Super Visa Health Insurance

[pulsarsidhu]

Dear Fellows..

I have a quick question here. Do parents need to show health insurance buy receipts or just health insurance letters, when they apply for visa. Could Consulate can ask receipts for health insurance?

Thanks,

 

[goldenbrown]

They probably need to see both, to make sure they actually purchased it. Usually when you get insurance, you should receive the policy as well as the payment confirmation. If you are looking to buy Visitors to Canada Insurance online, you can do it here.

 

[Gary Goldshmidt]

You need both. Make sure you are buying coverage that covers pre-existing conditions I deal with both TIC and Travel Underwriters. Manulife usualy shows up very cheap on the search results I have not researched their policies but I believe their cheap policy excludes pre-existing conditions. I have had over 100 peaple calling me regarding Super Visa Travel Medical Insurance and they all shop the internet for lower rates. Here is reality check the only thing most of the sites show is a price comparison assuming one is in perfect health. How many people in their 70's or 80's are in perfect health? The only way to get an accurate quote is to go through the application with an insurance broker, if done online the quote is usualy good for 90 days from the insurance company if not purchased at the time of application. I suggest you obtain all of your parents medical information, ask questions and make sure you know the claims procedure of the insurance company you are purchasing your policy from. You will also find that if their are pre-existing conditions or other medical impairments rates can be three times higher than the rate comparison you see on the web with most sites.
If you need a quote or have any questions please contact me directly.
Stone-Hedge Financial Group Inc.
Gary Goldshmidt
Managing Director
Toll Free 1.888.410.4393
Toronto 416.410.4393
Email: gary@stone-hedgefinancialgroup.ca

 

[Haitokin]

I too, am an independent travel insurance broker, who specializes in travel insurance, including visitors to Canada travel health insurance. And Gary is correct: the two documents that are required are the 'confirmation of coverage' that has the policy number, coverage details and the insured person's name on it; and a copy of the complete policy wording so that coverage details can be reviewed to ensure that the policy is from a Canadian company, and offers the required forms of coverage (health, hospital and repatriation benefits). These two documents are provided by the insurance company or your broker/insurance agent upon purchase - whether that's from a broker that operates a comparable quote website (me), or one that doesn't (Gary).

I'm surprised that if Gary 'shops around at all the companies', he doesn't deal with Manulife - now the single largest provider of travel insurance in Canada - just passing RBC this last year. In the 'super visa' department, they have competitive rates. Plan A offers no coverage for illnesses related to pre-existing medical conditions. So noone should buy that sort of policy unless they know absolutely beyond a doubt, that the person who will be insured doesn't have any pre-existing medical conditions. Ask them to find out before buying a policy for another person. If you don't, that's where mistakes can be made - and they can be costly mistakes. Manulife's Plan B costs more, but it MAY cover pre-existing medical conditions, depending on...(please always refer to the exact language in the policy) and don't accept paraphrasing...whether the person's conditions meet the proper definitions - just like in any travel insurance policy.
Manulife's Plan B is, for age groups 80-84, the only company available that will insure pre-ex simply by accepting the stated eligibility requirements - without direct underwriting. Manulife also allows larger discounts than most companies for using higher deductibles with the policy. That's an important consideration for lots of super visa applicants, because their first trip here is not planned for the full year and they will want to apply for a refund. Refunds for the unused insurance is only provided as long as there has been no claim on the policy - so submitting a small claim voids any possible refund - which could be in excess of $1000. In that case, often using a larger deductible makes sense. So why Gary doesn't at least let his clients see what Manulife has to offer - I can't understand.

I'm not loyal to any one company though - far from it. We look at over ten Canadian companies, and we do present their rates online for anyone to see - and all the exact policy wording as well. That of course doesn't include direct medical underwriting - when someone provides a complete run down of all pre-existing medical conditions - and gets a personalized quote that ensures they have solid coverage - we do that too - but most people won't ever have to go through those steps to get their travel health insurance for their super visa application. And the idea that a quote is only valid for 90 days? It's only good for as long as your age doesn't change, and the company doesn't change it's rates. Gary seems to be alluding to him being able to do a better job than an 'online' service? I have an online service, because it helps me do a better job. Better at highlighting exact differences in policy wording, what to watch out for, and to enable me to tell someone what the best rates can be given their situation and use of a certain deductible.
You won't beat the rates, or the service. contact admin @ bestquotetravelinsurance.ca or just google: super visa insurance.

