For information about the travel (trip cancellation, etc) and medical coverage insurance we offer visit – http://insurance.bookdirect.com
Mississauga, ON – June 26, 2008 - As soaring gas prices and higher travel costs hit
Canadian travellers, a new survey by RBC Insurance and Ipsos Reid suggests many
travellers don’t feel the need to protect their travel investment.
The survey reports that 37 per cent of Canadians never purchase travel
insurance when travelling on vacation to the United States, a country where medical
costs are among the highest in the world. These Canadians are left potentially exposed
to the high costs of the U.S. healthcare system. In fact, a four-day stay in a U.S. hospital
for an appendectomy could cost US$39,400, with only CDN$1,600 covered by a
government health insurance plan (GHIP). A one-day stay in a U.S. hospital for a
broken arm and wrist could cost US$32,600, with only CDN$400 covered by a GHIP.
“As fuel costs rise and the economy slows, travellers may be exposed to
increased travel costs and capacity cuts; so the need to protect their investment is even
greater now,” said Stan Seggie, president and CEO of the travel insurance division of
RBC Insurance. “Comprehensive travel insurance including trip interruption, trip
cancellation and travel emergency medical insurance will help protect them.”
Many Canadians also assume they are covered through existing travel plans. For
example, the survey shows 43 per cent of travellers feel they don’t need to buy travel
insurance because they have sufficient coverage through work or their credit card.
Often these plans don’t offer features such as up-front payments of medical
expenses (when possible), 24-hour multilingual support, assistance in finding a local
doctor or hospital, emergency transportation by air ambulance and coverage extending
to children. In addition, there may be limits or restrictions on claim amounts, number of
travel days, age and certain types of medical emergencies.
“Travel insurance is a minor cost for most vacationers. At a time when travellers
are paying more for fuel and other goods and services, the last thing they want to see is
a large travel medical bill,” said David Redekop, principal research associate,
Conference Board of Canada. “Purchasing travel insurance when travelling to another
province or country is one of the most prudent purchases a traveller can make.”
The survey also reports that 55 per cent of Canadian travellers never purchase
travel insurance when they travel outside their home province but within Canada. Sixty two
per cent of Canadians believe they don’t need to purchase travel insurance when
travelling to another province within Canada because they believe their provincial health
plans will cover their medical costs.
In fact, government health insurance plans may limit reimbursement for
expenses such as land and air ambulance services and X-rays. An air ambulance with a
full medical team travelling from Calgary to Toronto, for example, can cost $28,000 and
is not covered by a GHIP.
“When Canadians plan for a summer trip, their main focus is on having fun, not
whether they may need to cancel the trip at the last minute or get sick while away,”
added Seggie. “However, before they leave, Canadians need to ask themselves if they
could afford to pay out thousands in hospital bills or lose the cost of their vacation. If
they can’t, they need to consider purchasing travel insurance.”
These are the findings of an RBC Insurance/Ipsos Reid survey conducted
between March 27 and April 10, 2008. The poll was based on a randomly selected
sample of 2,251 adult Canadians, who were interviewed by telephone. With a sample of
this size, the results are considered accurate to within ±2.19 percentage points,
19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian
population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other
sub-groupings of the survey population. The data was statistically weighted to ensure
the sample’s regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian
population according to the 2001 Census data.
Visit http://insurance.bookdirect.com for more information about the wide range of travel insurance products available.
