Travel Insurance do not cover High Risk Activities, like Heliskiing, Ski Jumping, Skydiving, Sky-surfing, Scuba Diving, white water Rafting, Mountaineering and Hot Air Balloon Rides

Hot air balloon catches fire, crashes, killing 19 tourists in Egyptian city of Luxor. 


  Before:

After:

According to initial indications, the balloon was in the process of landing after 7 a.m. when a landing cable got caught around a helium tube and a fire erupted, the balloon then shot up in the air, according to an investigator with the state prosecutor's office. The fire set off an explosion of a gas canister and the balloon plunged some 300 metres (1,000 feet) to the ground, according to an Egyptian security official.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/02/26/egypt-hot-air-balloon-crash.html

**Travel Insurance usually do not cover high risk activities like heliskiing, ski jumping, skydiving, sky-surfing, scuba diving, rafting, mountaineering, or participation in any rodeo activity.


Bridges International Insurance Services
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info@biis.ca
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Basic medical coverage extended for absent snowbirds

B.C. residents who holiday out of the province will be able to stay away an additional 30-day longer without losing their basic medical coverage, Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said Wednesday.

“There are many British Columbia seniors who enjoy winters away each year, and this change makes it possible to allow them some extra time away without worrying about losing their MSP coverage,” said Ralph Sultan, minister of state for seniors, in a statement.

The proposed amendment to the Medicare Protection Act would permit an additional 30-day absence — if the time out of the province is used for vacation.

The move aligns B.C. with Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador in allowing residents to maintain their medical coverage while out of the province for more than six months.

The Canadian Snowbird Association welcomed the move and said it would let B.C.’s estimated 144,000 snowbirds travel south during the cold months without fear of losing their medical coverage.

We are leading Canadian Insurance brokers which specialized in travel and medical insurance for Visitors to Canada over 10 years. Our Super Visa Medical Insurance is of low cost and broad coverage. Please contact us now at info@biis.ca or Skype at biiscanada.

Bridges International Insurance Services

Suite 901-1030 West Georgia Street, Vancouver BC V6E2Y3

1-888-267-4461/604-408-8695 ext 106

info@biis.ca

www.biis.ca

A Typical Travel Claims Example That Might Happen to You

A Typical Claims Example That Might Happen to You

The following outbound example shows how travel insurance products protect clients and their financial investment in the event of a mishap or a medical emergency abroad.

48-Year-Old Man: Brian Aneurysm

Massive Internal Bleeding Led to Coma and Multiple Surgeries

A 48-Year-old man travelled to Montana to visit friends. While there, he suffered a massive headache and lost consciousness. The man was rushed to the hospital. There he was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, which had ruptured causing a massive bleed requiring surgery. To speed his recovery, he was put into a medically induced coma. While in the hospital, the patient required a second surgery to drain fluid from his brain. After 22 days, One World Assist was able to air evacuate him back to his home province.

Hospital fees ----------$362,027.66

Physician fees ----------$56,007.14

Radiology fees ----------$7,140.28

Ambulance---------- $10,253.67

Air evacuation -----------$10,884.38

Provincial medical plan contribution ----------- (minus) $10,619.32

Amount covered by travel insurance ----------- $436,693.81

(extracted from TRAVEL UNDERWRITERS newsletter inTUitive Q3/Q4 2012)

                                                                                                                                                                    
Feel free to contact us by phone, email or Skype and we will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Bridges International Insurance Services
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E-mail: info@biis.ca

Seniors Travel Insurance

The modern world has witnessed an increase in the longevity, vitality, and personal and financial autonomy of senior citizens. The contemporary trend has, in turn, led to a rise in the number and frequency of senior travelers.

Conventionally, senior travelers have purchased travelers' insurance from a travel agent rather than an insurer, the latter of which can reduce the cost of insurance by up to half of that of the former. Fortunately, accompanying the growth of senior travel are insurance policies directed specifically toward senior citizens.

While many insurers continue to offer policies with age ranges, many other companies have increased their upper age limits or conjured policies that directly benefit senior travelers and grant them security and peace of mind while traveling abroad.

One particular advantage of seniors' travel insurance concerns medical specifications regarding illness or injury. If medical assistance is needed, most insurance companies offer a 24-hour emergency telephone number. It is important to consult the insurer's Policy Disclosure Statement (PDS) to ensure the existence of such an amenity.

Carrying the insurance company's contact information at all times is also essential, for in the event of an emergency illness or injury, contacting the insurer as soon as possible is the best option. For further security, it is also beneficial to leave the details of the PDS with a loved one at home.

Medical coverage is an extremely crucial asset to seniors' travel insurance because it helps to avoid out-of-pocket medical payments or high overseas expenses. Declaring any pre-existing medical conditions is also an excellent idea to secure efficient medical coverage in the policy.

Senior's travel insurance differs in enumerable ways from other travelers' insurance policies in existence today. For example, many general policies restrict their audience to travelers under age 70 or 75. However, insurance companies that offer seniors' travel insurance have little or no age restrictions.

