Anyone who has been following my Blog, is well aware that I have had a very large out of country coverage claim this spring. My friend has been home for sometime now and has had 11 surgeries to date and is in a rehabilitation program. His surgeries aren’t even close to being done, but at least he is at home and spending time with his family. He is an inspiration to me as his spirit remains high and his family and friends are doing everything possible to help him on this journey.
Since, I have a bit of notoriety regarding out of country insurance I wanted to do more research into options that are available. There are other out of country insurer’s out there, but I have found these 3 offer what my clients have requested so far. This is my quick analysis of the different out of country insurers and why I would recommend each one:
Manulife has a great out of country coverage program for people who are travelling with a pre existing condition. I have had illnesses covered with Manulife that other out of country insurers have just said No. So if you have a pre existing condition, this is the company I would go to first. They also have a better rate for insureds with pre existing conditions. The other thing to note is there are other out of country insurers that will cover pre existing conditions and the premiums are quite a bit less, however, the coverage is only $200,000. While Manulife would insure the full $10,000,000, and trust me, $200,000 will not get you much treatment.
Allianz is the company that my friend was insured with. If you are already out of country and realize that you haven’t purchased it, this is one of the only companies that you can still buy out of country coverage through. Coverage begins immediately for accident and 48 hours after purchase for illness.
They did cover the kiting injury 100%, however, that does not mean other high risk sports are included. The rates with Allianz are competitive and this claim was a bit complicated because there was a couple hospitals involved, physio, etc and a medivac trip back to Canada. I feel they did a good job in managing the claim.
Tugo is the new out of country provider I have signed up to work with. I am excited about this company because they will provide coverage for activities such as:
- Contact Sports Coverage – $10,000,000 coverage refer to contract for sports covered – additional cost to add this coverage
- Adventure Sports – $10,000,000 coverage and too many sports to mention in the blog – additional cost to add this coverage (please note, my kiteboarding friends that Snow Kiting is under Adventure Sports, so you will need to purchase this option)
- Extreme Sports Coverage – $500,000 coverage and too many to mention in the blog – additional cost to add this coverage
- Excluded Activities – Out of bounds skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, or non-motorized snow-biking or any sports or activities listed in the Sports and Activities Optional Coverages unless you’ve bought the applicable optional coverage.
For all of your Out of Country coverage needs and questions, please contact Glendinning Insurance Services, your Resource Specialist.