Travel Insurance in Ontario, Canada

Personal & Commercial Insurance | Boardwalk Insurance — A Division of Oracle RMS

Travel insurance covers the unexpected costs that arise when something goes wrong before or during a trip — medical emergencies, trip cancellation, lost or stolen baggage, flight delays, and emergency evacuations. For Canadians travelling outside their province or outside the country, provincial health plans provide limited or no coverage for foreign medical costs; travel insurance fills that gap, covering the full cost of emergency medical care abroad, which can reach tens of thousands of dollars for a serious illness or injury in the United States or other high-cost medical markets. Boardwalk Insurance helps Ontario residents and businesses access travel insurance from leading carriers. Serving all provinces except Quebec.

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What Is Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance is a package of coverages designed to protect travellers from the financial consequences of unexpected events that disrupt or affect travel. A comprehensive travel insurance policy typically bundles several distinct coverages: emergency medical insurance, trip cancellation and interruption, baggage loss and delay, and travel accident insurance — each addressing a different category of travel risk.

Travel insurance is not a luxury product — for any Canadian travelling outside the country, it is a financial necessity. Provincial health insurance plans, including OHIP in Ontario, provide minimal coverage outside Canada and no coverage in most foreign countries. A medical emergency during travel to the United States — a heart attack, a serious accident requiring hospitalization and surgery, a major illness — can generate medical bills of $100,000 to $500,000 or more. Travel insurance covers these costs; OHIP does not.

Types of Travel Insurance Coverage

Emergency Medical Insurance

Emergency medical insurance is the most important and most financially significant component of travel insurance. It covers the cost of emergency medical treatment received outside your home province or country when your provincial health plan does not provide coverage.

What emergency medical covers:

• Emergency hospitalization, surgery, and intensive care
• Physician and specialist visits for emergency conditions
• Prescription medications required for a covered emergency
• Diagnostic imaging (X-rays, CT scans, MRI)
• Emergency dental treatment for sudden dental accidents
• Ambulance and air ambulance transport to the nearest appropriate medical facility
• Medical evacuation — transport back to Canada for continued treatment when medically necessary
• Repatriation — return of remains in the event of death during travel

Medical coverage limits: Emergency medical travel insurance is typically written with high limits — $1 million, $2 million, or unlimited — because medical costs in the United States and other countries can be extraordinarily high. A three-day hospitalization in a US hospital can cost $50,000 to $150,000; a medical evacuation from a remote destination can cost $25,000 to $100,000 or more. Travel insurance limits should be set high enough to cover a genuine worst-case scenario.

Pre-existing condition exclusions: Most travel insurance policies exclude claims arising from pre-existing medical conditions — conditions that existed before the trip departure date. The definition of pre-existing condition varies by insurer, but typically includes any condition for which the traveller received treatment, consulted a physician, or had symptoms in the 90 to 180 days before departure. Travellers with pre-existing conditions should carefully review pre-existing condition provisions and consider policies that offer stability clauses — coverage for stable pre-existing conditions that have not changed within a defined period.

Trip Cancellation Insurance

Trip cancellation insurance reimburses non-refundable trip costs — flights, hotels, tours, and prepaid activities — when the traveller must cancel the trip before departure for a covered reason.

Common covered reasons for cancellation:

• Sudden illness or injury of the traveller or a travelling companion that makes travel inadvisable
• Death of the traveller, a travelling companion, or an immediate family member
• A covered natural disaster at the destination
• Job loss or unexpected work obligations (in some policy forms)
• Home emergency — fire, flood, or burglary at the traveller's primary residence

Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR): Standard trip cancellation coverage requires a covered reason. CFAR upgrades allow the traveller to cancel for any reason — including fear of travel, changed plans, or personal preference — and typically reimburse 50% to 75% of non-refundable costs. CFAR must be purchased within a specified period of the initial trip deposit, typically 10 to 21 days.

Trip Interruption Insurance

Trip interruption insurance covers the costs of returning home early when a covered event occurs during the trip — the cost of a new one-way flight home, additional accommodation expenses during the delay, and any non-refundable unused portions of the original trip.

Baggage Loss, Damage, and Delay

Baggage coverage reimburses the traveller for the value of lost or stolen baggage and personal effects, and for the cost of purchasing essential replacement items when checked baggage is delayed.

Important limitation: Most travel insurance baggage coverage has per-item sublimits and aggregate limits that are substantially lower than the replacement cost of electronics, jewellery, and high-value items. Travellers carrying expensive cameras, laptops, or jewellery should confirm sublimits and consider whether floater coverage under their home insurance provides better protection for high-value items.

Travel Accident Insurance

Travel accident insurance pays a lump sum benefit in the event of accidental death or permanent disability during travel.

Flight Delay and Missed Connection

Coverage for additional accommodation and meal costs incurred because of covered flight delays, and for the additional travel costs incurred to reach a final destination after a missed connection caused by a covered delay.

