Question about Insurance for the group: booking a ticket for my elderly mom from Vancouver to Toronto and the agent is trying to sell me $285 of insurance! Anyone have suggestions on te best travel and medical insurance???

I think a plan through CAA or a provincial equivalent would be good enough.

If you type in Travel Insurance into the search this group...top right corner....hit magnifying glass...Becca Smith had a great comment section on this question from June 19th...

My 80 yr old mom got a great deal on travel insurance through Co - operators insurance. You may want to try them!

I have the same question!

Also check the "snowbirds" website. They get great deals. Also be aware most travel insurance won't cover anything pre - existing so often they become a waste of money. A plan you can't use.

lindsay you need travel insurance within canada because your health care only covers you in your province.

Healthcare is universal in Canada. You definitely should not require insurance in another province. If you are looking for extended benefits that is a different thing but basic healthcare is covered.

if I'm not mistaken your health care covers you anywhere in Canada… my Alberta Health Care has covered doctors visits for me in both Ontario and BC

It's called 'out of province' medical coverage. ie. ambulance, and anything above and beyond basic medical care, etc

michele your provincial health care will cover you if your doctor refers you to a doctor outside the province. not all costs are covered by out of province.

http://www.bluecross.ca/en/products/travel-coverage.html

Yes, sometimes you may need to pay and then claim here but any emergency would be covered. Likewise, my daughter lived in Quebec to go to school and as long as you do not become a permanent resident of another province your provincial coverage is fine. Other insurance, like trip cancellation or interruption is always for your own account.

Do I need private health care coverage when travelling within Canada?
The portability criterion of the Canada Health Act requires that the provinces and territories extend medically necessary hospital and physician coverage to their eligible residents during temporary absences from the province or territory. This allows them to travel or be absent from their home province or territory and yet retain their health insurance coverage. Within Canada, the portability provisions are generally implemented through a series of bilateral reciprocal billing agreements between the provinces and territories for hospital and physician services. This generally means that your provincial/territorial health card will be accepted, in lieu of payment, when you receive hospital or physician services in another province or territory because the rates prescribed within these agreements are host-province/territory rates. These agreements ensure that Canadian residents, for the most part, will not face point-of-service charges for medically required hospital and physician services when they travel in Canada because the province or territory providing the service directly bills your home province/territory.
Sometimes there is a requirement for patients to pay "up front" and seek reimbursement from their home provincial or territorial health insurance plan. This still satisfies the portability criterion of the Act as long as access to a medically necessary insured service is not denied due to the patient's inability to pay. Private health insurance plans are prohibited from duplicating coverage for health services provided in Canada which are insured under the Canada Health Act.
In addition, the provision of "additional benefits" (e.g. prescription drugs, ground and air ambulance services) that provinces and territories may include under their respective health insurance plans are generally not portable outside one's home province/territory. Most private health insurance plans provide coverage for ambulance services, prescription drugs and other additional benefits provided outside the home province/territory. Therefore, you may wish to purchase private insurance for such services before you leave your home province/territory, to ensure adequate coverage.

Smells like a money grab to me.

Go onto the MSP site and read their out of province coverage (but within Canada). This is a snapshot from their webpage: MSP will help pay for unexpected medical services you receive anywhere in the world, provided the services are medically required, rendered by a licensed physician and normally insured by MSP. Reimbursement is made in Canadian funds and does not exceed the amount payable had the same services been performed in B.C. Any excess cost is the responsibility of the beneficiary.

I find this odd, considering my spouse's work insurance lists travel medical in other provinces as a benefits section. I'll have to look into this.... If medical is covered in other areas and provinces, I wish I had known this when I was waiting 18 months for an MRI a few years back.

Every insurance policy is different depending on age and health. Each insurer also underwrites differently so it's best to call around for multiple quotes. Here's a breakdown of travel insurance for seniors I wrote. http://goo.gl/h1VDeo

I don't know who you bank with, but if you have an RBC account, check out their policies. I know they have a comprehensive one for travel within Canada, so I'm sure there is something for just Canadian medical care. When I moved overseas for 7 months, I think I paid less than $300 for medical insurance, so I'm sure that any Canadian medical coverage would be significantly less than what you were quoted.

I would ask questions. A friend of mine just had a fall out of province, she had to pay the ambulance ride,$1200 and she would have been in hospital for a month so she wanted to get to her home province. They would not send her until there was a bed in a hospital in her home province and even then the plane ride home was $21000. Yes that is the correct number of 0.

Bev, that's a terrible story! I hope your friend is doing ok now, both financially and physically. I have heard some really awful stories about people getting trapped out of province without medical insurance and having a big surprise.

She is back home but still in hospital. Being elderly she wanted to be in her home province. Her medical would cover her hospital stay,all her expenses were from medical travel,ie ambulance. Now she is looking for ways to pay the $21000. I might add she was from BC and travelled to Sask.

I understand that completely - elderly or not, I think most people would want to be home. There has got to be some way to get at least some of the $21,000 covered. If I come across anything, I'll send it to you.

Thanks

Yes yes get ins for within Canada its cheap! BC has a agreement with other Province,'s but only up to so much. Im a retired Ins broker and we bought it 22 years ago when my youngest was just a baby,she was hospitalized in Quebec in ICU! Our bill was $5000.00! BCAA has the best policies!

BCAA!

Try BCAA I get mine thru them all the time.

... Maybe check credit card medical/travel insurance?

I got mine through our travel agent, which was the same price as BCAA. Mine was for 6 months in Southeast Asia and it only cost me $270 no deductibles. Shop around that number is absurd.

Scotialife you pay per day was 45$ for me a week in mexico!

Its the coverage,not the amount you paid,when buying insurance.Be very care full buying manulife,they have a bad history of rejecting claims on small technicalities !

Depends on age and pre existing conditions!

The Provinces set their own prices on procedures,so if a Province has a higher rate than BC Medical has set at,you are responsible for the cost difference.But the nicest part is if you have extended health care for Canada and your unable to get back to your home Province on your own,your policy will cover that,they will fly you back home!

I do physician billing and you are covered in all canadian provinces but not necessarily in Quebec.

If you are travelling within Canada the policy can be very reasonable.

Ambulances are never covered by provincial health care

Call me 604 506 4145. I can provide you with a quote. Depending on her her existing conditions I'm sure we can find something a bit cheaper with the same in not more coverage

Go through bcaa

I ALWAYS go through BCAA but if she isn't leaving the country, i didn't think it was an issue. Her BC med should cover her in Canada.

BC medical does not cover for other provinces in this instance. I flew my parents to Ontario and insurance was necessary. The price was close to the same