Planning a Christmas Vacation? Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

As the holiday season approaches, a lot of Canadians are preparing for Christmas travels. Whether that means hopping across the border to visit extended family, crossing the Atlantic to enjoy a European holiday adventure or heading to Mexico or the Caribbean to soak up the sun and beaches, one thing they all have in common is that they’re leaving Canada.

You’ve got your bags packed, plane tickets in hand, activities sorted, and you even have the holiday baby carrier sorted out. So what next?

One of the first things on any Canadian’s travel preparation checklist should be ensuring that you and your family are covered while you’re gone on fun travel adventures with kids. Nothing can ruin the holidays more than a medical emergency while outside of Canada. That’s why it’s always best to be prepared for every occasion.

If you travel often and usually for 21 days or less at a time, think about looking into multi-trip travel coverage. This annual policy typically covers you and possibly your family for unlimited trips outside of the country for a few weeks at a time. Usually a little more expensive than single trip insurance, multi-trip more than makes up for those costs if you leave the country several times in the year or are a frequent border shopper.

Maximum out of country lengths and trip frequency can vary between companies, and even plans, so make sure you do some comparisons before choosing the right plan for you. Kanetix.ca is a great place to start looking and once you have a good baseline you can either decide to go with them or check out some of the other companies we’ve reviewed. Most places that offer single trip insurance also offer multi-trip insurance so if you can’t find it on their site make sure to pick up a phone and call them.

If you’re heading south for the winter or have been saving up your money and vacation time for that once in a lifetime grand trip, then single trip insurance might be your best bet. You can get a quick quote for it at Kanetix.ca  and either buy it through them or check out one of our many reviews as well.

Be sure that whichever policy you go with will cover any activities you plan on doing. For instance, a lot of policies exclude certain sport or adventure activities such as Scuba diving, para sailing or mountain climbing. These sports, usually considered high risk activities by the underwriters but “safe enough” by the vacationer, are most often enjoyed without consequence, however if you plan on doing anything your contract excludes, you could be on the hook if something happens. As always, read your plan carefully to know what’s allowed and what isn’t.

Finally, travel safely and consider packing a travel health kit to take with you. You never know when something might come up that a little advance preparation can’t solve. A small thing as simple as a cut or water dehydration can not only spoil your day but could lead to bigger complications later on if not treated as they happen.

Now that all that is taken care of, you can now get back to your travel planning and holiday merriment.

Wherever you’re going, have a safe and fun trip!