Spring break travel insurance as COVID-19 restrictions lift

As the Canadian federal government announces many travel restrictions lift, many citizens prepare to travel and are questioning what their rights are in regards to travel insurance. Should Canadians with health concerns be worried about travelling overseas?

Sivan Tumarkin, a Toronto disability lawyer and national co-managing partner at Samfiru Tumarkin spoke to the Canadian Press on the ongoing concerns and insists that certain travel notices will still affect coverage.

Citizens like Tumarkin’s father with pre-existing conditions that might test positive for COVID-19 and would have to quarantine might not be able to claim coverage. “Because he’s 71, he had to answer these additional questions from Manulife. He has underlying conditions, and once I ticked off a few of those, I got to a paragraph that says, ‘Well, if you said yes to any one of these things, then he will not qualify,” Tumarkin explains.

Tumarkin goes on to state that travellers’ concerns have changed. “The mindset has shifted from, ‘Am I going to be covered for my medical expenses if I get sick abroad because of COVID’ … to, ‘What happens if I fly and I can’t come back because I test positive?’”

Tumarkin adds that clients relying on credit cards should check the fine print for details like the length of time they’re covered while overseas.