Know your travel insurance through a broker's eyes

Consumers need to be meticulous when purchasing a travel insurance policy. You want to make sure that before you want to take a break from your daily routine and get away; you don’t come back to expenses that might have not been covered by your insurer. Your Travel policy takes away the stress of worrying from unexpected accidents or illnesses, but below you can find a few ways on how to avoid surprises brought on by the conditions of your policy specific to your trip details. 

The biggest benefit to all these tips is having an insurance broker to through all the steps of your policy and claims.

1. Be aware of your current health condition and remove all doubts

Being thorough with your insurer about pre-existing conditions is crucial to avoid claim disputes, don’t leave any medical history out of the conversation. The insurer or broker will be able to advise if the history given is relevant or not to the policy covering you.

"Probably the biggest thing for a person to do is to give as much medical or background history as they have when they're purchasing [insurance]," says Bill Walker, director of individual products for Ontario Blue Cross. The same goes for when answering questions for a claim.

"For the most part, largely, when a claim gets denied, it's not some type of purposeful nondisclosure or fraud. It's just the person has decided that this is an irrelevant piece of medical history."

Information about hospitalizations, treatments, investigations or even a change in medication is relevant.

Along with providing information, asking questions is a good practice, too.

"Ask a professional … how am I covered?" says Alex Bittner, vice-president of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada.

'If a person has a valid reason why they believe that claim should not be denied, there are steps they can go to appeal.'- Bill Walker

He suggests telling the insurance professional: "I want to go through the application with you. I want to actually see the policy. I want to see how my pre-existing medical conditions are affected, and go into it anticipating that you're going to have a claim."

If a person is unsure about a specific question, then Bittner suggests going to the family doctor and seeking advice.

Some people might say they answered medical questions to the best of their knowledge and didn't know that previous bits of their medical history, such as a test years ago might be a red flag now, or something that's not a health concern for them.

If that's the case, Bittner suggests claims might not be denied on those grounds.

"If they honestly didn't know, we're not going to hold that against them. We're not."

If a claim is denied, it's not necessarily the end of the road.

"If a person has a valid reason why they believe that claim should not be denied, there are steps they can go to appeal," says Walker.

Companies have ombudsmen, as does the industry. Court action is also a possibility.

2. The reading material is important

Amid the excitement of planning for a trip, reading a travel insurance document might not seem like the most inspiring way to spend some time. Plus, it's not going to be a speed read like the latest spy thriller.

But the experts say one of the most important measures a would-be traveler can take is reading the document. If buying the policy online, download the document and go through it carefully.

"I know travel policies are not uncomplicated, small, little documents," says Walker.

"But I think if a person was to sit down and read it before they go on their trip, that way they're doing what they need to do to ensure the least possible chance of a problem with a denied claim."

If you don't understand something, the experts suggest, call the company and ask questions. Calls are usually recorded, so make a record for yourself of the date and time of the conversation and consider recording it yourself.

3. Think about what you will be doing on your trip

If you've read the policy carefully, you may know whether it would cover you for certain activities. 

If it's part of their itinerary, insurance specialists advise Canadians to make sure their travel insurance policies cover extreme activities such as skydiving during trips abroad. (CBC)

Hazardous, high-risk or adventurous activities like skydiving or rock climbing might not be covered. Even scuba diving might fall in that category.

"There are some that do [cover it] and there are some that don't," says Bittner.

Taking your son or daughter to a sports tournament in the U.S. might also be problematic.

"I'd be asking those penetrating questions," says Bittner, suggesting that a parent find out if a youth athlete would be covered under the policy in question, "because every policy has I would say significant limitations and exclusions for coverage."

4. Where you are going is always relevant to your policy

Quick trips over the border into the U.S. or cross-Canada vacations might not seem like prime examples of instances when travel medical insurance is necessary, but experts say that's not so.

Even a quick trip from southern Ontario to Buffalo to catch a Bills football game or to check out bargains at a mall should be insured, they say.

"I've seen … a $90,000 claim incurred in Buffalo from a person who had a major brain aneurysm and couldn't even be taken back across the border, so it's imperative, especially in the States," says Walker.

Bittner says Ontario only covers six to nine per cent of medical costs a person might incur in the U.S.

"On a $100,000 bill, [the Ontario Health Insurance Plan] pays $9,000," he says, leaving a bill worth " a lot of money."

Even in Canada, Walker says, Blue Cross recommends travel insurance if a person is going outside the home province.

While there is basically the same public health system across the country, some provinces charge more for some services than others, and vice versa. A trip between provinces in an air ambulance would not be covered, for example.

Also be on the lookout for country- or region-specific coverage. Some U.S. companies won't cover travel to Cuba, for instance. Other companies may not cover places for which the Canadian government has issued a travel warning.

Not looking to deny claims

Both Walker and Bittner acknowledge there is a broad perception that insurers may be looking for ways to deny claims but both say that's not the case.

Walker says companies have taken steps to make it "at least a little easier" for people to understand policies.

"No company, especially with a brand name like a bank, or Blue Cross for that matter, or Manulife, these are all companies that invest a lot of time to gain the confidence of their customers, so they don't want their confidence shattered because a claim has been denied."

At Sturino & Associates we want you to get the most up to date information and cater to all of your insurance needs. for more information call us at 416-233-8252 or drop by locally at 7 Jopling Avenue S. Etobicoke, ON.