Planning for a vacation? Here’s what you need to know about travel insurance

If you are planning a vacation, and not sure about travel insurance, we tell you when to get it and if you should get it ahead of your stress-free holiday!

If you have travel plans on the horizon, a travel expert suggests you may want to consider purchasing travel insurance to cover your vacation.

“Travel insurance is very important to get, as soon as you book,” Rachel Lalonde, Travel Store Manager with CAA said.

Lalonde spoke with CTV Your Morning Ottawa on Thursday to help make sense of insuring your travel plans.

Emergency medical expenses while travelling can add up to tens of thousands of dollars, which is why Lalonde says that medical insurance is so important to purchase before your trip.

“Expenses can be really, really high if you get sick,” she said.

“You break a leg, it could cost you $20,000, $30,000. So, the insurance will help cover you for that.”

In addition to medical coverage, Lalonde also recommends cancellation and interruption coverage to recover costs when your plans go awry. Cancellation insurance so that you can be reimbursed if you’re unable to go on your trip, and interruption coverage in case you have to cut it short.

“It protects you the most when you are planning and putting large money down on a trip,” she said.

These different types of insurance can be purchased as standalone plans, and in some cases, you might not need to consider cancellation or interruption coverage.

“If you’re driving down, not flying, you’ve got nothing that’s non-refundable, you can get just the medical insurance and that’ll cover you. It’ll also repatriate you if it’s medically necessary to fly home or whatnot,” she said.

If you plan on buying multiple types of insurance, Lalonde says bundling your plans can save you some money.

“The cancellation, the interruption, the baggage, the medical, that can all be bundled together,” she said. “It’ll save you a little money as well, rather than doing things piecemeal and you’ll get that protection.”

Lalonde says she’s noticed travel habits shifting, with more people opting for quieter areas in Europe, and more Canadians choosing to travel within the country.

“People are definitely shifting where they’re going. So, they’re exploring Canada more,” she said. “People are staying close to home and they’re revisiting they’re own country and they’re really enjoying it.”

While many people don’t think to purchase travel insurance for trips within the country, Lalonde still recommends opting for coverage.

“Hotels are just as non-refundable in Vancouver as they are in Cancun. So, if you have to cancel, that part can certainly cover you,” she said.

In addition to cancellation insurance, Lalonde also says that medical insurance can be helpful for those travelling within Canada’s borders to cover medical expenses that OHIP will not.

“Something like an ambulance. We still don’t have ambulance coverage here, you can put it on your medical plan that you have here, but out of province, they could potentially treat it like a taxi,” she said.

“So, you pay that ambulance fee, but then you pay per kilometre to get to a hospital. So, you could end up with a $1,000 ambulance bill, and travel insurance will cover you for that.”

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