at University or College!

I urge parents to review their insurance policies and ensure proper student insurance coverage for students moving away this fall to university or college.

In September, many Ontario students will be moving away from home to university and college campuses across the province for the first time. I suggest parents review their insurance policies with their insurance advisor or broker to ensure their coverage extends to their child’s new residence.

A common blunder is that many parents assume their current policy extends to their child. The reality is that policies vary between insurance companies. Contacting your insurance advisor or broker prior to your child leaving for school is essential in ensuring they are protected if something were to happen.

“Step one is for the parent and student to assess the content insurance coverage they will have. While some companies have a limit on this, others will measure the contents limit under the parent’s policy. Depending on the amount of personal property the student brings, there could be a large underinsurance exposure.”

Parents also need to review their liability to consider how a claim situation would affect their policy.

Parents and students should review the following questions with their insurance advisor or broker:

• -Does the parent’s liability limit automatically extend to the student’s new residence?
• -Do they have to live in the actual post-secondary school dorm facilities/accommodations or is any apartment or home covered?
• -Does the insurer require the name of school or address of the student’s location?
• -Would the normal policy deductible still apply?
• -If the parent’s policy has already had claims against it, would a claim at the student’s location jeopardize the carrier’s willingness to continue coverage?
• –If so, perhaps a tenant’s policy for the student may be advisable. This may be the best solution in any event because then the student starts their own insurance record thus not affecting their parent’s policy.c

www.cuttherisk.com

The post Student Insurance Coverage at University or College! first appeared on Insurance - Disability, Estate, Critical Illness, Travel, Life - Glenn Stewart.

Travelers need to be very cautious about the type of Travel Insurance coverage they buy before they leave the country.  Travel Insurance may be the last thing on their minds when planning on jet-setting to exotic locations across the globe.  Forgetting or ignoring proper coverages could cost the traveller thousands of dollars. They may have to sell some of their assets to pay the bills or it may affect their retirement savings.

You can purchase up to $5 million in Travel Insurance coverage when you travel outside of your province, territory or the country.  Coverage is available for single trips as well as multi-trip annual plans.  With a multi-trip annual plan, you can enjoy the convenience and savings of a once-a-year Travel Insurance purchase that includes coverage for an unlimited number of 15 day or 31 day trips taken within a year.

Travel is up!  Our dollar is down!  Travel Insurance is still a must!

Even with the low Canadian dollar, as many as 10.4 million Canadians could make the US their travel destination of choice with another 4.2 million looking to visit Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. With trips outside the country coming at a higher cost, travelers may wish for creative ways to have the best trip possible on a tighter budget.  However, if keeping dollars in your pocket is important to you, then purchasing adequate Travel Insurance protection should actually be a top priority. If you require emergency medical care while travelling, not having medical Travel Insurance could end up costing you much more than you would have saved by not buying coverage before you left on your trip.

The reality is particularly true for travelers planning trips to the US or other destinations that use US currency. A visit to the hospital in the US can cost as much as $10,000 US  each day.  With the Canadian dollar at its lowest since 2005, medical costs for Canadian travelers seeking treatment in the US are even more significant than in recent years.  Without Travel Insurance, you would be responsible for your medical bills. If you have a pre-existing condition, you can find insurance but it will cost more than a regular policy.  The Insurer may offer to cover you for everything except issues arising from your pre-existing condition.  Either option is better than assuming you can fail to disclose a health condition and have your Travel Insurance Policy honoured.  That won’t happen.  There are many stories of “Snowbirds” who failed to disclose pre-existing conditions and were denied coverage after incurring tens of thousands of dollars in US medical bills.

Insurance companies, Travel Agencies and Financial Institutions may not communicate well with travellers. Consumers get a little dizzy when they read the wording within policies or contracts and they need to be better educated consumers of financial products.

CONSULT A LICENSED INSURANCE BROKER FOR YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE NEEDS!

Glenn Stewart represents Travel Insurers, Blue Cross, Manulife and GMS policies.

www.cuttherisk.com

The post BUYING MY TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICY first appeared on Insurance - Disability, Estate, Critical Illness, Travel, Life - Glenn Stewart.

TRAVEL INSURANCE DO I NEED?

              Questions to ask when applying for Travel Insurance

.  What countries am I planning to visit?  Are they on Canada’s excluded list? If the country I am going to is on the excluded list, only certain insurers will offer Travel Insurance coverage.

.  Am I planning on doing any hazardous sports while travelling?  Most exotic sports are excluded on the standard Insurance policies.

.  How is my health? Has it changed in the last six months? Have any of my medications or the prescribed dosage changed in the last six months?

