How much travel insurance do you need?
There is no single correct coverage amount. The right level depends on destination, trip length, age, health status, activities, and risk tolerance. For travel to the United States, many Canadians choose higher emergency medical limits because medical care can be expensive. For visitors to Canada, common products may offer coverage levels such as $50,000, $100,000, $150,000, or $200,000, but the appropriate amount depends on the person's situation. For Super Visa applicants, the minimum requirement is tied to private health insurance valid for at least one year, with insurers commonly structuring plans around the required threshold.
Travellers should also consider medical evacuation. A policy with high hospital coverage but weak evacuation support may still leave a gap if the traveller needs to be moved to another facility or returned to Canada. The Government of Canada advises travellers to understand whether their insurance covers medical evacuation.3 For long trips, frequent trips, or multiple trips in a year, an annual multi-trip plan may be more efficient than buying single-trip coverage each time. However, annual plans usually have a maximum number of days per trip, so snowbirds and long-stay travellers should check the limit carefully.
If you are wondering "how much is travel insurance in Canada," premiums vary by age, destination (for example, the U.S. often costs more), trip length, coverage limits, deductibles, add-ons, and any declared medical conditions.
Where to purchase travel insurance
Canadians and visitors can purchase travel insurance from several channels: insurance companies, banks, brokers, travel agencies, airlines, employer benefit providers, credit card providers, and comparison websites. If you are asking "where to get trip insurance" or "can I get travel insurance online," the answer is yes — policies are available through all of these routes. The best channel depends on the complexity of the traveller's situation. A young healthy traveller taking a short vacation may be comfortable comparing plans online. A senior with multiple medications may benefit from a broker or insurer representative who can explain medical questionnaires and stability clauses. A Super Visa applicant should choose a plan that clearly satisfies immigration requirements.
A visitor to Canada waiting for provincial coverage should focus on emergency medical protection during the waiting period.
When comparing plans, the key is not just the premium. Use this checklist:
- Does the plan cover emergency medical care in the destination?
- Does it include hospitalization, ambulance, physician care, prescriptions, evacuation, and repatriation?
- Does it cover the full trip length?
- Are pre-existing conditions covered, excluded, or covered only if stable?
- Is there a deductible?
- Are there exclusions for high-risk activities, alcohol or drug-related injuries, pregnancy, or travel advisories?
- Is the claims process clear?
- Is 24/7 emergency assistance available?
- Does the policy require calling the insurer before treatment where possible?
Travel insurance should be bought for the real trip being taken, not the idealized version of the trip where nothing goes wrong.
Common travel insurance myths
One common myth is that provincial healthcare covers Canadians everywhere. It does not. Public healthcare is strongest at home and more limited outside the province or country. Another myth is that credit card insurance is always enough. Some credit cards provide strong coverage, but others have short trip limits, age restrictions, lower benefit limits, or exclusions for pre-existing conditions. A third myth is that travel insurance is only for international travel. Domestic travel can still involve uncovered ambulance, transportation, prescription, or non-standard costs. A fourth myth is that the cheapest plan is the best plan. For a healthy traveller on a short trip, a low-cost policy may be adequate.
But for seniors, visitors, Super Visa applicants, long-stay travellers, and people with medical histories, the wrong cheap plan can become expensive at the exact moment it is needed most.
What this means for patients, clinics, and healthcare access
Travel insurance may seem separate from Canada's broader healthcare access problem, but it is connected. Canada's healthcare system is difficult to navigate because coverage depends on status, location, timing, eligibility, and care setting. A Canadian resident, a visitor, a new immigrant, a student, and a temporary worker can all walk into the same clinic with very different payment realities. For clinics, this creates operational complexity. Staff may need to understand whether someone has provincial coverage, private insurance, visitor insurance, student insurance, or no coverage at all. For patients, the experience can feel confusing and stressful.
For UK-trained GPs considering relocation to Canada, this is also part of the broader system they are entering. Canadian healthcare is publicly funded in many areas, but patients still interact with private insurance, provincial eligibility rules, employer benefits, and out-of-pocket care. Understanding these edges of the system helps physicians appreciate how access works in practice, especially in primary care, urgent care, newcomer care, and walk-in settings. See our UK GP relocation guide for more context.
Careviv's long-term vision is to make healthcare access easier to understand and easier to navigate. That includes helping people find family doctors and clinics, but it also includes explaining the surrounding healthcare topics that affect real decisions. When you need same-day care without a regular doctor, walk-in clinics are often part of the picture — but insurance and eligibility still shape what happens at the front desk.
Final takeaway
Travel insurance is not simply a travel product. It is a healthcare access product. It protects Canadians when public coverage stops being enough. It protects visitors who are not eligible for Canadian public healthcare. It protects families bringing parents and grandparents to Canada. It protects seniors, students, newcomers, workers, and tourists from the financial consequences of medical uncertainty.
