Are you eager to travel again like most Canadians, and maybe even plan to restart your winter vacation tradition? At SBIS we’re ready to help you with those plans – and put in place the Emergency Medical Travel Insurance you need, plus the Trip Cancellation, Interruption (including quarantine benefits) and baggage coverage you want.
Here are four ways travel insurance will protect you.
Emergency Travel Medical Coverage Protects You Against Out-Of-Pocket Medical Costs
Medical bills can add up quickly, especially in the US, where an average night in a hospital costs about $16,000. Without the right coverage, you could pay thousands out-of-pocket for even a simple illness or accident. Your provincial health care will only pay a very small portion of your out-of-country claims.
When your health situation is unexpected and serious, like Colin’s recent experience. After a brief trip overseas, 64-year-old Colin* went to visit some of his extended family in the town of Mount Kisco, about an hour’s drive north of New York City. During his stay, he began experiencing a dry cough, high fever, and shortness of breath, shortly after a relative he was staying with was diagnosed with COVID-19. As Colin’s symptoms worsened, he was admitted to the local hospital and also tested positive for COVID-19. Then things got even more complicated.
Colin was placed in isolation and was put on a ventilator for over 2 weeks, due to respiratory failure. While he was intubated, Colin suffered an irregular heartbeat and a blood infection from a wound. Colin was hospitalized for 44 days, before he was taken back to Canada by air ambulance to his local hospital to complete his recovery.
If Colin hadn’t purchased Emergency Medical Insurance, he would’ve faced a staggering financial burden—over half a million dollars in US hospital and medical costs! The claim amount paid by TuGo was $544,675.49.
Colin’s provincial healthcare plan covered under $1,800—less than 1% of the costs. Luckily, Colin and his family took the right steps throughout the entire ordeal, which ensured that their travel insurance claim went smoothly.
Colin is just one of many travellers who benefited from COVID-19 coverage from TuGo’s Emergency Medical Insurance.
Cancellation and Interruption Coverage Protects Your Travel Investment
Nobody expects to have to cancel or interrupt their long awaited, highly anticipated holiday. A lot can happen in the time between booking your trip and departing. If a medical emergency or other unexpected event prevents you from going on your trip or travelling for as long as you planned, you could potentially lose some (or all) of the money you spent. Cancellation and Interruption coverage insures your pre-paid expenses so you don’t need to worry about the what if’s…and can travel worry-free.
Here’s just one claims example provided by TuGo insurance:
Cancel for Any Reason Works Because Plans Can Change
If you need flexibility when you plan, SBIS offers Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance with Cancel for Any Reason** as an add-on feature! Just purchase this within 5 days of booking and making your initial payment or before any cancellation penalties from the travel supplier apply.
You can cancel up to 5 days before your scheduled departure date, for any reason, and be reimbursed up to 50% of the pre-paid, non-refundable travel costs.
Protect Your Baggage Too
With major luggage backlogs affecting international airports, adding Baggage Insurance is more important than ever. This coverage will reimburse you for lost, damaged, destroyed, or stolen baggage while in transit, or while in any hotel or other building, en route anywhere in the world, on land or water or in the air. For more information on how baggage travel protection insurance works, read here.
Get the best choice from five insurance carriers
You can depend on SBIS to recommend the best options to protect you and your trip with highly competitive rates and comprehensive coverage from Canada’s most respected travel insurers:
- TuGo Travel
- Destination Travel
- Manulife Travel
- GMS Travel Star
- Blue Cross Travel (Ontario and Atlantic Provinces only).
It’s easy to apply
SBIS is proud to make it as easy as possible to put your travel insurance coverage in place. Completing the medical questionnaire correctly is probably the most important step in buying travel insurance. Claims can be turned down for providing inaccurate information on the application or medical questionnaire, so it’s really important that you do it correctly. Read this to learn everything you should know to make applying easier.
You can now call and complete an application simply over the phone!
Give us a call and we will find the best product for you and your personal situation: toll free 1-800-667-0429. Our business hours are Monday to Friday 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET. Prefer to go online to choose your coverage? Just click here. We look forward to serving your travel insurance needs soon.
*Real Life Claim Stories Courtesy of Tugo Travel, based on actual claim with specific traveler details changed to protect privacy.
**The Cancel for Any Reason option provides coverage for any reason other than a covered risk listed in the policy. The Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance exclusions and general exclusions do not apply to the Cancel for Any Coverage.
