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Health Insurance

While Canada is quite famous for its universal, free healthcare plan, you still may require a supplementary medical care cover.

Do you require additional health insurance?

It is true that territorial and provincial health care plans do take care of your basic healthcare needs. However, private/supplementary plans also offer a lot of assistance in many ways. Some of these are:

  1. They help cover services, like ambulance charges, wheelchair assistance, special nursing care charges, etc. which are not paid for by the regular plan.
  2. In case you undergo a serious injury or suffer from a major illness, these plans complement your income.
  3. These take care of all medical expenditure if you contract an illness while traveling.

Your employer’s benefits plan may already offer extra coverage, such as for dental work or prescription glasses, so make sure to check it carefully before you go ahead and buy surplus healthcare insurance.
Also,
Examine your present policy to check the following:

  • Does it have a deductible – which is the claim amount you have to pay before the rest is paid by the insurer
  • Is the amount paid by the insurer limited to a certain claim percentage?
  • Is there a certain maximum yearly amount your insurer will pay?

Coverage

If your healthcare policy is in your name, you are surely covered under it. The others who are included in this too are:

  1. Your partner/spouse
  2. Your children who are below 19 years of age
  3. Your children who are over 19 years of age if they still go to school or are disabled

Travel medical insurance – Outside of Canada

You, ideally, should get travel medical insurance when traveling abroad as illnesses can strike even when you are in another country. It is vital to read this policy’s terms and conditions carefully as it may not cover the medical issues you had before you applied for insurance.

Travel medical insurance – Inside Canada

An agreement has been set in place between Canadian provinces and territories to provide medical coverage if a person is traveling inside the country.
However, Quebec has a caveat – it only provides coverage related to hospital fees. If the residents of Quebec have to travel outside of this province, they must check their healthcare policy for any associated limitations.

Factors to check when buying travel medical cover

  • Before you make a purchase, go over every single point mentioned in the policy with a fine comb to check for exclusions, especially if there are any pre-existing conditions. Exclusions are conditions that are not provided for in the policy cover.
  • You must understand clearly what your cover comprises. In case you are confused, consult an insurance advisor for complete clarity.

You can also check our Statewise Guide for more information on Healthcare in Canada.