed it. Why should you bother giving your hard earned money to some  insurance company?

Simple, no one plans for an accident to happen, that’s part of the definition of an accident. If you haven’t needed to use your travel insurance on previous excursions out of country then consider yourself fortunate. If you travel often, the odds are that sooner or later you’ll need it and hospital stays in foreign countries can easily cost you tens of thousands of dollars.

What is travel insurance

So what exactly is travel insurance? It’s a hedge bet that something will happen on your next trip that you’re not prepared for.

It might be a stolen phone or camera. It could be a sudden case of a nasty flu or it could be that a car swerves and hits a truck that unleashes a herd of geese that distracts a driver that nearly hits you and, as you back away, you fall down a flight of stairs. Now, it wasn’t the fall that hurt you, it was slipping on the ice at the bottom as you were dusting yourself off that broke your arm while you were trying to grab the handrail. The bad part is that you need to use your arm when you get home and it’s going to take 6 weeks to heal.

Sound too far fetched? Maybe, but that’s the nature of accidents. If they were planned, they’d be called on purposes.

Travel insurance is piece of mind

So yes, accidents happen, at home or abroad. It’s called life and it’s not simple, clean or easy. We’ve been fortunate the we only needed travel insurance a few times over the course of our travels, but it’s still something we firmly believe every traveler should carry.

Not only can a good plan give you piece of mind, the company behind it can often help guide you to a good doctor, they can help with your emergency return to your home, pay for follow up treatments in case it’s warranted, cover your lost or stolen goods, cover your cancelled flights and even pay for your hospital bills.

They can also provide money to your family should you not make it back home. Not something people like to discuss but it’s a reality whether you’re getting in the car to go to work or getting on a plane and heading to Rio. Leaving enough so your family can properly do what they need will make their lives easier in times of loss and there’s no price too high for that.

Travel insurance options

So now that you’ve decided you need travel insurance, what are your options? The good and bad side are that there are tons of options to choose from. Not only are there hundreds of companies and brokers, there are single trip plans, multi trip plans and comprehensive plans. Plans that have deductibles and plans that are deductible free. There’s cancellation insurance, liability insurance even dismemberment insurance. There are evac only plans, hostage and negotiation plans and even natural disaster only plans.

Amid all that there are different price points for each plan. So I ask again, how do you choose your travel insurance?

The hard truth is there is no simple way to choose insurance. You need to decide which factors are the most important to you and how much you’re willing to pay for each service because the fact is, the more comprehensive the  insurance, the more it’s going to cost you.

Doesn’t seem fair? Well, think of it from the company that’s insuring you’s side. It’s no secret they’re into this business to make money. That’s why they have actuarial tables and the risk each person faces and the likelihood that they’ll have to pay out in case an accident occurs. They can’t offer more services without charging for it.

Get what you need

On the other side of the fence we have people that often over buy insurance. They get enough insurance that if they have to make a claim they equate it to winning a lottery. That’s not right either. To us, the purpose of travel insurance is to mitigate as much risk as possible while also realizing that sometimes bad things happen.

However, just like I don’t make my kids walk around in helmets in the odd chance they fall and hit their head, so too don’t I rely on insurance to make my life better. In this way we often plan for the worst case scenario and no matter the outcome we know we’ll be at a loss when it comes to insurance, but our family on the whole will survive.

To us that often means getting a good insurance plan with a reputable company with a little less bells and whistles than we’d need. We save on fees a ton that way, like by including a deductible on our plans. We know we don’t often end up using our  insurance and having a deductible often lowers our initial cost. That said, we know that if we do have to make a claim it will cost us a few hundred dollars. This also ensures that if we really need to use our insurance it has to be worth it.

A personal travel accident story

To give you a good example, while we were in Greece a few years back, our son slipped on a merry go round and tore his ear wide open. Seeing as Greece was in economical turmoil, the hospital was closed down so we walked to the private hospital service across the street. For $180 dollars they had him sewn up and as good as new in a few hours. Now, we could have filed a claim, but however considering our deductible was $200 there was no point. That was an acceptable cost to us and didn’t really affect us monetarily in a big way, however had he severely injured his leg, we would have happily paid the deductible and considered ourselves fortunate that we had travel insurance.

