By now we have all heard stories of our fellow Canadians falling ill or getting injured while on a holiday far from home. What you might not have heard about is the enormous medical bills those sick or injured people may have incurred if they weren’t protected by travel insurance. Dealing with an emergency with your own health or with that of a loved one while far from home is stressful enough. Facing the prospect of financial ruin after paying for treatment just adds insult to injury.

Buying travel insurance is one of those things that everybody knows they should do, and yet a surprisingly high percentage of travellers leave the country without it. In fact, as many as half of Canadian travellers heading to parts warmer than here each winter do so without the protective umbrella of travel insurance. Skipping out on the relatively small expense of travel insurance often leads to huge, unexpected bills. It’s a risky practice that more of us really need to give a second thought.

One Policy, One Whole Year of Travel

When planning your budget for travel insurance, looking at it as a one-off expense is the wrong way to go. If you travel more than once throughout the year, even if it is only to another province within Canada, a multi-trip travel insurance policy can offer significant savings over single-trip insurance policies. Every time you leave your province of residence without travel insurance, you put yourself at risk for huge medical bills.

The complaint that travel insurance is too expensive is commonly heard, and people often feel as though they didn’t get their money’s worth if it goes unused. It’s true that you generally hope that you never experience an emergency situation while you are away. However, if you should have the misfortune to find yourself in an emergency room far from home, you will never be sorry that “How am I going to pay for this?” isn’t on the list of things you need to worry about in that moment.

From that one day cross-border shopping trip you’re planning in the summer to your annual week-long holiday in the sun for March Break, a multi-trip insurance policy can ensure that you are covered for medical emergencies during all of your trips in a twelve month period. If you are hoping to purchase all-inclusive travel insurance which also includes flight delay, trip cancellation/interruption and baggage loss, you need to make those arrangements with your broker within one week of purchasing your initial ticket. So, like we said, you really need to get on that!

Travel insurance can’t help prevent emergencies, or ease the worry of sitting at a loved one’s bedside, but it can certainly help give some peace of mind at an already difficult time.