Individual vs. Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance

Single-Trip Policies

Single-trip policies cover one specific trip from the departure date to the return date. They are appropriate for travellers who take one or two international trips per year. Coverage begins on the trip departure date and ends on the return date specified in the policy — or the date of medical discharge or evacuation if a medical claim extends the trip.

Annual Multi-Trip Policies

Annual multi-trip policies (also called annual travel insurance or frequent traveller insurance) cover an unlimited number of trips during the policy year, subject to a maximum trip duration per trip (typically 15, 30, or 60 days per trip). For travellers who take multiple international trips per year — business travellers, snowbirds who travel part-time, and frequent leisure travellers — annual policies are typically more cost-effective than purchasing individual policies for each trip.

Snowbird travel insurance: Canadian snowbirds who spend extended periods in the US or other countries (90 to 180+ days) need multi-trip or extended stay policies that specifically accommodate long-duration stays. Standard annual multi-trip policies have per-trip duration limits that may be insufficient for full-season snowbird stays. Snowbirds with pre-existing conditions should seek policies with stability clauses that cover managed, stable conditions during extended stays.

Corporate and Group Travel Insurance

Corporate Travel Insurance

Businesses that send employees on domestic and international business travel face a duty of care obligation to ensure their travellers have adequate emergency medical and evacuation coverage. Corporate travel insurance provides coverage for all employees travelling on company business, typically on an annual aggregate basis rather than per-trip. It may also include kidnap and ransom coverage, security evacuation, and political risk evacuation for employees travelling to higher-risk destinations.

Group Travel Insurance

Group travel insurance covers groups of 10 or more individuals travelling together — school trips, corporate retreats, association conferences, sports teams, and tour groups. Group policies typically offer simplified underwriting and competitive rates relative to individual policies for the same travellers.

Frequently Asked Questions About Travel Insurance for Canadians

Does OHIP cover medical emergencies outside Ontario?

OHIP provides very limited coverage outside Ontario. Within Canada, OHIP covers emergency medical services at Ontario rates — which are typically lower than the rates charged by other provinces' hospitals. Outside Canada, OHIP provides no meaningful coverage. A medical emergency in the United States will generate bills that OHIP does not pay, leaving the traveller personally responsible for the full cost of US medical care. All Canadians travelling outside their home province should carry travel medical insurance.

Does my credit card travel insurance provide enough coverage?

Many credit cards include basic travel insurance as a cardholder benefit, but the coverage is typically limited in important ways: lower emergency medical limits (often $1 million or less, sometimes $250,000 or $500,000), strict eligibility requirements (the full trip cost must be charged to the card), short maximum trip durations, and restrictive pre-existing condition exclusions. Credit card travel insurance can supplement primary travel insurance, but relying on it as the sole coverage for extended international travel or travel by older travellers with pre-existing conditions carries meaningful risk. Review your credit card travel insurance certificate of insurance in detail before assuming it provides comprehensive coverage.

What is a pre-existing condition in travel insurance?

A pre-existing condition in travel insurance is a medical condition that existed, was diagnosed, was under treatment, or for which the traveller had symptoms or took medication before the trip departure date (or before the start of the eligibility window, which varies by policy — typically 90 to 180 days before departure). Most travel insurance policies exclude claims arising from pre-existing conditions unless the policy includes a stability clause that covers conditions that have been medically stable (no treatment changes, no new symptoms, no new tests ordered) for a defined period. Travellers with ongoing medical conditions — diabetes, heart disease, respiratory conditions — must read pre-existing condition provisions carefully.

How much does travel insurance cost for Canadians?

Travel insurance premiums depend on the traveller's age, the trip destination, trip duration, and coverage type. As a general guide: a healthy adult under 40 might pay $50 to $150 for two weeks of comprehensive travel insurance to the US. A traveller in their 60s with stable pre-existing conditions might pay $300 to $600 for the same trip. Annual multi-trip policies for healthy adults typically cost $150 to $400 per year. Snowbird policies for extended US stays (90 to 180 days) for older travellers with pre-existing conditions can cost $800 to $3,000 or more depending on age and health profile. Getting quotes from multiple carriers is the best way to find competitive coverage for your specific situation.

Is travel insurance worth it for short domestic trips?

Within Canada, provincial health insurance plans provide reciprocal coverage — OHIP covers emergency medical treatment if you have an emergency in another province. The most important coverage for domestic trips is trip cancellation (to protect prepaid non-refundable costs) and baggage coverage. Emergency medical coverage is less critical for domestic travel than for international travel. Whether trip cancellation insurance is worth it depends on how much non-refundable cost is at stake and the traveller's risk tolerance.

Why Ontario Travellers Choose Boardwalk Insurance

Boardwalk Insurance is a RIBO-registered insurance broker helping Ontario residents access travel insurance for individual trips, annual multi-trip programs, snowbird extended stays, corporate travel programs, and group travel. We compare options from leading travel insurance carriers to find coverage that matches your age, health profile, destination, and trip duration.

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