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international travel insurance for a US citizen, visitor in Canada, awaiting PR?

eletyl

Star Member
Mar 28, 2011
113
0
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
31-12-2010
AOR Received.
11-04-2011
Med's Done....
20-12-2010
Passport Req..
23-07-2011
VISA ISSUED...
02-08-2011
LANDED..........
02-08-2011
so, I am a US citizen, living in Canada as a visitor, waiting for my PR status and provincial health coverage. I already have a private "travel" health insurance plan to give me emergency coverage while here in Canada as a visitor.

the problem is, I have to leave to go back to the US for a week, and I want to buy similar emergency/travel health insurance for that time period, that will cover me in the US. but when I Google for travel insurance here, since I am in Canada, it only gives me travel insurance plans for (A) visitors to Canada, or (B) Canadians with provincial health coverage going elsewhere. for my week in the US, I am neither of those.

does anyone here have experience/suggestions for insurance companies (maybe US-based?) that I will be eligible for, even without provincial health insurance?!
 

Haitokin

Star Member
Aug 28, 2011
67
4
For the purpose of your question, there are three kinds of travel insurance policies available from Canadian travel insurance companies: Those for Visitors (immigrants, vacationers, foreign workers, etc) to Canada, those for Canadians (on provincial coverage) that are travelling outside their province of residence, and those for expatriates (traveling outside home country - usually for longer periods of time).

Anyone looking to research the in's and outs of these three forms of insurance (not just prices but the policy wordings and possible exclusions) can go to a travel insurance comparison website. For instance if you search "Best Quote Travel Insurance" in Canada or "Quotewright Travel Insurance" in the US, you'll get to compare coverage options.

It appears that you have purchased a visitors to Canada policy (or perhaps a travel insurance policy from a US company). If you read the fine print, they will either allow you to have a 'return to home country', or they won't. For example from the BestQuote website, if you get a quote for a visitors to Canada policy, and click on the 'compare details' tab, you can scroll down and compare the exact wordings for each of the companies offered in the area of 'return to home country'.

Unfortunately, the Canadian companies that offer visitor's to Canada policies won't offer coverage when you return to your 'country of origin'. Which means that you are left with getting an expatriate policy (and for a short trip this will prove to be quite expensive). In your case, I believe you will be able to get some cheaper coverage by using the selection of companies available through Quotewright.