Contributed by Shehnaz Hussain, Intuitive Financial Solutions
Summer is over, and mature travelers are planning their winter getaways. A recent Conference Board of Canada report reveals that although travel tends to decline with age, now Canadians over 74 are healthier, wealthier and more mobile than ever and this will continue to positively influence travel in the future.
Understand the ins and outs of your provincial health plan and travel insurance
Note: As of January 2020, Ontario’s Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) will no longer provide any coverage if a traveler gets sick or injured outside of their home province.
Make sure you know how long you can travel outside of your home province
Travelers can only leave their home provinces for a certain number of days per year and still maintain provincial health benefits—this varies by province.
Currently, residents of Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, BC, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland/Labrador can travel out of province up to 212 days. Residents of all other provinces and territories max out at 182 days.
If you stay out of province beyond the specified time period, you may have to deal with a waiting period to re-establish residency and get your benefits back.
Ensure you get the best travel insurance for your trip
The Conference Board report also states that in 2018, the volume of leisure trips to overseas destinations increased for the 5th year in a row, while travel to the US remained modest. As well, mature travellers taking more trips has created more opportunities for multi-generational travel and promoted a shift in the number of Canadians taking multiple trips in a year.
If you are skipping the US on your next trip, know that you can get Excluding USA Emergency Medical travel insurance. It’s less expensive than policies that include travel to the US.
If you are taking more than one trip in a year, a Multi Trip Annual Emergency Medical plan may be the most economical option. To save even more, you can buy a Multi Trip plan for the shortest trip in the year and add an extension if you take a longer trip.
Source: Conference Board of Canada, Outbound Canada, Travel Outlook: Caribbean & Mexico 2019-2023. Share these articles to help your customers understand the importance of travel insurance.
- Travel Outside Canada: How Provincial Health Plans Cover You Abroad
- The Benefits of Multi Trip Annual Travel Insurance
- Travel Medical Insurance for Seniors