Best Travel Insurance Companies in Canada 2024

The table below compares the cost of insurance offered by different providers in Canada for a 10-day trip to the USA for a 30-year-old individual with no pre-existing conditions. You have the option to choose between travel medical insurance, trip protection in case of cancellation, interruption, or delay, and an all-inclusive plan that covers both.

Travel Insurance Plan Costs for a 10-day Trip to the USA

Insurance Provider	Emergency Medical Insurance	Trip Cancellation / Interruption1	All-Inclusive1
Blue Cross of Canada Visit Website	~$42	~$220 - $235	~$260 - $275
Manulife Visit Website	~$42	~$375 - $410	~$430 - $455
Allianz Global Assistance Visit Website	~$56	~$260 - $285	~$310 - $345
RBC Insurance Visit Website	~$49	~$306	~$333
TD Insurance Visit Website	~$55	~$463	~$540
Co-Operators3 Visit Website	~$56	~$255 - $280	~$310 - $340
Scotia Insurance4 Visit Website	~$38 - $42	~$260 - $285	~$180 - $19422
BMO Insurance Visit Website	~$45	~$250 - $270	~$265 - $290
CIBC Insurance3 Visit Website	~$49 -$53	~$405 - $440	~$440 - $480
Costco5 Visit Website	~$30	~$245 - $270	~$175 - $180
Amex Insurance Visit Website	~$53 - $60	~$325 - $350	~$390 - $425
CAA Visit Website	CAA Members - $37 - $44 Non-Members - $41 - $48	CAA Members - $395 - $435 Non-Members - $440 - $485	CAA Members - $315 - $435 Non-Members - $350 - $485
Medipac Visit Website	~$93	-	-
Sun Life Visit Website	N/A	N/A	N/A

• For a trip cost of $5,000 per traveller.
• Maximum payable for trip cancellation/interruption is $3,500.
• Allianz Global Assistance administers Co-operators Travel Insurance and CIBC Travel Insurance.
• Scotiabank insurance is not available in Quebec. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and First North American Insurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manulife, underwrite Scotiabank insurance.
• Costco membership is required to get insurance from Costco. Insurance for Costco members is provided by Manulife.

• The costs indicated above are for a 30-year-old male with no pre-existing conditions and no add-ons.
• The costs displayed are for educational purposes only. They may vary based on age, province of residence, trip cost, travel destination, pre-existing conditions, add-ons, deductible selected, etc.

You should note that adding a deductible can reduce the insurance premium. A deductible is an amount that the insured individual will have to pay out of pocket before claiming the rest of the amount from the insurance company.

Emergency medical insurance or travel medical insurance covers the healthcare costs incurred when you fall sick, meet with an accident, or face any other health-related emergency outside of your province. Depending on your insurer and selected coverage, the insurance may cover expenses such as:

• Hospitalization expenses
• Physician fees
• Drug costs
• Diagnostic services, such as x-rays, laboratory tests
• Emergency dental services
• Paramedical and ambulance services
• Nursing care and attendant charges
• Repatriation costs

Most insurers also provide 24/7 helplines which you could call if you need emergency assistance.

Emergency Medical Coverage Limit

Insurance Provider	Emergency Medical Insurance Limit
Blue Cross of Canada	Up to $5 million in emergency medical
Manulife	Up to $10 million in emergency medical, up to $3,000 in dental
Allianz Global Assistance	Up to $10 million in emergency medical, up to $5,000 in dental
RBC Insurance	Unlimited, up to $1,500 dental
TD Insurance	Up to $5 million in emergency medical, up to $2,000 in dental
Co-Operators	Up to $10 million in emergency medical, up to $5,000 in dental
Scotia Insurance	Up to $10 million in emergency medical, up to $3,000 in dental
BMO Insurance	Up to $5 million in emergency medical, up to $2,000 in dental
CIBC Insurance	Up to $10 million in emergency medical
Costco	Up to $5 million in emergency medical, up to $5,000 in dental
Amex Insurance	Up to $5 million in emergency medical, up to $1,000 in dental
CAA	Up to $5 million in emergency medical
Medipac	Up to US$5 million
Sun Life	Details unavailable

