CAA Travel Insurance Review 2024

If you’re one of the 5.8 million Canadians with a CAA membership, you’ve probably called for help when you’ve had a flat tire, been locked out of your car or run out of gas during a road trip. But CAA can offer much more than roadside assistance, including travel insurance for Canadian residents for trips both within Canada and internationally, as well as travel insurance for visitors to Canada.

The CAA is made up of nine regional clubs across Canada, including CAA South Central Ontario (that includes Manitoba), North East Ontario, Niagara, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Maritimes, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

This review is based on plans from CAA-South Central Ontario (CAA-SCO). If you live in another part of the province or elsewhere in Canada, your plan offerings may differ.

CAA South Central Ontario travel insurance is underwritten by Orion Travel Insurance, a CAA company.

Here are the key types of travel insurance coverage offered in CAA Insurance plans:

• Emergency medical insurance: If you become ill or are injured on your trip, travel medical insurance can pay for emergency medical expenses, up to the limits in your plan. These expenses can include doctor and hospital bills, medication and lab work.
• Trip cancellation insurance: If you cancel a trip for a reason listed in your policy, trip cancellation insurance can reimburse you for prepaid, non-refundable costs.
• Travel interruption insurance: Trip interruption insurance can pay for a last-minute flight home in an emergency and money that you lose by cutting a trip short, such as non-refundable activities and hotel stays. CAA offers a BounceBack benefit that kicks in if you have to go home to deal with an emergency, you’ll get $2,000 towards a round-trip ticket home and back again.
• Baggage insurance: Baggage travel insurance can compensate you up to your policy limits if your luggage is lost or stolen. It will reimburse the depreciated value of your suitcases and what you packed. If your bags are delayed, it can reimburse you for the cost of the necessities you buy to tide you over. It also extends to your personal belongings, if they are lost, damaged or stolen.
• Travel accident insurance. This coverage offers compensation in the event of accidental death or catastrophic injury from an accident during your trip. Flight accident insurance covers injury while you’re on a commercial plane, during a connection or in an airport. Travel accident insurance covers death or dismemberment, including the loss of limbs or eyesight, sustained on your trip.

CAA offers three travel insurance plans: Emergency Medical + Trip, Medical and Trip.

Emergency Medical + Trip: This is the most comprehensive plan that includes coverage for medical emergencies, trip cancellation and interruption, lost baggage and personal documents, non-medical emergency evacuation, medical repatriation, travel accident insurance and more.

Emergency medical treatment includes:

• Hospital accommodation up to a semi-private room.
• Physicians’ fees.
• Laboratory tests and X-rays.
• Private duty nursing.
• Ground ambulance service.
• Prescription drugs.
• Medical appliances including casts, splints, trusses, braces, crutches or the rental of a wheelchair.
• Treatment by a chiropodist, chiropractor, osteopath, physiotherapist or podiatrist.
• Emergency dental treatment due to a blow to the face.
• Emergency dental treatment due to illness, excluding roots canals or damage to dentures.
• Hospital allowance for long distance calls, TV rental when hospitalized for at least 48 hours.

Medical: If you’re only worried about medical emergencies while travelling (and not trip protection), this standalone plan offers all of the medical coverage options of the Emergency Medical + Trip plan and includes hospital accommodations, physician fees, lab tests, private nurses and ambulance services.

Trip: If you have medical coverage elsewhere, the Trip plan covers trip cancellation insurance, trip interruption insurance, baggage insurance, travel accident insurance and more.

With a CAA Travel Insurance plan you can purchase family coverage for three or more members, including your spouse, children and grandchildren. CAA even extends coverage to your pets in the event you are hospitalized or repatriated, as well as $300 for emergency veterinary care.

We highlighted key benefits of CAA Travel Insurance to help you identify which plan is the best fit for you.

Here’s a comparison of the Medical + Trip, Medical only and Trip only plans and how much coverage you’ll get.

The price of a CAA Travel Insurance plan depends on factors such as the cost of your trip, your age and the amount of coverage you choose.