So what’s the purpose of that story? It’s to affirm that yes, accidents happen everywhere as well as to highlight that every traveler has their own needs and what’s acceptable to them. It’s up to you to decide what’s right for you and your family.

Choosing what matters to you

If having your bags lost or stolen worries you, get baggage insurance. If you never file claims, consider increasing your deductible to save a little money. If you travel often, especially for short periods, consider getting a multi trip plan since it will save you in the long run and you won’t be having to buy travel insurance every time you leave the country.

Just like every traveler is unique, so is every plan. Make sure you compare your plan with others before deciding which one is right for you.

Need some more help?

Check out our post on how to get travel insurance if you’re already abroad, or our article on travel insurance for Canadians.

We travel with our kids all the time and it’s one of the most rewarding ways to travel. Not only do you get to share lifelong memories with those you love, but you also get a chance to bond over the not-so-perfect moments as well.

What, you don’t think that your once-in-a-lifetime getaway is going to get by without a hitch, do you?

I’m going to be 100% real with you here. There is a solid chance that something will break, something will be lost, a reservation will be bungled, a flight missed or one of a thousand other problems that come up whenever a group of people go on a trip together.

Tip: Are you already overseas? You can get travel insurance if already abroad!

You know what, it’s not a big deal, but the earlier you plan for contingencies, the quicker you can get past them and enjoy your holidays.

Life happens

You see, no matter where you are, whether it’s at home or on the road, life happens. Throw in a few kids, small suitcases that can only hold so many essentials and a bit of unknown and – bam, the possibilities for trouble are already racking up.

Looking for travel insurance for the family?

SafetyWing Nomads insurance includes young children for free on an adult policy! Kids must be aged between 14 days and 10 years old.

You can include one young child per adult on your SafetyWing Nomads Insurance without extra cost (with up to two free kids per family). So a family of four, with two adults, and two kids between 14 days and 10 years, would only pay for the two adults. Sweet deal!

Get a SafetyWing Nomads insurance quote here, or use the form below!

As much as you read up on other cultures, people and places there’s no telling who or what you’ll run into once you leave home and the truth is, there’s a reason people call travel an adventure. It’s the unknown that truly makes travel worthwhile and frankly, the oddities and one offs make the best stories when you get back and are what you remember most about your trip years later.

Like the time back in 2003 when Micki had a kidney infection and we were staying on a remote beach in Thailand. We had to charter both a private boat and a taxi to get to the local hospital. Luckily, our insurance company helped with the language barrier and she was quickly checked in for a few days and I was allowed to sleep on the couch beside her while she got better. Room service was lacking (for me anyway) but it was by far the cleanest place we stayed that year and Micki was treated like royalty.

Don’t fight the inevitable, embrace it.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should just throw caution to the wind and just let whatever happen, happen. There is a time for that to be sure however, when you have kids with you and a set timeline, a little planning does go a long way.

One of the ways we plan ahead is ensuring we have good travel insurance. You can even say that over the years travel insurance has become a passion for us. Don’t believe me? You can check out our post on Canadian Travel Insurance here, which we update every year.

Considering we first talked about travel insurance back in 2010, you can bet things have changed since then. We’ve learned a lot about different plans and what makes one plan better than another. That said, the fact remains, if you plan to travel as a family, these are some of the things that matter the most and why all families need travel insurance.

Medical Travel Insurance

This one is simple. Whether you’re traveling alone, or with a family, no one should be without medical insurance. Sure, no one plans to get E. coli or have their foot stepped on by an elephant, but it happens regardless.

We’re speaking from experience here; we’ve had a few hospital visits on our travels (one for badly cut ear, one for a kidney infection, and another for a bout of E. coli). They’re never fun, but it definitely eased our stress to know that we had reliable medical travel insurance.