Besides emergency medical insurance for a single trip, many travel insurers also offer annual insurance packages that cover all your trips within a year. This could be a great option for those who travel outside Canada frequently. For example, Manulife’s emergency medical plan for a 30-year-old healthy individual for a single 10-day trip costs around $42, and for multiple 10-day trips costs about $87. Thus, the annual plan will be more cost-effective if you make more than two 10-day trips outside Canada in a year.

Many seniors have pre-existing medical conditions, but they can still be covered by travel insurance, such as for Canadian snowbirds looking for travel insurance. The following points should be kept in mind:

• You may be covered under general travel insurance if you meet the insurer’s stability requirement. This means that if you have a medical condition that has been stable for a certain period of time, say one year, the condition may be covered under the policy.
• A stable condition refers to a condition in which there are no new symptoms, the condition hasn’t worsened, no changes have been made to the treatment, and no hospitalization has occurred.
• If you have an unstable condition, medical expenses associated with the condition or a related condition likely won’t be covered under a general travel insurance policy. In such a case, you will have to get a personalized travel insurance policy that covers your unstable condition.
• The insurance premium is likely to be higher than for an individual with no pre-existing conditions.

Trip protection plans cover expenses caused due to trip cancellation, trip delay and trip interruption. Trip protection plans are also called non-medical plans. Such insurances generally cover the following:

• Baggage: Expenses incurred due to delayed/damaged/lost/stolen baggage
• Delays: Expenses incurred when you miss a connection or face travel delays, such as meals, accommodation, etc.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption: Cost of prepaid travel arrangements when you have to cancel your travel or when your trip is interrupted
• Travel Accident: Death or dismemberment due to travel or flight accident

Trip Protection Inclusions

Insurance Provider	Cost	Trip Protection
Blue Cross of Canada	~$220 - $235	Up to $1,500 for lost baggage issues, $300K for flight accident and $100K for accidental death
Manulife	~$375-$410	Up to $2,700 for misconnection, $3,500 for delay return, $1,500 for lost baggage, $100K for flight accident and $50K for travel accident
Allianz Global Assistance	~$260 - $285	Up to $400 for baggage delay, $1,500 for travel delay, $1,000 for lost baggage, and $100K for travel accident
RBC Insurance	~$306	Up to $400 for baggage delay, $1,000 for lost/damaged baggage, $1,000 connection benefit, $3,500 for out-of-pocket expenses, $100K for flight accident, and $50K for travel accident
TD Insurance	~$463	Up to $25,000 for prepaid trip costs, $400 for baggage delay, $1,000 for lost/damaged baggage, $200K for flight accident, and $100K for travel accident
Co-Operators	~$255 - $280	Up to $1,500 for travel delay, $400 for baggage delay, $1,000 for lost/damaged baggage, and $100K for travel accident
Scotia Insurance	~$260 - $285	Up to $500 for baggage delay, $1,000 for lost/damaged baggage, $50K for travel accident and $100K for flight accident
BMO Insurance	~$250 - $270	Up to $1,000 for baggage, $50K for travel accident and $100K for flight accident
CIBC Insurance	~$405 - $440	Up to $2,000 for delayed/lost/damaged baggage, $1,000 for meals & accommodation, $800 for out-of-pocket expenses, $10K for accidental death
Costco	~$245 - $270	Up to $1,000 for baggage, $50K for travel accident and $100K for flight accident
Amex Insurance	~$325 - $350	Up to $1,000 for baggage, $5K for trip cancellation/interruption/delay and $50K for flight accident
CAA	CAA Members - $395 - $435 Non-Members - $440 - $485	Baggage Insurance can be added to the insurance for a coverage of up to $1,500

Foreign residents visiting Canada can also buy insurance to cover any medical expenses incurred during their trip. This could include tourists, students, and parents or grandparents visiting Canada on a super-visa.