Aside from TIC, Travel Underwriters (Platinum), and Manulife Plan B, the other company that offers coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, that just announced on December 13th that they are entering the 'super visa insurance market' is GMS. On the 19th, they announced that they will allow persons age 55+ to have polices for 365 days (it was limited to 180), and their rates are very competitive. So that's good news! Rates for most ages 60-79 will becoming down!
I will endeavour to keep posting informative comments on the changing super visa insurance 'industry', including comments from my clients concerning their experiences at application time, and at their port of entry. Hopefully that promise will keep my posts alive! ie. please don't delete I'm trying to be helpful!

 

[Trevor Pfahl]

I think there are bigger issues to look at then just price. Sometimes cheapest is ok but what are you getting.

When buying travel insurance, you need to look at Benefits provided, Exclusions (which includes Stability), and Deductibles.

Benefits means the areas that the insurance company will and won't pay for. Examples where I see the biggest difference in dollar amounts paid out include accident dental, private nurses, and amount paid for cremation or to return the body back to the home country in case of death.This is where you need to be careful. Some insurance may be $100 or $200 cheaper then others but it will probably have less benefits for specific situations or not include some important benefits that other policies include.

Exclusions mean what is not covered. The Insurance pays for immediate medical emergencies, not routine conditions or even for the follow-up treatment of a condition (depending on the company) x-rays are included but many policies exclude ct scans and MRI's unless pre-approved by the company in advance.
Stability means not seeing a doctor, or having a medical condition for a certain period of time. This period, the stability period, is usually 90 days or 180 days. So if your parent had a problem with their heart or leg within that period before coming to Canada, then that condition would not be covered. Typically, this is not a issue for most people but if there is ANYTHING that your parent has seen the doctor for in the last 3-6 months then that would not be covered while in Canada. Also, some companies have a detailed Medical questionnaire to answer before they approve insurance just to know the history of the person coming to Canada.

you need to have a Visitor to Canada insurance specialist explain and help you understand your policy options before you buy

Deductibles are the amount that you pay first if you go to a doctor. The higher the deductible, the lower the cost of insurance, but that means that each time you go to the doctor, you will pay that amount first. Common deductibles are $0, $100, $250, $500, and $1000. And for most companies the benefit of having a $500 or $1000 deductible only saves 5-10% of the amount so a person is taking a much higher risk for the amount of money saved

I know this is a lot of information but this is a broad overview. More specific details can be given if you want to e-mail or phone me.

I taught ESL for 12 years and have spent the last several years specializing in Travel Medical insurance and helping explain vocabulary and policies in an easy to understand manner.

Trevor Pfahl
e-mail - trevor @ hotwinters.ca
phone - 1-800-506-7675
Winnipeg - 204-415-5004

 

[Haitokin]

Super Visa Insurance update:

We've got more companies to choose from than our competitors (which will help lower the price you pay), better customer service and answers to any complex situations with our toll-free 1-888-888-0510 help line, and we offer free instant super visa insurance quotes online 24/7.

You can see an over view of rates here: http://www.bestquotetravelinsurance.ca/super-visa-insurance-bestquote-rates

And information and frequently asked questions here: http://www.bestquotetravelinsurance.ca/parent-and-grandparent-super-visa-health-insurance


When making your purchase decision, consider the following reasons for using BestQuote Travel Insurance Agency:
• By industry regulation, our rates are the same as those offered by the insurance companies, and we do not charge any extra fees for quoting or purchasing a policy from our website;
• As your broker, we work on your behalf, not the insurance companies’. We provide an extra level of service to customers by assuring fast online delivery of documents for the super visa application, helping change the dates on your insurance if travel dates change, and helping with refunds or claims issues;
• We are a highly productive broker that earns business by maintaining our website and quote engine for you, offering more policy choices online than any other travel insurance broker in Canada! At the time of claim or refund, we are there to assist you in dealing with the insurance company you have chosen – you won’t be left alone as if you bought the policy directly with the company.
• Our website’s technology is often more secure than the insurance company websites! We use the same recent encryption software as most insurance companies do, and our servers are Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant, when some insurance companies/other brokers use older technology, and aren’t even PCI compliant! We adopted the technology and programmed our website after 2010, whereas some insurance companies still use technology from before 2000! Rest assured that your personal information will be safe with us.

