Whether it is for education, business, or leisure, lakhs of Indians journey across the world to visit Canada every year. With its rich cultural heritage, beautiful natural landscapes, friendly locals, and education hub, Canada is a wonderful country for tourists and students alike.
However, while more and more Indians are visiting Canada every year, and the country has a lot to offer in terms of experience, creating lasting memories and as a platform for success, travellers still have to face skyrocketing prices for travel, extremely high cost of medical treatment and several other risks.
These risks necessitate travellers opting for tools like travel insurance to secure their journey and travel confidently. However, what is travel insurance, what does it do, why is it necessary to buy travel insurance for Canada, and what are some tips to get the best travel insurance for Canada and how to buy it? Keep reading to find out.
What is travel insurance?
Travellers seeking to secure their journey from travel-related risks can opt for a risk management tool called travel insurance. This type of insurance is where, in exchange for an initial premium charged, travellers can avail themselves of financial protection as compensation or reimbursement for covered risks. These risks can be medical and non-medical risks that a traveller might encounter when travelling, and they can range in severity and frequency.
For example, when going on a trip to an unfamiliar country, one of the risks a traveller might face is becoming sick from consuming the local cuisine. This stomach bug can be either something that can be resolved just by resting a bit and taking medicine or, in certain severe cases, it can result in hospitalisation. This is where travel insurance, which covers emergency in-patient and out-patient medical care, can cover the expenses through cashless claims or reimbursement and enable you to continue your journey in peace.
Why is it necessary to buy travel insurance Canada?
While it is not mandatory to buy travel insurance to get a Canada visa, it is highly recommended by both the Canadian Government and travel advisories for travellers visiting Canada. This is because, while being one of the safest countries to travel to, Canada has one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world and a high travel and accommodation cost. This means that getting caught up in an unexpected situation can result in significant financial loss and negative travel experience.
What are some tips to get the best travel insurance Canada?
As a traveller looking to secure your Canada trip, here are a few tips for choosing and purchasing travel insurance based on your specific needs and budget.
- Understand your trip
Consider the nature of travel, destination, duration, travel advisories, and common risks to determine your needs. For example, going on a longer trip is more risky than shorter trips, Canada has an expensive healthcare system, etc. Understanding these can help make the selection and purchase process a lot easier. Based on these needs, choosing a policy with coverage for in-patient and out-patient medical expenses might be necessary.
- Check the benefits and limitations of a particular policy
Once you know what you want, check out several insurance plans and compare the benefits, limitations, exclusions, etc.
- Compare quotes
Compare quotes and preview premiums to assess the best coverage for your needs at the best price.
Note: Do not go for the cheapest plan; you can get more comprehensive coverage by paying a bit more.
- Read customer reviews
Read customer reviews to determine the insurer’s reliability and figure out everyday experiences with the policy.
- Consider extra expenses
Check the policy document for additional expenses, such as deductibles, co-pays, and other terms and conditions that may influence the policy payout.
How to buy travel insurance Canada?
Once you have determined an insurance provider and policy that is right for your specific needs, purchasing travel insurance for Canada trip is quite easy. Here is how to buy travel insurance Canada from one of the leading travel insurance providers, Niva Bupa.
- Visit the Niva Bupa website and click “Travel Insurance”, or visit this link: https://www.nivabupa.com/travel-insurance.html.
- Once on that page, select single-trip or student travel based on your type of travel, choose Canada under travel destination, choose the departure and return travel dates, and input your phone number to view plans.
- On the next page, fill in the date of birth and select the number of travellers going on the trip together.
- Once that is done, select one of three plans Niva Bupa offers (these plans are differentiated based on the level of comprehensiveness), and choose the amount you would like to cover your policy for (for Canada, Niva Bupa provides a sum insured of up to $500,000), and preview the premium charged for the policy.
- On the next page, fill in the required information and upload the requested documents to purchase the selected policy.
- The policy will then be shared online via email.
Conclusion
Travelling enables us all to experience something different from the monotony of everyday life. From the decision to implementation, every step of the journey presents a whole new experience that can enamour anyone.
While it might be essential to plan the trip carefully to avoid any risk, it is never good to have to worry about every consequence of every action. It is important to relax and travel with peace of mind; this is what travel insurance achieves. It is not a physical object; it just exists as a fallback option to protect you when you are travelling, whether it is to a place you have never been to or one where you have travelled dozens of times.
So secure your Canada trip with the right travel insurance Canada and explore the country with confidence and peace of mind.