If you live in Ontario, take a look outside. Chances are, you will see some very gloomy conditions. Snow. Sleet. Slush. Perhaps some beautiful sunshine reflecting off the white snow. Which will soon become a slushy grey mess as soon as the weather warms up.
It’s now wonder that Canadians tend to travel during the cold weather months. But, when travelling outside of Canada, there are important travel considerations. Health care is free for Canadian residents within Canada. But, it’s not free when travelling outside of Canada. This is why it’s important to consider some form of travel insurance.
Here are some things to consider.
Ontario Car Insurance will cover some medical and treatment costs if you are involved in a car accident outside of Ontario (like driving your vehicle on a long road trip through the United States). The car insurer will pay for the medical and treatment expenses so long as they agree that those expenses are reasonable and necessary. There is no guarantee that the insurer will agree to this, but it’s nice to know that some degree of coverage is available. Many people don’t know that they can make a claim through their Ontario car insurance for a car accident which took place in the United States. This is not a claim against the at fault driver in an Ontario Court. Rather, it’s a first party claim with your own car insurer (regardless of who is at fault). This is called an “accident benefit claim“, and depending on the nature and severity of the injuries, there might be coverage in upwards of $1,000,000 for medical and treatment costs not covered by OHIP provided that the injuries are deemed catastrophic; along with up to $400/week in the form of an income replacement benefit. All of this is available for an Ontario driver or passenger; for a car accident which took place outside of Ontario (even in the United States).
People get confused thinking that these accident benefits apply to injuries related to things not arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle. Say for example, in a slip and fall abroad, or a dog attack. These accident benefits through your own Ontario Car insurance are NOT available in these types of situations.
When you have serious injuries from a slip and fall, or any other sort of injury outside of Canada; where do you turn and what can you do to make sure that you’re covered. Going to a foreign hospital for treatment or for surgery can cost a lot of money. This is why it’s important to have adequate travel insurance to cover you in the event of such an unfortunate incident.
Some travel insurance is available through credit cards. It’s best to check with your credit card provider how much is available, how their program works, and what triggers the coverage. Under some credit cards, you need to make a purchase in the country which you are visiting in order for the coverage to kick in. Other times, you need to book the flight. Other times, the coverage applies automatically. But, it might only cover the individual card holder and not a spouse, dependant, or travel companion. Each travel insurance program is different. That’s why it’s important to call your credit card company and find out how their coverage works, and how it triggers. It’s also important to find out how to make a claim. Is there a toll free # to call and the claim can be made over the phone? Does the claim have to be made online? If so, what’s the website you need to visit? Are there specific claim forms that need to be completed and if that’s the case, is it a good idea to have those forms ready in case of emergency? Generally, there are claim forms that the doctors or the hospital will need to complete.
Often, more comprehensive travel insurance can be purchased directly from an insurer. They offer annual plans which cover an unlimited number of trips, or specific one time travel coverage. Shopping around for the best plan which meets your needs and offers you the most bang for your buck is always a great idea. These travel insurance plans might also offer additional coverage like flight protection, rental car protection, loss of luggage coverage and/or hotel cancellation or accommodation protection in case you need to extend your stay on account of medical reasons. Securing travel specific coverage when you are travelling is never a bad idea. On the other hand, travelling without any travel insurance at all is not a good idea.
Here’s the kicker. Just because you have travel insurance does NOT guarantee that you will be covered, or that the insurer will pay what you’re asking. Sometimes coverage is approved at 100% of the claim. Other times, it’s approved at less than that. Still, other times, it’s denied completely. We’ve seen many instances where claims for medical treatment have been denied at first instance by the travel insurer, only to be approved on appeal, or after litigation using a trusted and experienced personal injury lawyer.
It’s also important to know how payment works under these policies. Some policies will pay the doctor or the hospital directly with no deductible being charged to you. Other policies require that the claimant pay the total cost upfront, and then seek reimbursement from the insurer after the fact. It’s important to know how payment works because if it’s the later where the claimant pays for the treatment upfront, but the claimant does not have the money to pay upfront; then what good is that sort of coverage in the time of emergency? Ideally, you would like for the insurer to pay the doctor/hospital directly, with zero deductible payable to the insurer from the claimant. But, not all insurance policies are created equally. Some policies are more friendly to claimants. Other policies are more friendly to insurers. It’s all contained in the fine print of the insurance policy itself. Not all of these details are disclosed to claimants before they purchase the insurance policy (although, they ought to be). You shouldn’t need to be a personal injury lawyer in order to understand how your insurance policy which you purchased works.