Travel insurance for Canada travelers

Travel insurance for Canadian visitors

O, Canada!
We get many, many Canadians traveling all over the world calling us with their questions. Many come to the US and have little idea of how our insurance policies work and if they are eligible for them. I thought I would put together a little blog to give some information for these adventurous travelers.

As I understand it, Canadians have great health insurance coverage while in Canada and this can be extended for coverage in the US as well. However, they often (I am told) cannot renew a policy and must return to Canada to purchase more coverage. There are options available from us both before and after you leave Canada.

If you are already in Canada, it depends on your age and for how long you have been in the US. If you are under 65 years, you often have about 6 months to purchase a policy after your arrival here. You can purchase a Patriot America Lite (comprehensive) or an Travel Medical USA Visitor plans (fixed).

If you are looking for a plan while still in Canada to cover your travel to the US or If you are a snow bird from Canada who wish to avoid the snow and cold temperatures of northern winter and move to US for few months and maintain family ties staying in US for the rest of the year, you now have more limited options. I’m not sure why this is, but two of the insurance companies we work with no longer accept applications from Canada (I assume this is due to tax issues).

The two companies are WorldTrips and Seven Corners. However, you still do have some options for your travel.

If you are traveling to places besides the US, you can use Safe Travels International or Safe Travels International Cost Saver which offer very economical options for your travel needs for persons up to 89 years old. Also Patriot International Lite has very competitive prices for travel abroad.

If you are traveling into the US, you can purchase Patriot America Lite or Patriot America Plus (the Plus if for people under 70 who have pre-existing medical conditions they are concerned about getting covered) or the Safe Travels USA plans. The Safe Travels USA Comprehensive offers the best coverage for “acute onset” of pre-existing conditions for persons over 70 years old, so this is well worth considering if that applies to you.

INF Travel insurance offers visitors from Canada excellent travel medical insurance in the United States which includes best coverage for full pre-exisiting conditions, dental, loss of checked luggage, medical emergencies and accidents incurred while traveling. This works ideally for Canadian Snowbirds during their travel to the USA.

Following are the best US travel insurance for Canadian Snowbirds. So, even though you have lost some options for insurance, you still have many economical choices for your international travel. Canadians are welcome at American Visitor Insurance! Feel free to call our toll free number and chat with an agent if you have more questions or would like to do a transaction by phone.

Why is travel insurance to USA so expensive?