Author Topic: Canadians travelling long term - who do you use for global health insurance?  (Read 2861 times)

treffpunkt

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 54
  • Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
I realize that most of you who've FIREd and are travelling long term probably don't come to the forums anymore, but I thought I'd try anyway.

Who are you using for global health insurance now that you no longer have provincial medical coverage?

All the recommendations I've seen are UK- and US-based: Integra, Cigna, Aetna, and Blue Cross, which is probably fine, or have less than stellar reviews (World Nomads, Safety Wing). Does anyone have experience with these or can recommend others they've been happy with?

srrb

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 131
I second the ask ...

YK-Phil

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1173
  • Location: Nayarit (Mexico)
Great question, looking forward to workable options. In 2021, I will have been away from Canada for 10 months and will likely be gone for longer in 2022 so right now, I just fudge it. I read on another forum I can apply for a 2-year exemption once every five years but I haven't found anything concrete that applies for my jurisdiction.

Freedomin5

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 6485
We are Canadian expats who have lived in China since 2011. You want to look for insurance for Global Expatriates. We haven’t had provincial health coverage (in our case, OHIP) since 2011 or 2012. 

Allianz Global Assistance is who we used from 2011 to 2019 (until I switched jobs and got global health insurance as part of the benefits). For me (healthy non-smoker female under age 40), it cost around $1000/year. Part of the reason why it was so cheap was because we chose the ex-USA option.

We went for the deluxe, higher end option with more extensive coverage. Never had a problem with claims, which were processed without incident. For small things like annual checkups, you do have to pay out of pocket and then claim. For large expenses, the insurance will work with the hospital to do direct billing.

We went through an insurance broker who provided excellent service. Annual renewal was as easy as “Please renew my policy for another year. Charge the credit card you have on file.”

 DM me if you’re in Ontario and would like a recommendation.

treffpunkt

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 54
  • Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
Thanks @Freedomin5. Just saw your response today (forgot to follow my own post...).

After more thought and research, I believe something like that is too much coverage for what I'm looking for as it's a full health plan. I asked for advice about the wrong thing!

I will self-insure for the maintenance-type stuff and only have insurance for major medical emergencies, evacuation, etc. so I don't need global health insurance / expat insurance like I originally thought. I just need travel medical insurance with coverage for home visits (some cover 30 days for every three months for Canada, for example).