For a 10-day trip, standard insurance for a 30-year-old visitor with no pre-existing medical conditions costs from around $25 for coverage of up to $25K to up to $85 for coverage of up to $500K. For $100K insurance for a 10-day trip, the individual can expect to pay around $40.

Travel Insurance for Visitors to Canada

Insurance Provider	Visitor Insurance Limit
Blue Cross of Canada	Up to $500K
Manulife	Up to $200K
Allianz Global Assistance	Up to $500K
RBC Insurance	Up to $150K
Co-Operators	Up to $500K
CAA	Up to $150K

If you travel outside your province or Canada frequently, it may be cost-effective to get multi-trip travel insurance. Multi-trip travel insurance policies usually cover unlimited trips, each of up to the selected number of days, within a 365-day period. For example, you could get travel insurance for unlimited trips of up to 10 days in a year.

The trip lengths that you can select are usually pre-defined by the insurer. For example, the trip length options offered by Manulife are 4, 10, 18, 30 and 60 days.

It is advisable that you notify your insurance company immediately after an incident occurs, which would result in a claim. It is important that you save all the documents that can prove the incident, such as medical reports, receipts, forms, boarding passes, luggage tags, etc. The easiest way to submit a claim to your travel insurance provider is online, for which you generally need to follow two steps:

• Fill out the claim form: You will usually find the claim form on your insurer's website, and you may also find a link to it in your policy document.
• Submit the claim form and supporting documents: After filling the form accurately, you should submit it to the claims portal along with all the supporting documentation.

Alternatively, you can submit a claim over the phone as well. You may still have to submit the supporting documents online. It may take a few weeks or even months to receive a reimbursement after you have submitted a claim. You may follow up with the provider if you haven’t received the reimbursement even after a few weeks.

It should also be noted that insurance providers require you to submit a claim within a stipulated time following the incident. Thus, you should read the policy document carefully and ensure you submit the claim on time.

Travel Medical Insurance Claim: Most insurance providers recommend that you contact them before seeking medical treatment or as soon as you reasonably can on their 24/7 helpline. The operators can help you find healthcare providers to treat your condition near you. They can also arrange for the payment to be made to the healthcare provider on your behalf, which can be very useful as medical bills can run several thousands of dollars. A delay in informing the insurer about the incident can result in your maximum payable benefit being limited.

In Canada, many premium credit cards come with travel insurance benefits. In fact, the best credit cards for travel always come with perks such as travel insurance, rental car insurance and no-fx fee. Credit cards with travel insurance usually have an annual fee. A credit card’s travel insurance usually covers only the trips that are booked using that card. Thus, if you have a credit card that has travel insurance, you should make your travel bookings with that card for the insurance policy to be effective, and you don’t need to purchase travel insurance separately.

It is recommended that you get travel insurance while travelling outside your province, as your provincial medical plan may not cover all the medical expenses incurred outside your home province. Meanwhile, travel insurance can also cover expenses due to trip interruption, baggage delays and more.

You should buy travel insurance when you start making your travel bookings. If you get travel insurance that covers trip cancellation, the insurer will reimburse you if you have to cancel your trip due to unforeseen circumstances such as sickness or government travel advisory and cannot get a refund for your bookings.

You can buy travel insurance after your trip starts, but you may receive limited benefits when you do so. Additionally, the insurer may have a waiting period following the purchase of the insurance, such as 24 or 48 hours, in which you won’t be covered by the insurance.

While health insurance provides a certain degree of protection, it may have limitations outside your province or country of residence. Travel insurance can bridge the gap and cover you for a wider range of incidents, especially non-medical issues. For example, travel insurance can provide you reimbursement in the event of lost or stolen baggage, missed flight connection, rental car collision, etc, which are not covered under health insurance.

Additionally, travel insurances usually have an accidental death or dismemberment coverage that will provide reimbursement if such an unfortunate incident occurs, which regular health insurance won’t.