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Are you in Canada and looking for travel insurance for an upcoming trip? It can be tough to find travel insurance pricing with just a cursory search. Not to mention, the price varies considerably depending on your trip duration, where you’re going, and what you want to insure. Luckily, we’ve outlined everything you need to know about travel insurance costs and how it works in Canada.
Read on to learn how travel insurance can influence the finances of your trip.
What Is Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance protects you in the event of a travel emergency, whether your luggage goes missing, your trip gets cancelled, or you fall ill. It reimburses you for any financial losses and gives you peace of mind regarding travel arrangements.
While it’s tricky to navigate emergencies as they come up, at least you’ll know you won’t lose thousands of dollars in the process.
Which Factors Influence Travel Insurance Costs?
Several factors affect your final travel insurance policy cost. For example, trip cancellation coverage reimburses you for any pre-paid and non-refundable trip costs if your trip gets cancelled unexpectedly. The cost of trip cancellation insurance will vary based on the value of your trip. Travel insurance will be more costly for an expensive trip than a cheap trip, so keep this in mind as you search for quotes. Below is a summary of the main factors affecting travel insurance costs:
- Age/pre-existing conditions: The older you are, the higher the premiums will be due to age-related health issues. This also applies to pre-existing medical conditions or illnesses. Often you have to pay extra to accommodate these issues.
- Trip Duration: Longer trips require higher coverage. This is because the longer you travel, the more likely it is that something goes wrong.
- Trip destination: Some destinations are inherently more dangerous than others. Anything from armed conflict to widespread illnesses may increase your travel insurance premiums.
- Healthcare costs: Some countries have higher healthcare costs than others. Some travel insurance companies will consider this in their pricing.
- Coverage plans: The level of coverage you choose will affect the cost of travel insurance. Basic plans offer limited coverage but are much cheaper compared to comprehensive plans. Below, we’ll explore more of the coverage types.
With these factors in mind, let’s look at the types of travel insurance coverage.
What Are The Types Of Travel Insurance?
Since the coverage and type of travel insurance determine the overall cost, it helps to first know what you’re looking for before attempting to find the right quote. We’ve outlined the main travel insurance types below.
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption: Trip cancellation insurance reimburses you for your trip and all prepaid, non-refundable expenses if something unexpected happens to cancel or cut it short.
- Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR): Much like trip cancellation, CFAR insurance will reimburse you for the cost of your trip. The difference is that you can cancel for any reason, rather than one of the listed “unforeseen” reasons in a standard policy. The catch is that this type of policy is about 50% more costly.
- Emergency Medical Insurance: This reimburses you for any unexpected medical emergencies during your trip, including hospital stays, doctor visits, medicine and emergency transport.
- Baggage and Personal Belongings: This coverage reimburses you for lost, stolen, or damaged luggage and personal belongings during the trip.
- Travel Delay: Travel Delay Insurance compensates you for additional expenses such as hotel stays, transport and meals during flight or travel delays.
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment: If things go terribly wrong during a trip and someone dies or loses a limb, accidental death and dismemberment insurance will pay out a lump sum to a beneficiary. Consider it a temporary life insurance premium.
The descriptions above are not uniform for every type of travel insurance, and you should always double-check what coverage you get with your specific insurance agent. There are also other specific travel insurance types not listed here. For example, rental car coverage or adventure sports coverage must be purchased on top of regular travel insurance.
For the most part, you’ll find package deals or comprehensive travel insurance that include a combination of the insurance listed above.
Average Cost Of Travel Insurance In Canada
Finally, now that you have an overview of how travel insurance works and which factors influence pricing, let’s look at how much travel insurance costs with Canadian insurance companies.
Basic travel insurance plans can start at $1 a day and go up to $50. This is clearly a wide range, so what’s going on? The best way to estimate the cost of comprehensive travel insurance is to assume it will cost 5-10% of your overall trip cost. The cost per day will depend on your overall trip cost.
Quote Comparisons
Let’s say you’re between the ages of 20 and 40, and plan a two-week trip to London. Assume that the average cost of your flights and bookings comes to $5500. The table below outlines how much travel insurance will cost you with specific Canadian insurers:
| Travelex | Manulife | Tugo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just medical emergency cover | $63.90 | $62.25 | $57.15 |
| Trip cancellation and interruption | $332.64 | $514.08 | $330.48 |
| Comprehensive cover | N/A | $541.62 | $433.62 |
These prices reflect the total you’d spend on travel insurance for the trip. In this case, the average cost of comprehensive travel insurance is roughly 10% of the total trip cost.
Of course, this is just one specific scenario. Depending on your destination, when you book, and how much the trip costs, you’ll pay different travel insurance costs. Overall, trip cancellation and interruption make up the bulk of the cost.
Tips For Finding Affordable Travel Insurance
Looking for cheaper travel insurance? We understand. Travel is expensive enough without having to worry about insurance. Below are a few tips and tricks to help you find the best deals on travel insurance.
- Compare Multiple Providers: It can be tempting to go with the first quote that seems reasonable, but if you’re trying to save, getting multiple quotes can help you pinpoint the best value for money.
- Pay attention to the coverage: Not all travel insurance policies have the same definition for “comprehensive”. If a policy advertises comprehensive coverage but seems suspiciously cheap, first read up on what they cover and if it seems worthwhile.
- Annual plans: If you travel frequently, consider finding an annual travel insurance plan. These are often more cost-effective compared to buying individual policies for each trip.
- Higher Deductibles: Choosing a higher deductible can reduce your premium. However, this can be risky if the deductible is unreasonably high. Keep an eye out for insurance that doesn’t highlight a deductible in the price, as this may change later.
- Bundle Insurance Policies: If you’re currently insuring a car or a home, see if your insurer has a bundle deal for you.
- Group discounts: If you’re travelling with a group, see if there are any group insurance rates. Some insurers offer discounts for group policies.
These are just a few things to look out for. There may be other ways to find a discount, but remember to do your research well and avoid cutting corners. The last thing you want is to be in a tricky situation with insufficient help or funds.
Final Thoughts
If you’re from Canada and travelling, most of the time, travel insurance is not a requirement but an optional extra. We highly recommend signing up for a travel insurance policy, especially if you’re travelling for more than a few weeks. However, ultimately the choice is yours.
Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway or an extended vacation, be sure to consider travel insurance in your travel budget so you can relax and enjoy your trip to the fullest.
Happy Travels!
Travel Insurance for Canadians
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