Valuable information for Canadian students overseas

Did you know that students are rarely eligible for local health plans when studying outside of Canada? With that in mind, it’s really important to get coverage before you go, if you’re heading abroad to study.
Student travel medical insurance is generally applicable to students aged 40 and under, since they typically need more non-emergency medical care, like eye exams, annual check-ups, and even maternity care. Students abroad may need more follow up visits too, after an emergency as they remain in school, instead of returning home for treatment.

For example, Travel Underwriters’ Student Medical Insurance offers emergency coverage for doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist visits. Dental issues can also be unexpected and expensive! Luckily, dental coverage is available for accidents, dental pain and impacted wisdom teeth.

Student Medical Insurance – Benefits Specific to Travel Underwriters

• Tutorial services, in the event of hospitalization for 30 consecutive days or more.
• When you’re enrolled in school and have valid insurance, you’re covered during school breaks.
• You can head home to Canada for temporary visits and your insurance won’t terminate. However, while you’re back in Canada, you won’t be covered if something happens. Provincial health coverage should cover you while you’re home.
• We’ll cover you if you’re on vacation anywhere other than Canada.
• Family members can be covered under your Student Medical Insurance too, as long as you’re enrolled in school! To be eligible, they must be:
  • 40 years and under
  • Your spouse or immediate family
  • Dependent children who live with you. A dependent child is up to 21 years old, 25 years old if a full time student, or a physically or mentally handicapped child of any age.

 

What Happens if Your Student Visa Gets Denied

With Travel Underwriters’ Student Medical Insurance, a full refund of your travel insurance is available if your student visa is denied, or if you arrive to the country of study but you are denied entry. All you have to do is submit your refund requests to us within 45 days from the effective date.

Not Covered by Travel Underwriters’ Student Medical Insurance

Student Medical Insurance comes in handy, but you also need to know what’s not covered. Here are a few exclusions to note, but be sure to check the policy wording:

• Pre-existing conditions (current health conditions) unless conditions have been stable for 90 days before the effective date.
• Claims caused by your consumption or abuse of alcohol, drugs or medication, or any event, act or omission caused by the use of the above.
• If you’re a professional athlete, and something happens to you while you’re playing the sport.
• If you engage in high risk activities such as motorized sporting events, racing or speed contests, you won’t be covered if something happens to you.

Regardless of the coverage you decide to buy before your adventures abroad, speak to an insurance expert and review your policy wording; pay attention to the exclusions, limitations, and conditions specified in your policy.
I hope this information gives you a better understanding of student travel insurance. I’ve used our Student Medical Insurance as an example, since we can’t speak to other policies on the market, but the information provided should help you know what to look for in a good student travel insurance policy.
Interested in doing some travelling when school’s out? Here’s our budget travel tips for students.

Copyright © 2014 Travel Underwriters, All rights reserved.

Cruise Complaint Silliness

So, in the spirit of last week's article, I thought we would research some further amusing anecdotal tales of complaining holidaymakers - this time the ocean faring variety. Obviously, there's only so far we can go with this - but let's enjoy it while it lasts.

Here are some examples of Cruising Silliness

The most unusual was from a lady on a Mediterranean cruise who said the sea was too loud and claimed it prevented her from having a decent night's sleep during her holiday. She suggested the cabins be "better sound-proofed against the sounds of the sea."

bonvoyage.co.uk revealed the hilarious complaints, which included a man who voyaged on a summer cruise around Alaska complaining about the weather not being as warm as he expected. He said he expected to be able to "swim in the swimming pool each day" and "get an impressive tan".

The man stated that "all cruises are meant to be hot", and so sought compensation for having to buy warmer clothing as he "had only packed minimal clothing for the expected hot weather."

A woman on a Celebrity Cruises ship asked bonvoyage.co.uk for a full refund in June last year because she didn't see any celebrities on board. The woman said the company was guilty of "false advertising" due to the lack of stars.

In another complaint, a woman on a cruise departing from Southampton said that she had to re-schedule her whole holiday as she was not aware of the fact that she was supposed to take her passport with her on the cruise. She apparently thought she only needed her passport when going on a fly-cruise and blamed the cruise company for not texting her the day before to remind her to take her passport.

A woman on a Hawaiian cruise told the customer service team she had heard Gary Barlow was once on the same cruise she had ventured on but failed to see him on the ship this time. She demanded an explanation as to why he was not on the same cruise again this time.

