travel medical insurance

[Fred1609]

DW and I are planning to head South for winters after I retire. I was curious as to who folks get their out of country medical insurance from and the cost. Appreciate any feedback

[fillbert]

Shelly Bertram of Bertram Insurance & Financial Services. Give her a call at 705-657-3882 / 1-866-657-3882 or email at insure_ me@bertraminsurance.ca We saved a significant amount of money with her over our previous insurer...over $1000. Worth a call.

[User1011]

Not sure of your age, but I do know that AARP Supplemental Insurance in the past did cover out-of-the country medical care.

What AARP's current policy is for travel abroad I am not sure.

Medicare does not cover you while traveling abroad.

[Matchayan]

We have been using AMA[Alberta] same as CAA it has seemed to be ok. We have not have had to use it yet. Rates are reasonable. They increase if you are over 60.

[Fred1609]

I was looking specifically for medical insurance over 60. We have blue cross now, which has outstanding coverage but when we retire we have to make a choice as to what coverage to buy.

[LBuck]

Join the Canadian Snowbird Association and apply for Medipac. I have used if for about 10 years and still get a good rate for 170 days (70 years) for about $800.

[Open Roaders]

+1 for Medipac.
They have the best rates for us that I've found, give a year on year claim free discount and have an early bird discount if you purchase before mid August. We are up to 13% discount now.
They do allow you to change your departure date once for no fee which is helpful as when we buy it in August we never quite know exactly which date we are going to leave the province.
They are approved by the Canadian Snowbird Association but you don't have to be a member to buy the insurance.

[moisheh]

There are lots of good choices for travel health insurance. But do your self a favour and find out who is the underwriter. If it is Manulife LOOK FOR SOMETHING ELSE. They have a horrible record of denying claims .

[srydve]

You could also take a look at CUETS Mastercard. They provide up to a month anytime and you can add extra days for extended stays.

[Stan.Birch]

Originally Posted by moisheh

There are lots of good choices for travel health insurance. But do your self a favour and find out who is the underwriter. If it is Manulife LOOK FOR SOMETHING ELSE. They have a horrible record of denying claims .

Indeed! Avoid Manulife like the plague!

I am one of those weird individuals that actually reads the policy, in microscopic detail, and of the eight top policies available in Ontario, The Co-operators is at the very top of the list by a wide margin. And their customer care policy is exemplary. They always strain policy interpretation in favour of the customer!

We always get the annual policy which costs only a little more than that of a mere one month excursion; and covers as many 35 day trips outside of Canada as you can manage.

[Papa_Jim]

In 2005, while we were flying into the U.S.A., I was stricken with an unexplainable illness. I was hospitalized and the tests began. When every imaginable test could not determine the cause of the illness and pain, I was advised to return home so that I could put my affairs into order. My wife brought me home, and after several more weeks of testing and unbelievable pain, the condition ended as quickly as it had begun!

No diagnosis of the condition or disease was ever made. All the doctors know is that I was dying, and 'the man upstairs' changed his mind!

The medical bills in the U.S.A. exceeded $80,000.000. Our insurer was Blue Cross. They paid everything, from day one, no questions ever asked.

Thank you, Blue Cross.

[Stan.Birch]

Originally Posted by jimkate

In 2005 . . . .
The medical bills in the U.S.A. exceeded $80,000.000. Our insurer was Blue Cross. They paid everything, from day one, no questions ever asked.
Thank you, Blue Cross.

Jim,

There was a time, years ago when I considered Blue Cross to be the very best, and insurer of first choice. But then they started changing their out-of-province policies, adding one weasel clause after another until their policies protected you from so little, that they were totally useless unless you happened to be trompted to death on the front steps of the White House on July 4th!!

For the past decade or so, we have switched to the Co-operators as the insurer of choice.

As so often happens within the financial world, some upstart CEO decides to make a name for himself, by milking the long established reputation of a long established company for all it's worth, to make him look good.

I am not familiar with the current Blue Cross policy; but for anyone who actually cares, it's probably worth getting a copy of the Co-operators polic and the Blue Cross policy, and spending 15 minutes reviewing each of them, to determine which offers the better value!

[moisheh]

One should also be aware that Blue Cross is totally different from one province to another.

[Stan.Birch]

BTW, I probably should have stated the cost of outta province insurance with The Co-operators. For the two of us, 70 years of age, we pay $400 per year for as many 35 day outta-province trips as we can tolerate. Next year, at 71, the same insurance will cost us $1100!! :-(

Anyone remember the good 'ole days when all of this stuff was covered by OHIP (Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan)? Then someone ABUSED the system ROYALLY; having their month at an Arizona drug/alcohol rehab facility expenses billed to OHIP to the tune of $500,000 (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS)!! And that was the end of inclusive outta province medical insurance coverage forever. :-(