When you factor in that you’re all likely to do more activities, some of them probably in the adventurous category than you generally would at home, you’re not just putting yourself more out there, you’re putting your whole family as well.

Though it’s not likely something bad will happen, it does raise the odds that something unplanned might occur.

I understand this isn’t something any parent wants to think about, regardless of whether they’re traveling or at home, however, the truth is that sometimes you have to plan for unexpected illnesses or accidents.

When something goes wrong, you want the best care you can get. The easiest way to ensure that is to have good medical travel insurance. Most companies have people you can call any time, day or night, that can guide you on where to go and how to get medical help. Don’t know the local number to call the doctor? Chances are your provider does.

Once you’ve been taken care of, you then have the peace of mind knowing that the rest of your trip won’t be in jeopardy because you’re worried about your bank account being empty or if that bone got set correctly.

Cancellation Insurance

The numbers don’t lie. The more people who travel together, the bigger chance that something will go wrong. This is true even before you leave home.

Accidents, work, family emergencies and unforeseen incidents can happen any time and none of us own a crystal ball that can predict the future. As Micki always reminds me, the future is unknown. The only thing you can do is plan your best using the information already in front of you.

Now, it’s no surprise that family vacations cost more than when you travel solo or as a couple. When you realize you have to book flights and accommodations for four or five people rather than just one or two of you, the majority of your costs are due before you even get on the plane.

It might be easy to swallow the cost of just a single flight if you have to cancel, but times that by all of your family members and it gets harder to digest. Spending a few extra dollars for cancellation insurance gives you the peace of mind if something comes up that forces you to cancel or postpone your family trip.

Sure, if you’re traveling as a couple, you could always have one of you stay at home with the sick kid or to deal with whatever crisis comes up but then you have to decide which person stays back while the other gets to enjoy margaritas by the pool and swimming with sea turtles. Have fun with that.

Getting cancellation insurance can ensure that you all can go on your dream trip together later.

Flight Delays

Did you ever get stuck somewhere you weren’t planning to be for long? We have, on numerous occasions, and having to figure out last minute details like where your family will sleep for the night isn’t enjoyable after hours of flying or sitting around in an airport.

The reality is that unexpected delays happen all the time when you travel.

Short delays can often create larger ones. Sometimes it only takes one plane being late on the East Coast to completely sabotage your flight on the West Coast.

How could that ever happen, you ask? Well, imagine that the flight crew assigned to your plane were stuck either in the air, or on land, for a couple hours longer at their previous location than expected due to a delayed flight. Even if your plane is fine and ready to go, you might not have a crew to pilot it, since they worked longer than allowed on their shifts.

We’re speaking from experience here: We were stuck in Chicago O’Hare airport overnight this summer with our two kids and their grandma when a summer storm delayed our flight crew.

Or, let’s just get wild and imagine that a volcano two countries over decided to erupt and blanket all the nearby airports with ash clouds for a few days. Heck, it already happened.

Much more likely, a storm could sweep in and close down the airport. Now, not only are you struggling to find a place that night but the thousands of people sitting in the airport are as well.

Yes, a flight delay usually isn’t life threatening in any way, however, when you travel with a family, sometimes it’s better to be on the cautious side and make sure your family travel insurance covers flight delays as well. The bonus is this one is usually included in many plans for free.

Baggage Insurance

Know what? The more of you there are means more bags for you to be responsible for. Sure, your son might seem like he’s big enough to take his own bag, but he’s going to be so busy checking out every new thing that his bags will be the last thing on his mind. And your daughter? After the second hour of standing in line at the airport, chances are you’ll be carrying her and her bags by the time you get going. At least that’s how it goes for our family.

Imagine this scenario: You’re a little frazzled by the time you land, and you forget a carry-on on the plane. Remembering it at the last minute, you leave your other bags and run back to get it. By the time you’re back, one bag has mysteriously disappeared and the language barrier isn’t making finding it any easier. Not a big deal in itself, but the bag you just lost contained your new underwater camera that you were hoping to use while snorkeling with your kids for the first time  or perhaps the sea sickness pills your wife needs whenever she gets on a bigger boat.

