Global Affairs Canada is doing the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry a favour by advising Canadian travellers to buy travel insurance before a trip.
“Travel insurance: Do you need it?” the federal government asks in a press release issued Thursday. “The short answer is yes, always.”
The federal government is advising Canadians who travel to make sure their travel insurance policies cover medical evacuations to Canada (or the nearest place with medical care), pre-existing health conditions, repatriation in case of death, trip cancellations and interruptions, and lost or stolen luggage.
And a policy should be obtained even if travelling outside of Canada for just one day, Global Affairs adds, since medical emergencies can happen at any time, and countries with private health care systems can be costly.
Sources in the travel insurance industry have told Canadian Underwriter in the past that Canadian public health insurance only covers a tiny fraction of the medical costs that can be incurred while travelling abroad. For example, in the United States, the average cost of a same-day emergency room hospital visit was $2,715 in 2024, says U.S. healthcare solutions provider Mira. Surgery or critical care costs would take that figure closer to $20,000, depending on the circumstances, the organization adds.
And yet many Canadian travellers seem prepared to take their chances.
Last October, 68% of Canadians indicated they planned to vacation in the next 12 months, but only one-third of them were planning to buy travel insurance for the trip, according to a TD Insurance survey. Nearly 30% of those surveyed Canadians acknowledged they were struggling to meet the financial costs of their trip and were not budgeting for unexpected costs.
“It’s easy to understand why skipping travel insurance is tempting for those looking to find ways to cut costs, but that could pose risks,” Annie Campoli, TD Insurance’s president of distribution, life and health, commented on the survey results at the time.
Global Affairs points out one of those risks is to get caught up in the red tape and costs of a private insurance health care system abroad.
“Imagine getting sick or injured while you’re traveling,” the Global Affairs release reads. “Medical bills can add up quickly, easily reaching thousands of dollars, and hospitals abroad may not treat you if you don’t have enough insurance or money to pay.”
The government also warns about policy exclusions for travelling in areas covered by travel advisories.
“Keep in mind that many travel insurance policies may not cover you if you travel to regions where the Government of Canada advises to ‘avoid non-essential travel’ or ‘avoid all travel,’” Global Affairs cautions.
“This is why it’s so important for you to check the Government of Canada’s Travel Advice and Advisories before you book your trip, and to sign up with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service to receive important information, such as changes to the risk level, while you are away.”
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The government release makes no mention of why it’s making this recommendation now, although March break travel is coming up in two months.
StatsCan shows Canadian residents returned home from a total of 5 million trips abroad in March 2024. That’s an increase of 15.9% from trips taken in March 2023 (4.3 million) and represents 92% of trips taken during the pre-pandemic days of March 2019 (5.5 million).
Of those 5 million trips, half of them were flights abroad. Another 2.4 million were road trips taken to the United States. And nearly two-thirds of those road trips to the United States were same-day trips, per StatsCan.
Canadian residents returning by automobile from a visit to the United States increased by 23.1% year-over-year, representing 87.2% of such trips taken in March 2019.
Feature image courtesy of iStock.com/anyaberkut