Steph Curtin, Cruise Development Manager of bonvoyage.co.uk, said: "As an online cruising agency, we always try to provide the best customer service possible for our customers; whether it's regarding their comfort on-board, the information they get before getting on board or all the services and entertainment available on the ship."

She added: "The vast majority of feedback we get from our holidaymakers is hugely positive, usually telling us what a great time they had, but from time to time we come across a few quirky complaints that we can do little to help. Whilst we always make sure we go back to every complaint, I'm afraid we can't be held responsible for the sea being too loud or the lack of celebrities on board; as much as we wish we could put Gary Barlow on every cruise!"

More next week!

Going on a cruise? Check out Holsure's Travel Insurance page HERE

Silliness

Sadly the Summer holidays are but a distant memory. Now is a time for reflection on those warm evenings on the beach, unforgettable meals in hidden gems off the beaten track and unending hours of  lazing around the pool…Or you could just complain about the whole thing like these people have.

These are actual complaints received from dissatisfied customers by Thomas Cook Vacations (based on a Thomas Cook/ABTA survey.)

 Beware!!! These people live among us and can vote!

1. “I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts.”

2. “It’s lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallarta to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during ‘siesta’ time — this should be banned.”

3. “On my holiday to Goa in India , I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food.”

4. “We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price.”

5. “The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room.”

6. “We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow.”

7. “They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax.”

8. “No one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared.”

9. “Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers.”

10. “We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish.”

11. “The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun.”

12. “It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair.”

13. “I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends’ three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller.”

14. “The brochure stated: ‘No hairdressers at the resort’. We’re trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service.”

15. “There were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners.”

16. “We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning.”

17. “It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel.”

18. “I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes.”

19. “My fiance and I requested twin-beds when we booked, but instead we were placed in a room with a king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be re-reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked.”

Vaccinations For Foreign Travel

We thought we'd have to see the GP.

Apparently not.

These Days, if you need a vaccination for a foreign trip you pop along to your local Vaccination Bureau which might be in a National Chain store Chemist or a high street clinic. However, we were still surprised at the cost involved.

Now, we are off on a Cruise later in November and will be stopping off in Gambia, Cape Verde, The Canaries and Spain - more articles regarding this later in the year, but we are very excited - and we were advised to get a Yellow Fever jab.

That's £58 each please...Ouch!

So, I thought it would be of interest to show a list of popular (!) jabs and, as you can see, the most expensive will set you back around £268.....EACH. For a family of four that'll cost you well over a thousand pounds...and that's just one particular batch of tablets....

Don't forget to add that to your budget...

Here's the list below - I think it's quite an eye opener.

More news about the Cruise as it happens.....

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The Importance Of Leg Room

As Ryanair announces plans to cram more passengers in its planes - we look at the best and worst airlines for legroom and ask whether fliers are feeling the squeeze

Ryanair has agreed a £13bn deal for up to 200 new Boeing planes, each of which - thanks to slimmer seats and reduced galley space - will be able to accommodate more travellers.

The budget carrier announced that it will fly its new Boeing 737 MAX 200s with a total of 197 seats – eight more than the 189 seats possible in the 737-800 planes currently being used.

Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's CEO, said the extra seats would generate around €1million of additional revenue per plane per year and that, with the new planes, he hopes to start a new price war in Europe, “which, like all the old price wars, Ryanair will win.”

Yet this latest move to increase passenger numbers in economy comes in a month when rows about legroom caused three planes to be diverted. Will Ryanair passengers have less room?

Ryanair claims legroom space will actually be increased, thanks to the svelte seats and smaller galleys. While not revealing the exact dimensions, or a configuration plan for the new plane, it has said the pitch (ie. depth - the key indicator for legroom) will be at least 30 inches on average.

Airbus, however, Boeing’s rival manufacturer, said the MAX 200 configuration would mean removing three of eight galley trolleys - used for serving drinks and meals - to make way for more seats. This, it said, would leave only five trolleys for the 197 passengers. "Even low-cost carriers need more than that if they are serious about on-board sales and ancillary revenues," Mary Anne Greczyn, an Airbus spokeswoman, told Reuters.

Cheap Breaks? Try Warsaw

While many dream of a no-expense-spared five star trip, few can actually afford one. That is unless you travel to Warsaw, which has recently been revealed as the cheapest European city for a luxury break.