The best travel insurance plan is not always the most expensive, and it is not always the cheapest. It is the plan that matches the traveller's real health status, destination, trip length, immigration situation, and financial risk. Before buying, read the policy. Check the exclusions. Understand the pre-existing condition rules. Confirm the trip length. Know who to call in an emergency. And remember that in healthcare, the most important details are often not in the headline price, but in the fine print.
If Canada has public healthcare, do Canadians really need travel insurance—even for trips within Canada?
Yes. Provincial plans are built for medically necessary care in your home province, and coverage can become limited, partial, delayed, or unavailable once you leave it—especially outside Canada. Even within Canada, some costs (ambulance, prescriptions, private rooms, medical transportation, certain outpatient services) may not be covered the same way across provinces. Ontario, for example, notes OHIP does not cover patient transfer back to Ontario if you're hospitalized abroad—without medical travel insurance that includes transportation, you could be on the hook. While travel insurance isn't usually a legal requirement, the Government of Canada recommends buying it and knowing what it covers. Don't assume your workplace plan or credit card is enough: some only cover short trips, exclude unstable pre-existing conditions, or require you to call an assistance centre before non-urgent care. The practical question to answer before you go is: if you need emergency care, evacuation, or trip interruption support, who pays—and under what conditions?
What's the difference between emergency medical travel insurance and trip cancellation/interruption?
They protect against different risks. Emergency medical travel insurance is the health piece: it typically covers unexpected care such as doctor and hospital services, diagnostic tests, ambulance, emergency prescriptions, medical evacuation, and repatriation. Trip cancellation reimburses prepaid, non-refundable costs if a covered event forces you to cancel before departure. Trip interruption applies after you've started traveling, helping with unused trip costs or the extra expense to come home early. As the Government of Canada notes, interruption and cancellation are different from medical coverage. Extras like baggage, flight delay, rental car protection, and concierge services may be bundled, but for most people—especially seniors, families, visitors to Canada, and anyone with medical conditions—emergency medical coverage should be the first priority. A lost bag is frustrating; a hospital admission can be financially severe.
I'm a visitor to Canada or applying for a Super Visa—what insurance do I need?
Most visitors don't qualify for provincial public health insurance, so private emergency medical coverage is essential. "Visitors to Canada" policies commonly offer limits such as $50,000, $100,000, $150,000, or $200,000; for example, Medavie Blue Cross lists $50k/$100k/$150k options and Manulife offers plans up to a selected limit with a maximum of about $200k on one plan. Super Visa applicants have a stricter requirement: proof of private health insurance valid for at least one year from the date of entry, purchased from a Canadian insurer or a foreign insurer approved by the minister. Families should look beyond price to confirm the policy clearly meets the visa rules, understand refund terms, choose deductibles they can afford, check pre-existing condition clauses, and review how claims and assistance work. Keep policy documents and emergency contact details handy.
How do pre-existing conditions and "stability periods" affect my coverage?
They're often the make-or-break factor in claims. A pre-existing condition can include diagnosed illnesses, symptoms under investigation, recent medication changes, hospital visits, abnormal test results, pending referrals, or recent surgery. Many plans cover pre-existing conditions only if they've been stable for a specified "stability period" before departure—definitions vary, but stability can be affected by new symptoms, test results, referrals, or medication adjustments. That's why two travellers with the same diagnosis can have different outcomes: a person with long-controlled hypertension may be covered, while someone whose dose changed two weeks ago may not. This isn't just a seniors issue; younger travellers with asthma, pregnancy complications, IBD, mental health crises, epilepsy, or recent injuries can be affected too. Before buying, read the definitions, stability period, and exclusions closely, complete any medical questionnaires accurately, and consider getting written confirmation from the insurer. The cheapest plan can become very expensive if a claim is denied on stability grounds.
How much coverage should I buy, and where should I purchase travel insurance?
There's no single right number. Choose based on destination (the U.S. is often costlier for care), trip length, age, health, activities, and risk tolerance. Don't overlook medical evacuation and repatriation—high hospital limits won't help if you need a costly transfer and it isn't covered. For frequent travel, an annual multi-trip plan can be efficient, but check the maximum days per trip if you're a long-stay traveller or snowbird. You can buy policies from insurers, banks, brokers, travel agencies, airlines, employer benefit providers, credit card issuers, and comparison sites—often entirely online. Compare more than just the premium: confirm emergency medical coverage at your destination, full trip length, pre-existing condition rules, deductibles, exclusions, 24/7 assistance, and whether you must call before treatment. Buy the policy that matches the trip you're actually taking—and your real health status—not the ideal trip where nothing goes wrong.
