 |
travel / adventure / guides / winter 2005
| Travel & Adventure Guides |
|
|
BY TRACY C. READ
Coverage that protects you from the slippery slope
of a holiday casting call
Trip Cancellation/Travel Interruption Insurance | Emergency Medical Insurance |
Emergency Evacuation Insurance
Perhaps there were no accidents in Sigmund
Freud's life. It's also safe
to say, however, that the father of modern
psychoanalysis never spent a week in the remote
Canadian wilderness.
Consider the vacationing Ontario skier who
gets slammed from behind by an out-of-control
snowboarder on the snowy slopes of British Columbia,
or the band of backcountry explorers who get
stranded in a blizzard. Accidents can happen,
and since they do, long before skiing, skating
or Ski-Dooing into the blustery Canadian hinterlands,
it's up to the consumer to ensure that
his or her insurance will foot the bill.
As we all know, medical expenses are...well...expensive.
The basics are covered by provincial insurance,
which is transportable from province to province.
Each, however, varies in its "standard" of
universal care, and typically, a few critical
cracks emerge. Extended health packages offered
through your workplace may pick up some slack.
But if the setback requires a family member
to fly from another province to accompany you
home or if the accident postpones your return
on a non-refundable plane ticket, you've
got a host of other costs to consider.
There are three broad categories of insurance
that address the majority of vacation scenarios — trip
cancellation/travel interruption, emergency
medical, and emergency evacuation insurance — and
some cost just over a dollar a day.
It is possible to get insurance information
on the Internet at rbcinsurance.com and
travelinsurance.ca (reputedly, one of the
most affordable companies), for example. You
can also find help at Blue Cross Canada online
(www.blue cross.ca/travel insurance.html). This
web site lets you enter your travel details
and offers recommendations.
|
I Thought I Was Covered
Here are some basic questions to ask your
insurance provider:
- What situations are excluded from the plan?
- Does the policy exclude specific higher-risk sports or adventure activities?
- How does the insurer determine eligibility? Must the insured
qualify or pay for medical tests?
- Will the plan pay benefits even
when the medical emergency
arises because of a complication
resulting from a previously
existing health condition?
- Is there a deductible for each claim?
— T.C.R
|
top
For expert personal advice on the kind of protection
you need, contact a travel
or insurance agent or an automobile association.
They'll assist you by fine-tuning the
package according to your specific needs and
budget. If you're part of a guided trip,
a qualified outfitter can give you a heads-up
on what to buy. As with all services, shop around,
ask questions and read the policy's fine
print to make sure you understand specific dollar
limits, conditions of coverage and what you
are getting and not getting.
Trip Cancellation/Travel Interruption Insurance
Upfront payments for a tour package or transportation
fare may be partly or wholly non-refundable
if an emergency forces you to cancel a trip
before it begins. Trip cancellation insurance
is the ticket to safeguarding the money you've
invested. Travel interruption insurance, on
the other hand, covers costs incurred if you
(or a family member) suffer an emergency requiring
you to cut your trip short and return home.
top
Emergency Medical Insurance
It's important to realize that provincial
health plans don't necessarily pay the
full costs of emergency medical care when you
are travelling outside your home province. For
starters, out-of-province adventurers without
emergency medical insurance will likely pay
for the ambulance ride to the local ER. Once
there, they're on their own again if the
injuries involve teeth or eyeglasses. Splints
or crutches to hobble out of the hospital will
be extra, as are prescription drugs to manage
pain. And a semi-private room
for the duration? Forget it. That said, emergency
medical insurance is a good idea no matter what
kind of trip you're taking. Some policies
allow frequent travellers to buy once and be
covered for a block number of days over the
year so that they don't have to arrange
for coverage each time they head out.
Emergency Evacuation Insurance
Falling ill or becoming injured in the back
of beyond can be very expensive. Likely, you'll
need to be airlifted to a hospital, and your
provincial health plan may not cover all the
associated costs, which could run to several
thousand dollars. While Canada's search
and rescue teams typically don't charge
Canadians for their services, there are many
questions being raised about financial responsibility
in cases such as vacationers skiing or trekking
in unpatrolled backcountry or without proper
guiding or gear. Sometimes, a backcountry
rescue might involve area police services,
including the RCMP, or paramedics. In these
cases, you could receive a bill, which provincial
health care won't pick up. Emergency
evacuation coverage, included in many travel
medical plans, can be a wise purchase for
those who love adventuring in Canada's
far regions.
top
|
|
| ADVERTISEMENT |
|
|
|
|
