When you leave home and travel to school, your destination may be another province or territory — or another country.

Or are you coming to Canada for your studies?

Wherever your studies take you, here’s a quick lesson on how to protect yourself in the case of a medical emergency by having a Travel Medical Insurance plan in place before you start class.


Staying in Canada to study, but heading to another province or territory?

Accidents and illness really can strike even if they are the last thing on your student agenda. While you are at school outside of your home province but within Canada, your provincial plan will cover unexpected medical expenses like they do when you are at home. But if the province you are in has higher fees, you will face costs out of pocket, and those costs can really add up. You can check your provincial health plan here for details.

And remember that fees that aren’t covered in your province won’t be covered when you’re travelling outside the province, either. The amount of coverage you’d get in your home province may not be enough to cover the same medical service that you need while in another province or territory. If that’s the case (and you don’t have student travel insurance), you’ll be stuck paying the difference.

Student travel insurance not only helps pay for healthcare costs, you’ll also have access to different kinds of care you may need so you can concentrate on getting better and getting your assignments in on time. Here are some of the costs that can be covered:

  • Up to $2 million in emergency and non-emergency benefits
  • Hospital costs, including outpatient services and emergency department services
  • Visits to a chiropractor, massage therapist or other registered health professional
  • Psychiatric care and counselling
  • Nursing and medical appliances
  • Diagnostic services and prescription drugs
  • Dental emergency services
  • Ambulance services
  • Coverage for accidental death or dismemberment
  • One annual medical or eye exam, if you have purchase 12 consecutive months of student coverage
  • Tutorial Services if you are hospitalized for 30 consecutive days or more.

And, if you have a family, you can protect your spouse and children, too.


Studying abroad?

As an outbound student, you will usually be required to have a medical insurance plan before you begin classes. Student travel insurance is what you need. Anything can happen when you are out of the country, and getting sick or injured is more stressful without the comforts of home. Coverage helps you get the help you need so you are taken care of.

Are you participating in sports while you are away? We have plans available for post-secondary athletes.

Is your school year shorter or longer than the average Canadian school year? You can cover that too, with plans available to cover four to twelve months.

If you become seriously ill, your coverage may reimburse the cost of one airfare for a family member to come to your bedside.

Or, if your health event means you need to return home, you may qualify for reimbursement for the cost of a medical attendant or family member’s airfare to travel home with you.

Your travel insurance comes with Emergency Travel Assistance (ETA) services to help coordinate medical care and transportation, provide interpreter support, and even monitor the progress of your treatment. Read more about ETA services to see what you can rely on while you are away.


Coming to Canada to study?

As an inbound student to Canada, you likely do not qualify for provincial healthcare, and that leaves you at risk for costly medical bills. You should make sure you have Student Travel Insurance in place before you arrive from your home country. That way, you will be covered for the entire length of your insured stay in Canada, including the first few days, and the widest variety of plans and rate options will be available.

If you have already left home and didn’t understand the need for insurance coverage before you arrived. Don’t worry its not too late, the sooner you start to work with SBIS to put coverage in place, the sooner you can relax and enjoy the rest of your stay.

In your enrollment package, you may find confusing information about insurance offered to students by your university or college. This is coverage designed to protect Canadian students who are already covered by a provincial plan.

Be sure to read coverage details very thoroughly – study them, in fact – to find out exactly what is covered. It may well be that a very inexpensive insurance offering could end up costing a lot more money in the long run, if treatments you need are not covered.


SBIS can tutor you in what insurance you really need

The best way to make sure you’re buying the right coverage at the right price is to work with our experienced and knowledgeable insurance experts. At SBIS, we work with a number of insurance carriers to ensure you can find the right policy for your needs while you focus on your studies. Call us today.