Here’s where baggage insurance comes in. It generally protects you from anything lost or stolen and can help getting those lifelong memories you’re about to make replaced as quickly as possible. You might never get the pictures you already took on the plane back, but it can help you create new ones.

Tip! Never treat insurance like a potential lottery ticket. Buy only as much as you’ll need to replace what you’re taking with you and the savings you make from keeping your premiums lower can help pay your next trip.

Final Thoughts

There’s nothing more important to us than the health and well-being of our family. Sure, we’ve gotten a little adventurous now and then, however we always take our safety and that of our children seriously.

When you step a foot out of your comfort zone, you shouldn’t feel intimidated by the possibilities. Just make sure that you have a solid cushion to fall back on if things don’t work out the way you hoped. Family travel insurance isn’t just a safety net, it’s a necessity these days.

Safe travels!

Get a SafetyWing Nomads insurance quote here, or use the form below!

Travel insurance can kill a travel budget for anyone. We feel the pinch especially hard, since we’re buying travel insurance for a family of four.

When I searched high and low for Canadian travel insurance comparisons and reviews for our upcoming trip, I found absolutely nothing to help me compare prices and insurance for our personal travel insurance needs (other than Kanetix (now called RATESDOTCA). So I had to do hours of legwork to get the best prices and policies for our family, and I’ve shared them in this review.

2022 update! Maybe it’s because COVID-19 sent travel insurance prices into flux, but any prices we check in 2022 seem to vary significantly from 2021 or 2020 prices. We guess this price fluctuation may continue, but it’s hard to tell.

For six months of travel, for a family of four, we got quotes ranging from $418.51 to a whopping $2,461.92 for worldwide travel medical insurance, including the USA.

Because everyone’s needs are different, we can’t tell you what travel insurance is right for you, or that one travel insurance company or travel insurance policy is better than another.

On top of that, prices and policies can change almost overnight, so do your own research.

This travel insurance review just lists the results we got when searching for travel insurance for our own family’s needs, at one point in time. All prices are in Canadian dollars, although some companies cover people all around the world.

In our search, we found that insurance almost always meant medical travel insurance, which included a set amount of coverage (usually one to five million dollars per person for travel accidents and illness).

Tip! Read the terms and conditions of policy wording and description of coverage to decide if the policy you choose is right for you. Insurance policy wordings can be subject to change at any time, without prior notice.

Many travel insurance packages that we looked at included coverage for baggage, trip cancellation, trip interruption and even emergency dental. We chose to only buy what we personally needed, and I think we saved a lot of money.

TuGo Travel Insurance

TuGo (formerly called Travel Underwriters) is one of Canada’s biggest travel insurance companies, and they surprised us with one of the best rates for our family.

To find more about TuGo travel insurance, click here.

2021 update: Tugo now offers COVID-19 travel insurance coverage included as a benefit under their emergency medical coverage, but ONLY if you’re fully or partially vaccinated, or if you’re not eligible for a vaccine, due to age.

If you haven’t been vaccinated, for any reason other than your age, then the COVID-19 insurance ISN’T included as a benefit under their emergency medical insurance for you. If you fall into this category, you can buy COVID-19 Insurance, Unvaccinated as an add-on to your TuGo Emergency Medical Insurance Worldwide or Excluding USA plans.

There’s a fairly extensive list of eligibility requirements, and there’s an additional cost. To get the COVID-19 insurance, you need to also have a worldwide or worldwide excluding USA TuGo emergency medical policy in place for the full duration of the COVID-19 Insurance coverage.

To find more about TuGo travel insurance, click here.