For example, in Australia Australia Post seniors travel insurance covers the age range of 75 and up, while in the UK Delta insurance covers seniors from age 65 with no upper age limit. Further, in the US All Aboard Benefits has no age limit in its insurance policies, and its senior insurance coverage begins at age 60.

Another difference that sets seniors' travel insurance policies apart from others is its consideration of dependants, or those who depend on guardians for financial support. Namely, many seniors' travel insurance policies offer free coverage for children, so seniors may travel with their grandchildren without hassle or worry as to whether the children are insured.

Perhaps the most important difference between general travelers' insurance and seniors' travel insurance is the medical coverage. Most travelers' insurance policies do not cover many pre-existing medical conditions, and some insurance companies exclude every one of them.

To prevent the likelihood of expensive medical payments while abroad, the medical coverage offered through seniors' travel insurance is essential. Indeed, as a crucial aspect of senior insurance coverage, most seniors' travel insurance policies cover pre-existing medical conditions, including types of cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, asthma, gastric reflux, hay fever, and more.

They also cover, in amounts that vary from policy to policy, luggage. Dependents under 21 years of age who do not have a full-time job are also covered, free of charge, by most senior travel insurance policies. Additional expenses from delayed flights, accidental death, and stolen property are covered by most senior policies as well.

Certain conditions are excluded by most senior travel insurance policies, however. Examples of exclusions are expenses that arise outside of the "Period of Insurance," from war, unlawful behavior, travel against the wishes of a physician, self-inflicted ailments, touring guides and services, loss of enjoyment from the traveling experience, failure to obtain obligatory travel documents such as a visa or passport, engagement in dangerous activities without a proper license, pregnancy, mental health issues, sexually transmitted diseases, and nuclear, biological, or chemical hostilities.

Specific exclusions vary between different seniors' travel insurance policies, and details are found in the PDS. In order to find the proper seniors' travel insurance policy, the first step is to make sure the covered individuals fall within the age range of the policy, if an age limit exists.

The next step is to ensure that, if a senior traveler has any pre-existing medical conditions, all of them are covered by the policy. It is also wise to choose an insurer with a 24-hour emergency hotline. Also, often due to conflict or the recommendations of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, many insurers refuse to cover certain geographic regions.

It is thus important to compare policies and elect one that covers the travel destination. Another significant factor is the value of personal items deemed "luggage," for traveling with valuable paraphernalia requires satisfactory luggage coverage.

Coverage of lost deposit or cancellation fees is beneficial as well, especially when traveling through a pre-booked package that risks large, collective instances of such fees. If traveling with dependents, selecting a policy that covers them for free is also ideal.

Choosing the proper seniors' travel insurance policy to suit individual needs requires time and online research, but it is worth the security and peace of mind for seniors who love to travel the world.

Young Travellers Need Insurance Too: THIA

Young Canadians confined in foreign hospitals with no travel insurance to cover their medical bills or the costs of repatriating them by air ambulance made headlines across Canada recently even though coverage for accidental or emergency illness out of the country has never been more accessible.

In August, 2012, former Toronto cheerleader Anna Leibenko, then 24, slipped on a catamaran sailing in the Adriatic and had to be rushed to a neurosurgery hospital in Croatia for intensive emergency treatment. She had no travel insurance. Consequently, friends in Canada set up a drive to raise funds to pay the hospital bill and airlift her back to Canada.

In November, 11-year old Jaylynn Graham, vacationing in Jamaica with her father, suffered what was reported in the London Free Press as a stroke requiring brain surgery. Because she had no travel insurance, friends and local London area businesses set up a donors' fund to help pay medical and hospital bills related to her care.

In December, The Hamilton Spectator reported that Robert Sitter, a long-time Buffalo Bills football fan from Hamilton was hit by a taxi while exiting the stadium in Buffalo. He sustained a brain injury that left him in a coma, unable to be repatriated to Canada for several weeks. A public donors' fund was set up to help Sitter's family deal with what would likely be at least a six-figure hospital bill.

"What makes these stories even more tragic for the families involved," says John Thain, president of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA), "is that the burden of medical and transportation costs that accompanies accidents and illnesses abroad is so avoidable, and in the case of young, otherwise, healthy people, travel insurance is so inexpensive and accessible."

Government health insurance plans cover only a very small fraction of out-of-country health care costs, and all provincial health ministries and the Government of Canada travel websites strongly urge all Canadians leaving the country - for even one day or less - to buy private travel insurance to cover health emergencies.

Virtually all travel insurance plans in Canada offer generous benefits,some up to $5 million per policy, and they include air or ground ambulance repatriation when medically necessary, direct payments to foreign hospitals and doctors, and coverage of virtually all hospital and medical costs for applicants who meet the eligibility and health requirements.

Studies have shown that most experienced and mature travellers, and especially snowbirds, won't leave home without travel insurance. In fact, some studies show about 80 percent of snowbirds buy insurance annually. But a study done by Ipsos Reid also showed that among 18-to-34 year old Canadians, 44 percent report that they never or rarely bought insurance on any trip they took to the U.S. within the previous two years.

