Need help choosing health insurance coverage for family of 5

[Christine caine]

I need help finding a company to cover my granddaughter and her family for our trip to disneyworld. We live in Ontario Canada and we have OHIP, but it doesn't cover you outside of Ontario anymore. I would feel better about getting coverage for the week. Her heart condition has been stable for quite a few years but I would feel awful knowing I didn't get coverage. I don't know what company too look at. I don't want to spend alot but just feel better to get it. My husband and I are covered by our work but they won't cover people travelling with us. Please send me some suggestions

 

[Frwinkley]

Have you tried Geoblue?

I have Highmark BCBS, but am not covered out of the country. We are traveling to Canada for 10 days on August 25th. I just got a plan for my DH and myself (age 64) for $158. It's a single trip plan. I have used them for prior trips also.

 

[bababear_50]

I have had Travel Health Ins in the past via work but just cancelled it as of this Sept.
I am going to go through Royal Bank
see here:
https://manulife.safevisit.ca/home_...MI89XXh-qQjwMVjJTCCB0uPjhWEAAYASAAEgKL1fD_BwE

https://manulife.safevisit.ca/travelling_canadians_view.php


Hugs Mel

 

[White Cat]

CAA

 

[migel]

I need help finding a company to cover my granddaughter and her family for our trip to disneyworld. We live in Ontario Canada and we have OHIP, but it doesn't cover you outside of Ontario anymore. I would feel better about getting coverage for the week. Her heart condition has been stable for quite a few years but I would feel awful knowing I didn't get coverage. I don't know what company too look at. I don't want to spend alot but just feel better to get it. My husband and I are covered by our work but they won't cover people travelling with us. Please send me some suggestions

I was technically covered through my work even though I’m retired, however I had to pay up front if an incident occurred. Last year we had a fairly minor emergency visit that ended up costing over $12,000 USD. I did get reimbursed, eventually, but it was a frustrating process that took 6 months.
I now get individual trip insurance through Costco with Manulife. You can also get estimates directly from Manulife if you don’t have a Costco membership.

 

[White Cat]

Make sure you answer the questions correctly. If you want or think you need an agent to ask in person even better.

My mother in law had Manulife. A year and a half ago had emergency surgery. $70,000. The ins co will look for any technicality that they can. She answered truthfully but the answer was interpreted in a way for the ins co. I fought and fought for a year. Very long story. Finally got a hold of someone that was interested in helping.

 

[bankr63]

Personally, we used TD for an annual policy until my work changed and I didn't need it anymore.

I switched to TD after several years with another carrier after taking a good read of the terms and conditions of both policies, and suggest you do the same. My son is diabetic and I realized after reading the policy carefully that he probably wasn't covered on any of our travels. It was a piece on CBC about how a major Canadian carrier had developed a track record of refusing everything on technicalities that got me wondering, so I did the research. I think I researched about 5 different carriers before deciding that TD had the best Terms (and for not much more $ than ones with lousy terms).

If your granddaughter has a pre-existing condition you really need to understand what the coverage is, and what the elimination period is (how long it has to be stable if they will cover it at all). All of the insurers have to disclose the T&Cs to you within a period of several days of signing, but most good ones make the T&Cs available online in advance. Failure to post their T&Cs online should be a red flag right off the bat IMO.

 

[Christine caine]

Personally, we used TD for an annual policy until my work changed and I didn't need it anymore.

I switched to TD after several years with another carrier after taking a good read of the terms and conditions of both policies, and suggest you do the same. My son is diabetic and I realized after reading the policy carefully that he probably wasn't covered on any of our travels. It was a piece on CBC about how a major Canadian carrier had developed a track record of refusing everything on technicalities that got me wondering, so I did the research. I think I researched about 5 different carriers before deciding that TD had the best Terms (and for not much more $ than ones with lousy terms).

If your granddaughter has a pre-existing condition you really need to understand what the coverage is, and what the elimination period is (how long it has to be stable if they will cover it at all). All of the insurers have to disclose the T&Cs to you within a period of several days of signing, but most good ones make the T&Cs available online in advance. Failure to post their T&Cs online should be a red flag right off the bat IMO.

Thank you for the advice. I will look at all the fine print as much as I can understand. Her issues are she had major scoliosis surgery for a metal rod jn her back 2 yrs ago, this is stable now. Also has had heart valves replaced but seems to be stable the last year. Is that long enough for an insurance company too think she is stable.
Christine

 

[bankr63]

For some of them, yes. For many others, no. I would certainly add TD to your list of ones to check out, but these are full year policies but really not much more money than a 2-week policy 'travel agent', and it covers 52 weeks. Once properly set up I rested easier when my son went to track meets and training camps in the US. The TD policy didn't require the dependents to travel with the primary policy holder.
Just be an informed consumer. The fine print can look daunting, but it really isn't that hard to follow along. And for the less reputable providers, things are often worded ambiguously on purpose. Just assume that their interpretation of that clause is probably different from yours and it is whichever interpretation causes them to not pay out. Reading it is a 30 minute investment in ensuring the safety of your loved ones.