When I went to get a quote from the insurance broker we have been using for years I discovered a change. In order to save money we have only been getting insurance from the day we leave our home here in Kelowna until we arrive at our destination on the Isla and then do the reverse insuring us from our Mexican departure date until we arrive back home. I always add a few extra days in case of a mechanical breakdown resulting in a delay. While in Mexico our plan is to pay for anything we need health wise. The company that has allowed us to do this no longer does. Instead they now require that you contact them before leaving Mexico and require you to reapply including answering all the health questions yet again. Then they will issue your insurance or they might not. What if a broken leg or arm or something else minor means that you won’t get return health coverage back to Canada? It was a chance I could not take so I needed to purchase round trip health insurance.
What to do? I sent out a cry for help to you my readers and you certainly came though. So many wonderful and helpful suggestions that I would not have known about. For those who want to read about them click here and scroll down to the comment section of that post. Thank you for all the time you took to reply and also to those who sent me an email. My research is based on residing in Canada, there are a few further suggestions for Americans in those comments.
Just to clarify that I am 63 and Colin is 66 and we are able to truthfully answer no to all the medical questions asked. I found it most interesting that each insurance company had different questions from others. Some were extremely detailed while others basic, a real range. The quotes I got are based on our ages and our never being ill, nor taking medication nor having any ongoing medical conditions such a blood pressure issues, heart issues and never having smoked in our lives. Of course quotes to you will be different based on your personal health issues and your age. Our quotes are based on 169 days of travel, door to door.
The company we have used for many years quoted us $952.92 for Colin and $728.39 for myself. A total of $1688.31. This was through Manulife.
Next I checked Sanderson Insurance in Ontario recommended by Al, who issue through Manulife. Similar pricing at $947.25 and $770.64 although I don’t get why mine went up an Colin’s went down. A total of $1717.89. The higher figure of the two will always be the quote for Colin, the official senior 🙂
An email came in from long time reader Gisele who suggested Travelers Choice and even told me to ask for her agent and to mention Gisele’s name. Those quotes came in at $974.96 and $784.84 and that was with a $99.00 deductible. A total of $1759.76, the cost was increasing.
A few readers suggested Blue Cross. I mistakenly thought that you had to be paying into their program but you don’t. However you do get a discount if you belong, I believe that it is 10%. Correct me if I am wrong. This was the best quote yet at $871.00 and $671.00, total $1542.00. At this point I was happy with the price but then thought that I might as well keep calling the other companies. It was a long and tedious process mostly due to the repetitive replies to the medical questions.
Cheapchick, a fellow blog writer and traveler suggested contacting BCAA. Once again I thought that we had to belong to get insurance from them, but you don’t. We were quoted $1527.70 and $1152.52, a high total of $2680.22. We also received a quote of $125.00 less each if we took a $500.00 deductible, total of $2430.20. That is a lot of money for $500.00 deductible. I hope you don’t get your insurance with BCAA, you might do better elsewhere based on my research.
I even got a suggestion from blog writer Nancy who lives in Mazatlan and writes about Mexico. Her suggestion was Medevacana but they did not return my call for several days and by then I had made by final decision. Click here for their link.
Yet another reader suggested Medi Pac. That quote came in at $1368.40 and $1149.50. If we took the $99.00 deductible the quote dropped to $1244.00 for Colin and to $1045.00 for myself, a total of $2289.00. Much more that I was willing to pay. I can’t imagine how much more people who are on more than three medications per day have to pay never mind heart or lung issues.
Someone had suggested that I call TD First Class Visa with whom we have a credit card but the rate was off the charts. It was also suggested that I contact CARP, the Canadian Association for Retired People as well as Medoc. Oh and also our home insurer. I did not call these last three as after 1.5 days of being on the phone I was done but perhaps I should have. I might even have gotten a better deal than I did but enough was enough and Colin just happened to be home at the moment and the broker actually needed to speak to him in person so I made my decision.
Two readers, Dee from South Carolina and Deborah S. who is a Canadian, suggested that I contact Costco as they offer insurance as well as travel insurance. To be honest I had no idea that Costco offered this service. So I called. They offer travel insurance through Manulife. When I found that out, I was not going to proceed as I already had three quotes through Manulife but I stuck with it. Perhaps having a Costco membership made the difference. The questions were long and detailed. Finally I got the quote of $788.33 and $622.93, a total of $1411.26. A good price. I then asked if they offered a better rate with a deductible. They did and it was $500.00, by the way that is in US funds. The deductible price was $663.83 for Colin and $524.58 for myself, a total of $1188.40. I asked the agent to hold a moment so I could discuss this with Colin. We both felt it was a good price and if indeed we needed to use the medical insurance which we have never ever done before that the $500.00 was reasonable. If I broke my arm, I would likely just pay the medical expense out of pocket rather than use the insurance. Next we had to answer the medical questions all over again, each separately and they were even more extensive. Finally we had to be on the phone with her, Emily, to answer a further huge bunch of questions. The entire process took well over an hour but was worth it. If you are interested in getting a quote I have a direct line for Emily which will save you time. Call her at 1 844 307 3824, she is in Halifax. You might want to mention my name but I doubt if she will remember us but you never know.
Deborah S. also suggested looking up, these are her words…..
Kanetix.ca will allow you to compare quotes from various insurers, AND will explain the different types of coverage. Hospital insurance is one type, and medical evacuation is usually a separate policy; having both types of coverage will cost more.
Once again I did not do this but it sounds like a good idea. I found that all of the companies I received a quote from did offer medical evacuation as well as the medical insurance. This also included vehicle and pet return. We already have that at no charge from FMCA but it is nice to be doubly insured. You do have to be a member of FMCA and travel in a Class a or C to have this insurance at no extra cost to yourself.
I am most happy with our cost of $1188.40 as we are now covered the entire trip. If you scroll back up you will see that we received a quote of $2430.20 from BCAA with a $500.00 deductible. So we save $1241.80 by shopping around. Overall it cost us only $788.00 more that we would have paid for our two single direction policies for travel there and back. Money well spent. Once again thanks to all of you readers who made this post possible.
Looking forward to your comments on this and any saving you might incur because of this post.
Tags: travel medical insurance