"Travel insurance for Canadians leaving the country for even a short trip to a ballgame, or to go shopping, or visit relatives, is not a luxury item, it's a necessity," says Thain. "One slip on the ice, or fall on a boat, or accident while crossing the street can generate medical bills that could potentially wipe out a family's savings. It doesn't have to be that way," he emphasizes.

"Travel medical insurance is readily available from most travel agents, brokers, banks, motor leagues, and companies specializing in travel insurance. Thanks to the internet, finding them is easier than ever," says Thain. "All it takes is recognition that even the young are not invincible. And hospitals and doctors don't offer cut-rates for the young."

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 3, 2013)

Protect Yourself With a Travel Health Insurance Policy

Whether you are out of the country for a few days or a few weeks, securing travel health insurance before you leave should be considered an essential part of the planning process. “Costs for medical care in the United States and many places around the world can be very expensive,” says John Thain, president of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada. “Travel insurance helps take care of you and your family and can protect your finances.” Thain recommends buying your health insurance policy from a regulated insurance company, and allowing sufficient time to complete the application process before you leave, particularly if you are required to answer medical questions.

Here, he provides some important tips to snowbirds.

Do not rely solely on your government health insurance plan
While you will have some coverage in the event of an emergency, you need to supplement the small amount the government would provide with a plan that will offer more protection. “Provincial government health plans pay only a very small portion of medical expenses incurred outside of Canada,” says Thain. “Specialists can help you navigate health-care services outside of Canada and guide you in seeking and receiving proper treatment. If something unexpected happens, you will have someone to turn to for help.” 

Know what you’re buying
Thain recommends asking your travel insurance advisor or your insurance company about different plan options: single-trip policy, an annual multi-trip policy or top-up-to-credit card coverage. Be sure to clarify anything you do not understand.

Read through and understand your policy
Rather than take a buy-now-ask-questions-later approach, make sure you understand your policy before you leave. “Insurance companies can have many different approaches to benefits, exclusions, limitations, eligibility and, especially, pre-existing conditions,” says Thain. “It is critical to read and understand your policy before you travel in order to avoid unexpected surprises.” 

Inform your insurer about changes to your health
If something happens between the time you purchase your insurance and the time you leave, you need to inform your provider. This could result in changes to your policy, warns Thain. “Be an informed consumer, know your own health and understand your travel insurance policy.” 

Three misconceptions travellers have about health insurance:

• Travel insurance is a substitute for your provincial health insurance plan while you are out of the country.
  That is not the case. Travel insurance is for unexpected emergencies only.
    
• There is no need for travel health insurance if you are cross-border shopping and will be gone for only a day or two.
  That is not the case. Emergencies can happen at any time to anyone.
• 
  
• Once I have my policy, all of my pre-existing conditions will be covered.
  That is not the case. It is essential to review your policy and understand how it defines pre-existing conditions and how terms such as “stable,” “controlled” and “treatment” relate to your personal medical history. Ask your doctor for help in answering medical questions that you are not sure about, including medications, tests you are undergoing or have scheduled and any referral to specialists you have recently had.

by Tara Nolan,

This article appeared in the Toronto Star on December 12, 2012.

Travel Insurance Online Quotes

Travel insurance online quotes are always destined to be less expensive employing an realtor in person with single trips, multiple outings as well as yearly trip insurance overseas. It is because if you consider an insurance policy you might be successfully paying out limited to the movements associated with danger. Just for this premium you are assured a insurance that safeguards that when on account of condition as well as incident, you happen to be economically coated towards these kind of typically painful bills on a holiday.

Cheap insurance online is not hard to get in our contemporary globe. With all the easy click of a button once you are able to book worldwide or household insurance. The reason is , the losing of the customarily expensive middlemen or even organizations. While searching for online insurance quotes it's important nevertheless to compare these rates and also levels of protection available by simply every deal.

While looking for the very best online insurance it is important that one seeks the travel insurance plan that fits these. The most effective online insurance will not likely continually be the cheapest as a result an arrangement may possibly abandon insurance coverage with regard to automobile accident incurred through climbing, a task you might nicely prefer to perform. Consequently being mindful of this you need to locate a competitive fee to obtain insurance online. Even more versatile insurance firms will even allow for you to basically call up their business in your journeys for extra coverage for just one away from activities for example mountaineering. Any time traveling inside nations around the world less designed you ought to search for the best insurance quote online far ahead of time. Typically this particular small however essential sector is ignored until the last second.

Your online insurance company has the very same characteristics from the agencies within your nearby town. Nonetheless you need to not necessarily consider these insurance companies a smaller amount competent as well as cut-throat. They are often branches with the major insurance companies which might be equally as or more efficient at dealing with your own regrettable conditions should they arise. Once-a-year insurance plan for instance is a insurance policy that may be opened up as well as maintained quite easily without continual phone calls and time invested being concerned about discounts and short comings. There are no locations with regard to 3rd party individual mistakes in the online travel insurance company since all legal agreements receive for you immediately and no space regarding company misunderstandings.

Purchase travel insurance online for top probable coverage on the best possible charge. Simply because in relation to comprehension, no-one knows you want you do. With substantial cost savings to be made along with customized insurance policies your own travels are sure to become more proper care totally free. The perfect way to invest your holiday.