Can I get travel insurance to a country with an advisory?
With turmoil throughout the world, you might be hesitant about traveling to a foreign country. Fortunately, the Government of Canada has a helpful tool that provides travel information and advisories for every country in the world -- they’ll even provide notice if a specific region of the country is more dangerous that the country as a whole. For example, the Government advises people to “avoid all travel” to North Korea but says to “Exercise normal security precautions” in New Zealand. The same government website suggests all Canadians have travel insurance when traveling, even within the country and even for a single day. But, can you get travel insurance to a country with an advisory?
Yes, but with a caveat
Technically, you can get travel insurance for anything -- the question is whether or not the insurance company will pay you if you make a claim. In most cases, common sense is your best friend. You can purchase travel medical insurance to the United States but, if you travel to Florida the day before a hurricane makes landfall, your chances of making a successful travel insurance claim are low.
Policy cancellation
Before you buy travel insurance, read the travel advisories put forth by the Canadian Government. Many insurance companies will limit, or refuse your claims if you travel to a country with an advisory. To avoid this from happening, try to avoid travel to these countries, or, if the advisory is for a particular region, avoid that area.
If you are unable to avoid travel, or find yourself in a country when a new travel advisory is issued, be safe and be aware that your travel insurance might not be in effect.
Specific Activities
In addition to being cautious about travel advisories, be careful about the types of activities you complete while on any vacation. Check your policy for specific exclusions that might not be related to travel advisories but could still cause your travel insurance to become invalid. For example, a policy might forbid ziplining -- something you’d rarely do at home, but will likely do on vacation in Costa Rica.
Trip Cancellation or Interruption
So far, this article has focused on travel medical insurance. Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance are equally popular forms of insurance, and can come in handy if there is a travel advisory in place for your vacation destination. Paying attention to travel advisories is a good idea if you’re planning a foreign trip.
If, for example, you’re planning a Mexican holiday for next year. You have everything booked and you remember to buy travel insurance. Months later, the region of Mexico you planned to visit has descended into chaos and the Government of Canada has issued a travel advisory. Although your travel medical insurance would likely be void if you made the trip, your trip cancellation insurance will most certainly pay out, refunding you so that you won’t feel obliged to take your Mexican vacation.
Travel insurance is almost a mandatory expense when leaving the country. With travel insurance, you can be assured that your holiday is worry-free because anything that can go wrong is covered. However, if you get travel insurance to a country with an advisory, beware that you might not be covered, depending on the insurance company and the type of travel insurance you’ve purchased.