• $1,317.20 for six months, for a family of four. The plan includes travel to the USA.
• $5 million emergency medical insurance.
• $300 USD deductible (dropping the deductible to 0 brought the cost up to $612.72 total).
• We added on trip cancellation and interruption to our quote for an additional $284.00. Coverage is up to sum insured for trip cancellation or up to $25,000 for trip interruption.
• If you’re vaccinated, or partially vaccinated, then COVID-19 insurance is included.
• If you’re unvaccinated, for any reason other than your age, there is an extra fee of $170.20 for COVID-19 insurance.
• You can get add-on optional sports coverage. Coverage is based on risk level; from contact sports to adventure sports to extreme sports.

Safety Wing

Safety Wing is a (relative) new comer to the travel insurance space.

SafetyWing insurance specializes in expat travel health insurance (called Remote Health Insurance), and global travel medical insurance (called Nomad Insurance), which we think is a great option for longer term travelers.

There’s one huge catch for Safety Wing insurance, though, and it’s a big one for Canadians.

SafetyWing won’t sell Canadians travel insurance while you’re physically located in Canada. You can cross the border in any way and buy insurance immediately when you have left Canada.

However, it’s the perfect choice if you’ve already left Canada and forgot to buy travel insurance, or you want to buy better coverage.

SafetyWing Insurance is available to anyone from any home country in the world (unless your home country is Iran, Syria, North Korea or Cuba, or if you have Cuba as your citizenship).

The base price for insurance is $42 for four weeks of coverage, not including coverage in the USA. That’s for one person, aged 18-39 years, with a $250 deductible, and a $250 000 max limit.

• A quote for one person for six months was $379.08 for six months, NOT including coverage in the USA.
• For all four of us, the cost was $847.08 for six months, NOT including coverage in the USA.
• A quote for one person for six months, which included coverage in the USA, was $705.12.
• A quote for all four of us for six months, which included coverage in the USA, was $1,560.00.
• $250,000 travel insurance
• $250 deductible
• Emergency dental up to $1,000. Not subject to deductible.
• Notable exclusions include high risk sports activity, pre-existing disease or injury, and cancer treatment
• Trip interruption of up to $5,000
• Emergency medical evacuation of up to $100,000 lifetime maximum
• Travel delay and lost checked luggage coverage.

Visit SafetyWing now to learn more.

Nomad Insurance covers COVID-19 for new policies. Coverage works the same as any other illness as long as it was not contracted before your coverage start date, and does not fall under any other policy exclusion or limitation.

Testing for COVID-19 is only be covered if deemed medically necessary by a physician. The antibody test is not covered, as it is not medically necessary.

Nomad Insurance covers quarantine outside your home country of $50/day for up to 10 days (once within a 364-day period). The quarantine coverage requires that you’re covered by Nomad Insurance for a minimum of 28 days and you are outside your home country.

Your quarantine must be mandated by a physician or governmental authority, because you have either:

• tested positive for COVID-19
• or you are symptomatic and waiting for your test results.

Kanetix (now called RATESDOTCA)

RATESDOTCA (formerly Kanetix) is on online insurance quote consolidator. I’m a big fan, as I like that it lets me compare a number of travel insurance companies side by side, and they usually seem like a fairly good deal to me.  They do all sorts of insurance, including home, auto, and tenant’s insurance.

To find out more about travel insurance on RATESDOTCA click here now. 

The best deals on RATESDOTCA were:

• TuGo for $937.80 six months for a family of four for $2 million in emergency medical insurance and no trip cancellation or interruption insurance, with a $300 deductible. A zero deductible raised that to
  $1,062.80.
• Ingle International for $1,061.42 for six months for our family of four for $10 million in emergency medical insurance and no trip cancellation or interruption insurance, with a $250 deductible.
• World Escapade $1,069.20 for six months for a family of four for $5 million in emergency medical insurance and no trip cancellation or interruption insurance, with a $250 deductible.
• Allianz for $1,155.60 for six months for a family of four for with $10 million in emergency medical insurance and no trip cancellation or interruption insurance, and a $250 deductible.
• GMS for $1,580.40 for six months for our family of four with $5 million in emergency medical insurance and no trip cancellation or interruption insurance, and a $250 deductible.

