Relief and excitement are just two of the emotions felt by so many Canadians ready to travel to the U.S.  Whether you are vaccinated or not, the decision to travel across the border is your choice and you are responsible for your personal safety while you are in the U.S. including most emergency medical costs.

That’s why having travel insurance is an important part of your personal safety plan and there are plan options to fit your budget and decision.


Travelling safely means having more than limited health service coverage with your provincial health plan

Your provincial health plan will only cover very limited costs if you receive emergency health services while you’re travelling in the U.S., like

  • medical assessments or emergency surgery services
  • outpatient services like x-rays or stitches
  • inpatient services like room-and-board hospital stays and nursing services.

If you incur any of these healthcare expenses, you must pay the provider yourself, up front. 

When you are in the U.S. you are not covered for personal health and safety mishaps. 

Can you imagine any of these things happening to you?

Injuries  

  • A fall, slip, or bump
  • Sprained ankle, broken limb
  • Bleeding cut or wound
  • Being hit by a falling object

Unexpected Illness

  • Food poisoning
  • Meningitis
  • Cold or flu, or other serious viruses
  • Fever
  • Vomiting
  • Pink eye
  • Rash
  • Diarrhea
  • Stomach pain
  • Allergic reaction
  • Infection
  • Earaches

Too Much Sun or Fun

  • Sunstroke
  • 2nd degree burns due to sunburn
  • Heatstroke
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Scuba diving accident

If (and when) any one of these emergency health issues happen, without emergency medical travel insurance you must be prepared to pay out of pocket for the U.S. healthcare services you use for your care. And if you need an ambulance service (by land, water, or air) to transport you it isn’t covered by your provincial health plan. If you need a prescription for painkillers or antibiotics, you will be with paying (in U.S. dollars) for those prescriptions.

In the blink of an eye, you can be faced with thousands of dollars in cost for doctor services, a visit to a U.S. emergency room or inpatient services – unless you have emergency medical travel insurance in place.


COVID-19 Emergency Medical Travel Insurance coverage protects your ability to safely attend to your health in the U.S.

Luggage and Mask

Your travel insurance coverage will be there for you in the U.S. from the get-go if you fall ill, have an accident, or are hospitalized. You will be covered out of pocket costs and your full claim can be settled quickly, often within weeks. 

You can select a plan that will cover you for COVID-19 medical and related expenses if you’ve followed your provincial/territorial Health Authority’s protocols. Read more about these special plans here and here.

Travelling with children? Don’t worry. Your whole family can be covered. Children who aren’t eligible for a vaccine due to their age are also covered by the COVID-19 benefit. 

Not vaccinated? There are unvaccinated single trip plan options for you If you are hospitalized for a medical emergency unrelated to COVID-19, but contract COVID-19 while in the hospital, eligible expenses related to your original medical emergency would be covered up to the policy limit of your emergency medical insurance (typically $5,000,000) and eligible expenses specifically related to COVID-19 will be covered up to the special COVID unvaccinated policy limit (typically $1,000,000).


Select SBIS when you select to travel to the U.S.

When you select to travel to the U.S. again, we’ll be there to support you. At SBIS, we offer travel medical insurance and trip interruption or cancellation and loss of baggage coverage. To put your U.S. travel insurance plan in place, start by going online for a quote, get in touch with us by email or speak with one of our experienced travel insurance specialists at 1-800-667-0429 Monday to Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET. We’re ready to help.