A night in a top hotel in the Polish capital costs on average £84 a night, while London, Florence and Paris, unsurprisingly, are the most expensive, according to travel website kayak.co.uk.

It pays to head east when looking for a bargain as Thessaloniki and Bucharest are two cities where a five star experience will cost an average of £87 and £98 respectively. This is in sharp contrast to staying in Florence, Europe’s second most expensive city for luxury, where a stay in its Belmond Villa San Michele starts at £632.

London is the continent’s priciest city - its famous five star hotels, including the Ritz, the Savoy and Claridges, cost on average £321. A night at The Berkeley costs £750, the equivalent of 11 nights at Domotel Les Lazaristes in Thessaloniki, where prices begin at £67. Elsewhere in the UK, Edinburgh is the second most expensive place to stay - prices for a five star hotel cost £211.

If you're travelling to Europe, don't forget your travel insurance - click HERE for great prices.

Bucket List

From The Telegraph:

When Barack Obama ordered his helicopter pilot to make an unscheduled stop at Stonehenge on Friday, following the Nato summit in Wales, he explained that the prehistoric landmark in Wiltshire was something he had always wanted to see.

"Knocked it off the bucket list," he said.

A visit to Stonehenge also features on the "Great British Bucket List", published in April - 50 feats to complete in Britain, which includes things as mundane as watching a box set of Only Fools and Horses to more active experiences, such as walking the Lake District and sailing around the Isle of Wight.

Top of the list was eating fish and chips on a seaside pier followed by whale watching in Wales.

Having a pint in the Rovers Return, the fictional pub in ITV's Coronation Street, is one thing Britons apparently must do before they die, as is seeing Morris dancers at a country pub.

Others said people must take a ferry across the Mersey and see the Christmas lights in Oxford Street in London before they die.

The Great British Bucket List was compiled by Ask Jeeves, the search engine, which asked 1,000 people what they would like to do before they die.

The phrase "Bucket List" comes from the idiom "kick the bucket" - meaning to die.

The phrase became increasingly popular after the 2007 film The Bucket List, staring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two terminally ill men who escape from a cancer ward to go on a road trip with a wish list of things to do before they die.

Their adventures include skydiving, visiting the Taj Mahal, riding motorcycles on the Great Wall of China and going on a lion safari in Africa.

The Great British Bucket List in full

1. Eat fish and chips on a seaside pier

2. See whales off Wales

3. Go to a night at the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall

4. Visit Giant's Causeway

5. Have a picnic at an open air concert

6. Go up in the London Eye

7. Travel Scotland's West Coast by rail

8. Watch a Shakespeare play in Stratford-upon-Avon

9. Dine in a Gordon Ramsay restaurant

10. Go to a British Grand Prix

11. See inside the Houses of Parliament

12. Get the Ffestiniog railway in Snowdonia

13. Go to Glastonbury festival

14. Hold the FA Cup trophy in your hands

15. Take in the view from the top of the Shard

16. Be at Stonehenge on longest day of the year

17. See the Trooping the Colour

18. Go to a cricket test match

19. Visit 'The Prisoner' village in Portmeirion, Wales

20. Have tea at Betty's tearooms, Harrogate

21. See a traditional Christmas pantomime

22. Watch a British player at Wimbledon

23. Do a 'Wainwright' walk in the Lake District

24. Drive round Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in Kent

25. Visit a whisky distillery

26. Go to a Six Nations rugby match

27. Go on a Jack the Ripper guided walk in London's East End

28. Have a pint in the Rovers Return, the fictional pub in ITV's Coronation Street

29. See Lake Windermere by boat

30. Go on a historic London pub tour

31. Experience the Notting Hill Carnival

32. Try a deep fried Mars Bar

33. See the fireball ceremony at Stonehaven, Scotland, on New Year's Eve

34. Sail round the Isle of Wight

35. Attend the Grand National, Guineas and Gold Cup horse races

36. Go to a World Darts Final

37. Take a selfie at both John O'Groats and Land's End

38. Take a ferry across the Mersey

39. Climb Ben Nevis

40. See Tower Bridge raised

41. Visit Borough food market, London

42. Eat Haggis on Burns Night, in Scotland

43. See Morris dancers at a country pub

44. See the Christmas Lights on Oxford Street

45. Be at a recording of The X Factor or Britain's Got Talent

46. See Blackpool Illuminations

47. Watch a boxset of Only Fools and Horses

48. Watch the Boat Race

49. Attend first day of Harrods sale

50. Watch the London Marathon live

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