Click here now to find out more about RATESDOTCA travel insurance. 

TD Meloche Monnex

We signed up with TD Meloche Monnex: Wide Horizons Solution on our last six month trip though Costa Rica, Mexico, Florida and Texas. Although we didn’t have to make a claim, their customer service was extremely professional and patient when answering all of my questions about the quote.

• $947.80 for six months, for a family of four. Since we have home insurance with Meloche, we get a good discount on the premium.
• This is a great deal, as it includes a 60 day multi-trip plan that will let us take unlimited trips (of up to 60 days) anywhere in the world for $181.00/year per year. The additional four months of top up coverage cost us $766.80 (for a total of $947.80).
• If we didn’t have home, tenants’ insurance, or auto insurance with Meloche , the cost for our initial 60 day multi-trip plan would be higher.
• You’ll need to call Meloche to buy your policy. Meloche’s number is 1-866-566-1464.
• $5 million emergency medical insurance, per person.
• $100 deductible (most deductibles with other companies are 0). It was worth the higher deductible, given that the premium is so low. You can also choose a $250, $500 or $1,000 deductible.
• Free international assistance, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Full refund available anytime during our trip, less a $20 fee.
• Extensions are available while on our trip, but if there’s a claim on file, the extension must be verified by risk manager.  You must also have valid provincial health coverage.
• World-wide, including USA, but excludes countries with Government of Alberta or Canada travel warnings.
• Trip cancellation up to $2,500 per person,  maximum $5,000 per family for each annual period of coverage.
• Trip interruption up to $5,000 per person, per covered trip.
• No baggage or personal effects insurance.
• If we purchase additional tickets/flights after leaving on trip, these are not eligible for trip cancellation/baggage insurance.
• Many adventure activities are covered.  There were some exceptions, including ultralight flights and paid sports activities, I believe, but they didn’t apply to us.
• Like all the other policies we looked at, we were required to have valid provincial health insurance for the entire duration of our trip.

Merit Travelcuts Worldwide Travel Insurance

We used travelcuts Globetrotter insurance for our last trips to Asia and the Philippines. We ended up claiming a few days in a hospital in Thailand, and travelcuts was great to us.

If we’d been a single traveller on this trip, then travelcuts would probably have been our first choice for insurance. With a whopping 547 days for a maximum policy length, travelcuts is a well worth looking at if you’re planning a longer trip.

Anyone over 50 years old cannot get this policy.

travelcuts has several plans, but we were interested only in the Emergency Medical Plan D. This plan does not include trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance.

• $1,641.60 for six months, for a family of four. Like pretty much all of the other companies, our quote has increased quite a bit from when I first got a quote in 2012, when the quote was $916.00.
• 1 million emergency medical insurance per person.
• You must have valid government health insurance plan for the entire duration of your trip.
• travelcuts insurance only covers travellers under age 50, and over 15 days old.
• You may be able to get an extension on your trip, but you must call travelcuts to apply for the extension, and have a provincial health plan is in effect for the full length of your travel period.
• You may get a full refund if you cancel within 10 days of buying your policy, or if you can prove your trip was cancelled before you leave on your trip. See your specific policy for details.
• Costs and benefits may be different for residents of Quebec.
• travelcuts worldwide insurance was formerly known as Travel CUTS Bon Voyage insurance.
• Always check your individual policy – coverage and limits can change without notice.

itravel2000

itravel2000 is one of my favorite sites to search for cheap all-inclusive last minute getaways and hotel rooms, so I thought I’d check out their travel insurance.  Wow. Pretty darn expensive, and the last quote I got was back before 2018.

• A gulp-inducing $3,075.00 for six months for an all inclusive plan for family of four, including trip cancellation and interruption.
• $1,573.20 for a global under age 60 plan, with $5 million in emergency medical benefits only, with no trip cancellation or interruption.