 

[Gary Goldshmidt]

Super Visa Insurance update:

We've got more companies to choose from than our competitors (which will help lower the price you pay), better customer service and answers to any complex situations with our toll-free 1-888-888-0510 help line, and we offer free instant super visa insurance quotes online 24/7.

You can see an over view of rates here: http://www.bestquotetravelinsurance.ca/super-visa-insurance-bestquote-rates

And information and frequently asked questions here: http://www.bestquotetravelinsurance.ca/parent-and-grandparent-super-visa-health-insurance

The payment is processed by the insurance company not the brokers site this is with all online travel insurance web sites. So having good security is nice but they are all using the insurance companies payment system. If bestquotetravelinsurance.ca feels that this is not secure then the only other way to do it is to have clients mail in cheques which I doubt is the case. As far as companies we all have access to the same companies some sites I have seen do a better job of providing more accurate quotes but I have never seen one that is perfect. Most importantly there is at this time only one company that is underwriting at time of application and this cannot be done online, you still need to fill out and submit an application to get a quote which takes four days not thirty seconds. I am happy that complex situations are mentioned on this post from my experience all super visa applications fall into this catagory.

When making your purchase decision, consider the following reasons for using BestQuote Travel Insurance Agency:
• By industry regulation, our rates are the same as those offered by the insurance companies, and we do not charge any extra fees for quoting or purchasing a policy from our website;
• As your broker, we work on your behalf, not the insurance companies'. We provide an extra level of service to customers by assuring fast online delivery of documents for the super visa application, helping change the dates on your insurance if travel dates change, and helping with refunds or claims issues;
• We are a highly productive broker that earns business by maintaining our website and quote engine for you, offering more policy choices online than any other travel insurance broker in Canada! At the time of claim or refund, we are there to assist you in dealing with the insurance company you have chosen – you won't be left alone as if you bought the policy directly with the company.
• Our website's technology is often more secure than the insurance company websites! We use the same recent encryption software as most insurance companies do, and our servers are Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant, when some insurance companies/other brokers use older technology, and aren't even PCI compliant! We adopted the technology and programmed our website after 2010, whereas some insurance companies still use technology from before 2000! Rest assured that your personal information will be safe with us.

 

[Jason McKinnon]

If you are looking for a broker in Calgary that deals with all these companies I can sit down with you or arrange the details through email. Your choice. Jason McKinnon, FCIP McKinnon Wealth Management 403-870-6059

 

[emmeder]

you purchase the one year travel insurance for 100k ( i paid almost $1800 from manulife) they are good because despite the target date of my moms arrival has been moved tremendously you can advise them to move the date to the actual arrival, granting you advice them.

the insurance company will therefore send you the certificate and you include that in your application and i guess since my parent is not yet here just be ready with the valid travel insurance cert when you arrive in canada for immigration officers to see

 

[Gary Goldshmidt]

For information on Super Visa Medical Insurance please visit stone-hedgefinancialgroup.ca
Super Visa Medical Insurance is a complicated product no online quotation system is able to take into account all the information to purchase the right policy tailored to ones specific needs. I have not seen a quotation system that does this online. When underwriting you need direct contact with a broker. It is a complex product and cannot be purchased like a bubble gum machine. Unfortunately bestquotetravelinsurance quotation system has already caused an error for one super visa client on this site.

 

[goldenbrown]

The new version of Super Visa Insurance Quotes Calculator is coming. It helps you to make a right decision.

 

[Gary Goldshmidt]

So fare the best quotation systems I have seen is from U.S. brokers but they are for travel not super visa.
On my website www.stone-hedgefinancialgroup.ca I specified some of the considerations when purchasing super visa travel insurance you are more than welcome to visit my site and use these as filters for you quotation system good luck with programming.

 

[shreeya2345678]

Hi,

I got Super visa insurance for my parents recently from an agent. He was very helpful, and provided me quotation from all the companies and explained in simple terms what all options i have. I highly recommend him - Vishal Taneja, 4168418018.

I just sent the document from the Insurance company to my parents for processing.

 

[davek1979]

I know that we need to have a year insurance for the first arrival on a super visa. For subsequent vists to we need to get a year long coverage my inlaws are only coming for a couple weeks.

 

[Gary Goldshmidt]

Unfortunately regardless of how long their visit is for with a super visa you still require a full years of coverage. The super visa is not intended for short term visits of two week, a regular visitors visa will allow visits of up to six month and you would only need to buy insurance for the duration of the visit.

For further information visit my web site at www.stone-hedgefinancialgroup.ca
or contact me directly.