Compare travel insurance for Canada

Many travel insurance policies that are designed for a holiday in Canada usually cover the following:

 

• Medical Expenses – This covers hospital stays, prescriptions, and doctor visits while you’re on your trip. Some hospital fees for out-of-country visitors in Canada can be more than C$10,000 (£5,800) per day³. This excludes doctors' fees, phone and TV services, and some medical tests.  

 

• Repatriation (sending someone back to their country) – If you get seriously ill or injured, you may need to be flown back to the UK. The cost of an air ambulance, or another type of medical escort, can start from C$165,000 (£90,000)4.  

 

• Cancellation – You're covered if you’re unable to travel for a valid reason. This is important, as a combination of long-haul, multi-leg flights and pre-booked activities, like a Niagara Falls tour, can be expensive. Cancellation reasons can include a medical emergency, a work-related issue, a home emergency, extreme weather or a transport strike.  

 

• Baggage – You can cover the loss, damage and theft of your baggage and other personal items. As some flights to Canada are multi-leg, this becomes crucial, as the risk of your luggage being lost, stolen or damaged is higher.  

 

• Travel Disruption – If you miss a connection or if your flight is delayed, you could be compensated for booking additional accommodation. 

Without comprehensive travel insurance for Canada, you are responsible for 100% of your medical bills. Canadian hospitals often charge non-residents a "Daily Ward Rate" that can exceed C$3,800 (£2,200) for a standard bed. Crucially, this fee is only for the room; it excludes doctor’s consultations, diagnostic scans, and any life-saving surgeries, which are billed separately.

 

If you’re planning on using travel insurance through your bank, make sure it’s fit for purpose. Many of these types of policies don’t have a high enough medical limit for a trip to Canada.

 

Having medical cover accounts for: 

 

Intensive Care – Which can treble the daily ward rate. 

 

Repatriation – Medical flights back to the UK can now exceed £80,000. 

 

Doctor Fees – Specialised surgical teams bill independently of the hospital. 

 

 

The majority of travel insurance policies for Canada won’t cover everything. It can be helpful to read any policy documents before you buy to make sure your policy covers everything you need. 

 

Some of the examples of things that might not be covered are:  

 

• Flight cancellations – If your flight is cancelled, your airline is usually responsible for  reimbursing you for any costs, e.g., food, hotels, etc.  

 

• Alcohol/drug-related injuries – If you lose any items or have a medical emergency due to intoxication, it’s unlikely you will be covered. 

 

• Undeclared pre-existing conditions – If someone with an undeclared pre-existing condition fell ill on the trip, they wouldn’t be covered by their insurance policy.  

 

• Travelling against FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office) advice – If the UK government advises against travelling to Canada (or parts of Canada) due to a potential danger to UK citizens, and you were to still travel, you wouldn’t be covered.  

 

• Specialist activities – This can include high-risk activities such as skiing in Banff2  or hiking in Jasper National Park. You will need to get specific activity add-ons to be covered.  

Canada has one of the highest healthcare costs in the world. Because of this, insurers often place it in the highest price bracket (worldwide, including the USA/Canada)

 

Some of the other factors that can affect the price of your premiums include:

 

• The duration of the trip – Longer trips can mean higher travel insurance costs. This is because the longer you are away, the more likely you are to make a claim.  

 

• The planned activities during the trip – the riskier the activities, e.g., skiing or snowboarding, the more likely the cost will be higher. 

 

• Your Age – Your age can affect the price of your cover. Costs will increase at certain age milestones, such as 65 and 75. 

 

• Medical history – Many pre-existing conditions can raise the price of travel insurance.  

When searching for your travel insurance for Canada, make sure you consider the following tips to get better value for money:  

 

• Tailoring cover to your specific trip, or trips - For example, if you’re not doing any extreme sports, you don't need to pay for any activity-specific add-ons.

 

• Find group policies - If you’re visiting Canada as part of a group, a family or group policy may work out to be cheaper. 

 

• Declare all pre-existing medical conditions - If you got injured or ill in Canada and didn’t declare your pre-existing condition, your insurer could invalidate your policy. You’d still be treated for your illness relating to your pre-existing medical condition, but you’d be 100% responsible for all the costs.

 

• Consider an annual multi-trip (AMT) policy - If you’re heading away more than twice this year, an annual policy is often cheaper than multiple single trip policies. However, because prices vary by destination, it’s worth comparing a few quotes to see which combination saves you the most. 

 

• Check the "Territory" definition - Make sure your policy has the ‘Worldwide including North America’ territory so that Canada is included, if you’re buying an annual multi-trip policy. 

 

• Check the excess – Sometimes, taking out a policy with a higher excess can lower your premium; if you’re younger and healthy, this could be a good option. But it’s worth remembering that if you needed to claim, you would have to pay the excess amount. 

 

• Buy as soon as you book - For Single Trip policies, your cancellation cover immediately, protect you from unforeseen circumstances that can stop you travelling. For AMT policies, though, your cover will start on the same date of the AMT policy.

 

Do your own research and make sure you find the right travel insurance policy for you by comparing quotes now

¹https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/02/charted-countries-most-expensive-healthcare-spending/ t&utm_source=perplexity#:~:text=How%20much%20more%20expensive%20is,2021%20numbers%20for%20better%20comparability 

 

²https://www.visitbritain.org/research-insights/inbound-markets/canada#:~:text=Intro,the%20inbound%20data%20in%20full

 

³.https://www.nshealth.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2393-2025.05.01.pdf

 

⁴https://skycare.uk/country/medical-repatriation-canada/#:~:text=What%20Factors%20Influence%20the%20Cost,on%20clinical%20need%20and%20distance.