I read today on Facebook, so it must be true… Ughhh That Insurance Companies have a Pandemic Clause in their contract and people have 10 days to get back to Canada. Then someone in our industry posted that insurance companies are cancelling their coverage.
Neither of these statements are true…
I beg you to read the whole Blog and be informed, we have enough incorrect information floating around.
I do understand that there are different wordings from different Insurance Companies and I have taken the contract wordings for this Blog from Allianz. Why did I pick Allianz? Because they are the insurer of choice for most large Insurance Companies. For example, Empire Life does not insure you for Out of Country, they hire Allianz to insure the employees who are insured by Empire Life. Allianz specializes in out of country coverage, why reinvent the wheel?
If you left the country after the below advisory was issued and you and/or your family contract COVID-19, you will not be covered for COVID-19. It does not matter when you purchased the Insurance, what matters is you left the country after the warning was issued.
If you are out of country and you have to extend your stay and extend your out of country, the insurance company will NOT cover you for COVID-19 should you require medical attention for this illness. This escalation is not a surprise, we have all known for sometime this was going to explode.
This is the first thing you read in your Insurance Contract:
Emergency means a sudden, unforeseen sickness or injury occurring during the period of coverage, which requires immediate intervention by a physician or legally licensed dentist and cannot reasonably be delayed. An emergency is deemed to no longer exist when medical evidence indicates that you are able to continue your trip or return to your place of ordinary residence in Canada.
This is the wording out of the contract that talks about if you travel after the Insurance Company issues a warning:
EHM27 Benefits are not payable for costs incurred due to any sickness or injury when such sickness or injury occurs in a city, region, or country for which the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Canadian Government issued a written warning prior to the effective date to avoid all travel, or to avoid non-essential travel, to that city, region, or country, and such sickness or injury is related to or due to the reason for the warning.
As I mentioned in my last two blogs please check with the Canadian Travel Advisory to confirm what the Insurance Companies are using for their guidelines on what they are covering. This was just issued by the Canadian Travel Advisory:
Official Global Travel Advisory
Avoid non-essential travel outside of Canada until further notice.
To limit the spread of COVID-19, many countries have put in place travel or border restrictions and other measures such as movement restrictions and quarantines. Airlines have cancelled flights. New restrictions may be imposed with little warning. Your travel plans may be severely disrupted and you may be forced to remain outside of Canada longer than expected.
Contact your airline or tour operator to determine options for cancelling or postponing your trip.
If you are still considering travelling or are already outside of Canada:
- Check your destination’s Safety and security, Entry/exit requirements and Health sections.
- Get the Government of Canada’s latest updates on COVID-19.
- Check the Pandemic COVID-19 travel health notice.
- Find out what commercial options are still available to return to Canada. Consider returning to Canada earlier than planned if these options are becoming more limited.
- Ensure that you have sufficient finances and necessities, including medication, in case your travels are disrupted.
- Check with your travel insurance provider to know more about their policies related to COVID-19. Find out if you are covered for medical treatment if you become infected with COVID-19 as well as for extended stays outside of Canada.
This advisory overrides all other risk levels, with the exception of areas for which we advise to avoid all travel (including regional advisories). The avoid all travel advisories remain valid.
Avoid all cruise ship travel due to COVID-19.
If you have an injury or illness not related to COVID-19 you have coverage unless it is a pre-existing condition that you have been receiving treatment, had a change in medication or were diagnosed with prior to leaving the country, the pre-existing condition wording is as follows:
Your insurance contains pre-existing condition exclusions for travellers of any age. These exclusions apply to medical conditions and/or symptoms that existed on or before your departure date or effective date. Check to see how this applies in your coverage and how it relates to your departure date, purchase date and effective date.
If you want to work with a Broker who understand what they sell, contact Glendinning Insurance Services.