Why Should Canadian Snowbirds Get Insurance? An Introduction
Snowbirds travel insurance is important for Canadians who prefer to spend the frigid, snowy winter months of Canada in warmer climates where they can enjoy the inviting sunshine and sand between their toes instead of being snowed in at home.
Over 500,000 Canadians head south every winter to warmer places in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica or other places with a more agreeable climate. Places such as Florida, California, Arizona and Texas are very popular destinations for snowbirds.
While in their home province, most Canadians are covered by their provincial Government Health Insurance Plans (GHIP). However, it provides very limited coverage for 7 months outside the province. The coverage available is well below the medical expenses that could be incurred in the U.S., which are extremely high. A few days in a hospital could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the U.S. Therefore, without proper Snowbirds insurance, it could be devastating trying to pay medical bills.
Our snowbirds insurance plans can be purchased instantly online as there are no medical questions and there is no underwriting. Different people have different needs when looking to buy insurance, review the following categories of snowbirds medical insurance to understand the differences and decide what is best for you!
Travel Medical Insurance
Snows travel medical insurance plans are single trip insurance plans.
Snowbirds travel medical insurance would cover any unforeseen and new medical conditions that may occur after the effective date of the policy. It would generally exclude any pre-existing conditions, routine maintenance or preventive checkups. Some travel medical insurance plans cover acute onset of pre-existing conditions, up to a certain amount for people up to a certain age. Snowbirds travel medical insurance will also exclude transplants, drug and alcohol abuse, mental conditions, rehabilitation etc.
The price depends upon your age, chosen policy maximum, the deductible and the duration. Of course, there are many similar plans with price differences and varying fine details of the coverage benefits. While reviewing plans, compare plan details for what suits you best and do not make a decision solely based on price.
Numerous policy maximums options ranging from $25,000 up to $8,000,000 are available in snowbird insurance. The policy duration can be anywhere from 5 days up to 3 years. The deductible monetary choices can vary from $0 to $5,000; some plans have deductible choices of once per the policy period or per incident.
You can make payments in installments and if you decide to stay longer, you can extend your coverage under most Snowbirds medical insurance plans.
Travel insurance for snowbirds will generally provide coverage for whatever is medically necessary; such as, hospital room and board, ICU, prescription drugs, diagnostic test, and ambulance and so forth. Additionally there are other travel related benefits; for example, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation of remains, trip interruption and so on.
Please make sure to keep your insurance ID card with you at all times.
Multi-Trip Travel Insurance
If you are taking multiple trips throughout the year, you can purchase annual multi-trip travel insurance. You can take any number of trips but the coverage for each trip will be limited to 30 days or 45 days, depending upon the policy.
Snowbirds multi-trip travel insurance is an excellent low cost option that provides a high amount of coverage. With multi-trip insurance, you don't need to remember to purchase coverage every time you take a trip.
In order to be eligible for multi-trip travel medical insurance, you must maintain your provincial healthcare.
If you're on a trip and stay past the duration selected by you at purchase, make sure to buy an additional single trip travel insurance (mentioned above) to cover the extra days.
Trip Cancellation Insurance
In addition to medical expenses, if you are also looking for non-medical coverages such as trip cancellation, baggage delay or loss, travel delay, or other similar coverages, you should consider purchasing trip cancellation insurance. These are package plans that would provide emergency medical coverage, trip cancellation, trip interruption and many other travel benefits.
U.S. based companies have traditionally offered such travel insurance plans only to the U.S. residents. However, we have several trip cancellation insurance plans available for non-U.S. residents, like Canadians.
Trip insurance plans are typically designed for trip durations up to 30 days. For longer stays, consider purchasing travel medical insurance instead.
If you are going on a cruise vacation, make sure to look into cruise travel insurance.
Conclusion
Snowbirds travel insurance is an important factor for Canadians traveling to or staying in the Southern parts of the United States, Mexico or Caribbean countries. Snowbird travel insurance is a necessity, not just a good idea.
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