 TYPICAL TYPES OF TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICIES ARE:

. Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance

This type of Travel Insurance protects your travel investment if you must unexpectedly cancel your trip.  Your eligible prepaid trip expenses will be protected up to the amount of coverage purchased.

.  Baggage and Personal Effects Insurance

This type of Travel Insurance protects your damaged or lost luggage.

. Comprehensive Insurance

This Travel Insurance provides coverage for Emergency  Medical, Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption, Baggage and Personal Effects and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance.

HAVE A CHECK LIST TO HELP YOU BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE!

HAVE YOU:

.  researched what Travel Insurance is available or have you chosen the first plan that you found?

.  spoken with your doctor or are you guessing for which health conditions you are being treated?

.  called a licensed Travel Insurance Agent or are you rushing to complete the application before you board the plane?

.  read the fine print or are you making assumptions about what is and what isn’t covered under the Travel Insurance policy that you have chosen?

.  checked out the policy glossary or are you relying on your friend’s interpretation of a confusing term?

.  enquired about deductibles or are you prepared to pay a lower cost now and a higher premium later?

. asked questions, questions and more questions or are you concerned that you will be a bother?

NOW YOU ARE READY TO SPEAK WITH A LICENSED AGENT TO PURCHASE YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE.

  call Glenn at glenn@cuttherisk.com  or see www.cuttherisk.com                                                                                                                                                                            

The post WHAT TYPE OF TRAVEL INSURANCE DO I NEED? first appeared on Insurance - Disability, Estate, Critical Illness, Travel, Life - Glenn Stewart.

Buying Travel Medical Insurance for a trip outside Canada or your home province  just makes sense. You never know what emergency will befall you and, in the United States especially, medical bills can mount quickly.

What Snowbirds need to know about Travel Medical Insurance

Did you know that if you need to see a doctor in Florida, you could be handed a bill for $1,200? OHIP would pay $50.12 of it — the price of the visit if it had happened in Ontario. An overnight stay in hospital could cost $10,000 in the U.S. OHIP would pay $400 if you were in a cardiac ward or ICU. A good reason to buy travel insurance. But even extra coverage won’t help if it’s decided what ails you is a ‘pre-existing’ condition.

 To help you plan your trip …

Travelling this Winter Snowbirds?

Here are Seven tips to review while getting the Medical Travel Insurance for your trip.

1. Know what the policy says Every policy has limitations and exclusions (and) “pre-existing-conditions” exemptions.  Read what is covered and under what conditions.

2. Know your medical conditions and medical history! Know your medical conditions when completing the medical questionnaire. Is best to have a list of all your medications and all you medical treatments in the past years to answer the medical questions correctly. Because it is a condition to having, your claims paid. This is the stability clause in all travel policies and it is the traveler’s responsibility to know about their illnesses and medical conditions or to check with their physician if they are not sure what they are. It may be as simple as having a list of their medicines and treatment in front of them or having the information written out in front of them.

3. Be scrupulously honest and accu­rate! While there is an insurance policy for just about everyone — it just tends to cost more for higher risk cases — don’t fudge or forget when it comes to spelling out their medical history. An example is a case last year in when a Vancouver retired couple was hit with a $50,000 hospital bill, because they filled out the insurance form in­correctly. “They say, ‘Well, we made a few little mistakes in our ques­tionnaire, but you shouldn’t hold that against us, you are just trying to get us on a technicality,” he said. ‘Well what the hell is a contract except a listing of technicalities?”

4. Some policies restrict where you go. Insurance policies can have lim­itations due to warnings issued by the Canadian Federal Department of Foreign Affairs or the U.S. State Depart­ment, noted Robin Ingle, chairman Toronto-based insurance company Ingle International. “You get situa­tions where even sections of coun­tries are no-goes, so destination is an issue.” As well, U.S.-style medical bills are becoming common in a lot of foreign destinations around the world, so travelers need to make sure they have adequate coverage wherever they go.

5. What you do can be an issue. A lot of people will travel and participate in things like para-sailing, hang-gliding, bungee jumping. mountain climbing.  These events are not covered normally but can be at additional cost at issuance of Travel Medical Insurance policy.

6. Worry about the fit, not the price! Competition among insurers means that prices for coverage should not vary greatly, so find the policy that covers your medical conditions. “The difference in price from one insurer to the other is so slight Make the policy is exclusively yours, which fits your health profile.

7. Be prepared to invest some time to double-check your coverage make sure it fits your health profile, travel plans and any activities you plan to do while travelling. Do not leave it to the last minute to arrange.

The post Travel Medical Insurance! first appeared on Insurance - Disability, Estate, Critical Illness, Travel, Life - Glenn Stewart.