
September 8, 2023
Travel Insurance for Every Trip
Travel insurance is designed to cover unforeseen losses incurred while travelling, either internationally or domestically.
We often only think of travel insurance if we travel abroad for a long time. Many believe we don’t need it for province-to-province adventures or an impromptu whip down to Seattle. The reality is that even when travelling within Canada, you should have travel insurance. You should also have travel insurance for quick trips across the border because you never know what will happen to you in that short time.
One recent example occurred when a husband and a wife decided to go down to Bellingham for dinner one night. They did not purchase travel insurance for the excursion. When the wife ended up choking and was rushed to the hospital, the couple was suddenly on the hook for thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Being in the industry, we hear horror stories like this all the time.
Whenever you’re leaving the province to go anywhere, whether Alberta or Washington State, we cannot stress enough that you must have travel insurance. This is because your BC Services will only pay the rate for services posted in BC when receiving medical services. Any amount over this rate is payable out of pocket. In some cases, especially if you travel to the United States or to a province with relatively high healthcare costs, those excess fees can quickly become prohibitive.
If you think travel insurance is limited to medical expenses, think again. At Waypoint, we also have policies available for travel interruption and cancellation and baggage coverage. Travel interruption insurance covers the unexpected medical conditions or death of you, your travelling companion, your family member, or your travelling companion’s family member; natural disasters; travel advisory; earlier or later departure; cancellation of your common carrier; involuntary job loss; the non-issuance of a travel visa, and more. Travel interruption and cancellation insurance cover all that, plus self-quarantine, isolation, and cancellation due to circumstances beyond your control. Baggage coverage insures the loss, damage, destruction, or theft of your personal effects while in transit or in any hotel or other building, en route anywhere in the world, on water, land, or in the air.
There’s no reason not to purchase travel insurance. When you work with a Waypoint Insurance advisor, you’ll see that our extensive selection of policies is affordable and flexible. The cost of your policy could be as little as a few dollars, and you can get anything from a 7- or 30-day policy to an annual policy, which is especially beneficial to businesspeople and other frequent travellers because it insures you year-round. That way, you can hop off to another province or state on a whim without thinking about it.
To purchase a travel insurance policy, all you need are the names and birth dates of everyone covered under the policy. You may be asked to complete an additional questionnaire if you are over a certain age. It’s important to answer all the questions because it can cause difficulty in the event of a claim if something needs to be corrected.
Purchase Your Travel Insurance with Waypoint
Waypoint Insurance is here to help you prepare for the unexpected. From medical and dental emergencies to an interruption in travel plans or lost baggage, we can’t prevent misadventures. Still, we can ensure a tailored travel insurance policy supports you.
To make your travel insurance purchase easier, we’ve partnered with TuGo™ Travel Insurance. Canadian-owned and -operated for nearly 60 years, TuGo™ specializes in products and services that support your health, wellness, and safety in travel across Canada and around the globe. As one of Canada’s top travel insurance providers, TuGo™ offers 24/7 in-house emergency travel medical assistance, with support in 27 languages.
If you’re ready to request a quote, you can try TuGo™ for yourself here. It’s so easy! If you’re not yet in a position where you need to purchase a policy, you can access Waypoint’s TuGo™ portal later through our Travel Insurance page.