BMO

BMO travel insurance is one of Canada’s biggest names in travel insurance, so I thought I’d try them out.

• $1,532.18 for six months insurance for a family of four.
• $5,000,000 medical liability.
• A refund is available 10 days after purchase, but not after leaving on a trip, and you need to meet other conditions.
• Coverage can be extended after leaving, but there cannot be an open claim. You can extend for a total of 183 days (212 days if you reside in BritishColumbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia or Ontario).
• Trip cancellation $0 per person.
• Trip interruption $2,000 per person.

ScotiaGold Passport® VISA

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card has travel insurance perks.

There’s Travel Emergency Medical Insurance for eligible persons under age 65 (up to 25 consecutive days) and for eligible persons age 65 and older (up to 10 consecutive days).

What we think is cool about this card is that it’s one of the few Canadian credit cards that don’t charge a foreign transaction fee. It also has a travel rewards program, with Scotia Rewards points – right now there’s a signup bonus of 30,000 Scotia Rewards points (plus an additional 10,000 available if you spend at least $40,000 in everyday eligible purchases annually). That’s a total of 40,000 bonus points!

• Annual fee: $139.00
• Up to $1 million in emergency medical travel insurance
• Up to $2,500 trip cancellation/interruption
• Flight delay, delayed and lost baggage, travel accident, and rental car collision loss/damage insurance.
• Interest rate: 19.99% purchases, 22.99% cash advances
• six free airport lounge visits

What if you’re taking a short trip?

For trips of 60 days or less, you may already have coverage through a credit card with medical travel insurance perks. These often offer trip cancellation and interruption, along with baggage insurance. For Canada travel insurance, the cards we looked at were Scotiabank and BMO.

Note: If you decide to use only your credit cards built in travel insurance, make sure that you’re covered for the duration of your trip (you can often extend coverage for an additional fee) and that you qualify since some cards that include travel insurance have specific riders that might not cover you if you fall outside of their policies parameters.

Baggage coverage and personal effects coverage

Baggage coverage insures your bags while in transit (in airplanes, though this may extend to buses and taxis).

Personal effects coverage covers your belongings anywhere, on any portion of your trip. This sounds nice in theory, but I found that most policies had some serious exclusions.  They would only cover losses with a police report (makes sense, but a police report can be pretty damn hard to get in a lot of countries).  On top of that, most policies would not insure belongings that were unattended. That means that if your wallet is stolen from your beach chair while you’re body surfing, you’re out of luck. No coverage.

Even more important, most policies wouldn’t cover loss or theft of computers, cameras, or cell phones, or jewelry. Seriously. The only expensive things that most people travel with aren’t covered.

Here’s a little trick, though. If you have insurance on your home or tenant’s insurance, then your belongings might be covered on your trip. Usually there’s a limit (around 10% of the total coverage on your original policy), and your deductible applies to any claims while travelling.

Trip cancellation and interruption generally only cover the portion of your trip that you buy before you leave. Not especially useful for us, since we’re only buying a one-way ticket to Mexico before we leave, and the rest of our tickets will be bought once out of Canada. Not having a set itinerary means that we’ll buy onward legs (by plane, train, car, taxi, water taxi, ferry, cruise liner, or bus) as we need them. I couldn’t find a single travel insurance policy that would cover purchase of additional legs once we left home. Trust me, I tried. And tried.

A lot of Canada travel insurance reviews don’t mention this, but it’s important: If you’re gone for more than six months, ensure you get a written extension from your provincial health care plan (this applies only to Canadians).

Checklist for travel insurance:

• What is the amount of liability you cover?
• Is trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance covered?
• Is there a refund available for unused amount?
• What is the deductible?
• Do you offer a medical service assist, e.g., can you help me find a doctor or hospital?
• Is the policy good worldwide, including the USA?
• Can I top up my insurance once I’ve left on my trip?
• Can I buy my initial insurance after I’ve left on my trip?

Are you already overseas? Check out this post to learn how to get travel insurance if you’re already abroad!