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.
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.
So, even though you have lost some options for Canadian travel medical 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.
New travel requirement for Canadians visiting USA for more than 30 days
Starting April 11, 2025, Canadians traveling to the US for more than 30 days are required to register with US immigration authorities and provide fingerprints. This will be a strict enforcement of an existing law which was previously applied inconsistently and aims to improve compliance with US immigration regulations.
This new rule, issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), applies to all foreign nationals crossing the US-Canada land border who are 14 years or older and staying for more than 30 days in the USA. This will impact close to 3 million Canadians annually, including around 1 million "snowbirds" who spend extended winters in the US.
Canadian professionals on long-term assignments in the US must comply with the new registration and fingerprinting requirements. However, short-term visitors to the US, such as tourists and cross-border shoppers should not be impacted.
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Guide to buying the best international travel insurance
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Commonly used international travel medical insurance terms
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Thank you for such helpful information. You've impressed me as I have contacted other companies and haven't gotten half of the information from them that you have sent me. I will take what you've said into consideration and hope to be in touch soon.
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Annual Multi-trip travel insurance for Canadians to USA
There are many Canadians who travel to the US and elsewhere outside Canada regularly. These travelers can be businessmen or corporate travelers or those who live close to the US border and travel overseas often.
While there are many top rated travel health insurance plans for multiple trips worldwide, the Patriot Annual Multi trip insurance is an ideal plan for Canadian travelers. Every trip duration can be limited to either 30 days or 45 days with a medical coverage maximum of $1 million. Travelers up to the age of 76 years can buy this plan. The plan is renewable up to 3 years and also offers coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Canadian Snowbird travel insurance
Canadians Annual travel insurance
Provides coverage for multiple trips within a specified period, typically one year.
Click here to read more »Canadians Senior citizens travel insurance
Travel insurance designed for older individuals, often referred to as "snowbirds".
Click here to read more »Snowbird pre-existing conditions travel insurance
Provides coverage for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, particularly for "snowbirds".
Click here to read more »Why is travel insurance to USA so expensive?
There is no denying that travel insurance to USA is sadly very expensive. The main reason for this is simply because the cost of healthcare in the USA is very expensive and the travel insurance USA costs are directly related to the healthcare costs.
One more factor for some USA travel insurance plans to be very expensive is that there are specially designed travel insurance USA plans available for older travelers, with higher medical coverage as well as some plans with coverage for pre-existing ailments.
The cost of a routine physician's visit is significantly higher in the U.S., where it might be $176. An echocardiogram can cost around $1,000 in Massachusetts and around $3000 in New Jersey depending on the provider. The cost of common ailments like Diabetes Mellitus with Hyperglycemia admitted to an emergency room would cost around $2,500 -$5000. Stroke resulting in ICU for about 10 days would cost $120,000, Heart attack treatment with medical bills for ambulance, hospital emergency room, ICU, EKG and MRI heart scans and continuing care from cardiologists would cost about $20,000, The average treatment cost of acute kidney failure in the USA was over $22,000.
While there's no simple explanation for the high costs, an important contributing factor is the significant administrative expenses in healthcare and given the litigious nature of US society, the cost of medical-malpractice legal expenses. Employing numerous billing clerks by both hospitals and physicians, as well as by private insurance companies is a requirement in the US insurance system. In addition to that, the system's reliance on advanced technology, costly labor and the steep price of malpractice insurance in the US also contributes to the overall expenses.
While there are several reasons for high healthcare costs, the fact remains that one cannot afford to be uninsured while visiting the US. In US hospitals the cost for any treatment is much lower if you have insurance and the hospital is part of the PPO network when compared to getting the same treatment without any insurance. This is beyond the actual insurance coverage itself, so simply having visitors insurance reduces the bill substantially. This high price without insurance is unimaginable for visitors to pay out of their pocket. It is important for Canadians to realize the importance of health insurance while visiting the US.
US travel insurance from Canada
YES! Canadians CAN purchase US travel insurance policies from American Visitor Insurance to cover the remainder of their stay (as long as they like).
Note that our policies are generally renewable, so if plans change (as they so often do these days), the policies can be extended (minimum of 5 days and up to 12 months). Policies are available up to $100,000 for persons in their 70s and up to $50,000 for persons in their 80s. You can use our search engine to determine the best prices for you based on age and deductible you'd like.
The deductible on a comprehensive travel insurance USA policy is generally a one-time payment if there are any medical expenses (doctor visit, ER visit, medications, etc). A higher deductible will give a lower premium cost, so it is a balance of what you feel you can pay out in the unlikely event you will need medical attention, and how much the policy costs you per month and day.
When you purchase the US travel insurance policy, you will enter your Canadian address as your "home" or "residence" address regardless of whether you own a home in the US or not. The "residence" country and the "destination" country CANNOT be the same. Then, you can choose the start date (even if it says trip start date) as the first day you need the policy. And, even though you choose an "Trip end date" you can always extend most policies without issue (just do not wait until they have expired).
Unfortunately, insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions is very limited on most US visitor policies for foreign visitors. Some policies will cover "acute onset" of pre-existing conditions which should mean life-threatening emergencies due to pre-existing conditions, but they have all recently excluded chronic and congenital disorders from that coverage. As a non-medical person, I'm not sure what illnesses/disorders that leaves that WOULD be covered. The Safe Travels Elite (a fixed plan) and Safe Travels Comprehensive offers some coverage $25,000 or $15,000 for a cardiac issue. The Elite insurance, Elite Plus insurance, Elite 90 insurance,Premier Plus insurance and Premier insurance are cheaper per month if you purchase at least 90 days the first time you buy them.
While there will always be some risk involved while traveling and staying in the US, travelers do have travel insurance options for visiting the US. Compare US travel insurance for Canada and buy the plan that best fits your needs.
As ever, we wish you safe and happy travels!
INF travel medical insurance for Canadian citizens
List of Canadian health insurance for travelling to USA
Compare INF Canadian travel insurance to USA
Snowbird Travel Insurance for Mexico
Mexico is a hugely popular Canadian snowbirds travel destination. There are several convenient flights by Air Canada and other airlines from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary to Mexico City, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta. The warm tropical weather, the sandy beaches, the very affordable cost of living and easy travel access from Canada makes Mexico a very attractive for Canadian Snowbirds.
These travel insurance plans cover medical emergencies and unexpected sickness and injury. They however have little coverage for trip interruption, baggage delay and loss.To bridge that gap, it is prudent to buy trip cancellation insurance plans which provide trip cancellation, trip interruption, missed flight connection coverage...
The top Trip cancellation insurance plans for Mexico are:- Trip Protection Basic: Trip Protection Basic Travel Insurance, Seven corners trip cancellation and trip interruption cover for international travel.
- Travel Insurance Select:Travel Insurance Services administered Travel Insurance Select covers for trip cancellation and interruption. Trip Cancellation, baggage loss, emergency evacuation.
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