Here are some price examples of CAA Travel Insurance plans for healthy travellers based in Ontario through the CAA-South Central Ontario Club. CAA members get 10% off these rates.

If you’re purchasing the Medical only plan, you can also add an optional deductible, or the amount you will pay out of pocket before your coverage kicks in, to lower the cost of your premium. Deductible options include: $300, $500, $1,000, $3,000, $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $50,000 (USD).

World Nomads

Emergency medical: $5 million
Cancel For Any Reason: No
Baggage insurance (maximum): $1,000, $3,000

Related: World Nomads Travel Insurance Review

Manulife Financial

Emergency medical: $10 million
Cancel For Any Reason: No
Baggage insurance (maximum): $1,000

Related: Manulife Financial CoverMe Travel Insurance Review

Blue Cross

Emergency medical: $5 million
Cancel For Any Reason: No
Baggage insurance (maximum): $1,500

Related: Blue Cross Travel Insurance Review

CAA Travel Insurance offers the following riders, or add-ons, for the more adventurous or sporty travellers:

• Adventurous Air Activities. Up to $5 million covering extra vacation fun while participating in activities that include hot-air balloon rides, parasailing and helicopter excursions.
• Sports & Speed. If you’re participating in a professional sporting event or motorized speed contest, this provides coverage for any accident or illness while you’re competing, training or practicing while you’re away.

Here’s how these add-ons could affect your premium:

If you’re renting a car while on vacation, the optional Rental Vehicle Damage Insurance add-on will pay up to $80,000 for rentals up to 80 days.

CAA members in the CAA-SCO Club receive 10% off their premium for any travel insurance plan. (Other clubs may offer different discounts. For example, CAA Maritime members receive a 15% discount.)

Here’s an example for the Medical + Trip plan:

Yes. If you travel a few times a year (or more!) it may be cost effective to buy multi-trip insurance, also known as annual trip insurance. CAA Travel Insurance has two plan options: The Multi-Trip Plan that offers medical coverage only for four, eight, 15 or 30 days, and the Annual Vacation Package Plan that offers medical and trip protection coverage for eight, 15 or 30-day periods. If you stay longer than the number of days in your plan, you can purchase a top-up.

CAA Assistance is available 24/7, 365 days of the year and can help you when you’re faced with an emergency. Support includes:

• Directing you to an appropriate physician or hospital at your trip destination.
• Providing multilingual interpreters to communicate with physicians and hospitals.
• Monitoring your care and ensuring only appropriate and medically necessary treatment is given.
• Communicating on your behalf to your family and physician.
• Paying hospitals, physicians and medical providers whenever possible.
• Arranging necessary transportation, such as an air ambulance, whenever necessary.

When you call CAA Assistance, you’ll need to provide your name, policy number, your location and the nature of your emergency. If you don’t contact CAA Assistance before receiving medical treatment, you may be limited to reimbursement of 80% of eligible expenses, to a maximum of $25,000.

If you’re not dealing with an emergency (say you’re holed up in your hotel room with a migraine) but you’d still like some medical advice, CAA Travel Insurance offers a Virtual Emergency Medical Assistance and House Call Service, which provides 24/7 and unlimited number of virtual visits to medical professionals via virtual healthcare.

According to CAA, 80% of cancellation claims are because a traveller, or one of their immediate family members, gets sick or injured.

Trip cancellation insurance covers things like:

• You are a family member, or your travel companion or their family members, is sick,
  injured, quarantined or dies.
• A blizzard, hurricane or volcano, for example, hits your home or you’re burgled within
  seven days before your departure.
• You lose your job.
• You’re called for jury duty.
• The business meeting, conference or event you were travelling to is cancelled.
• There’s a new travel advisory.
• The travel supplier you bought from goes out of business.
• Your passport is not issued in time.

CAA also offers Cancel For Any Reason insurance, which offers the following reimbursement if you cancel for a reason up to three hours before departure other than those listed:

• 75% CFAR reimbursement if your travel is booked through CAA Travel.
• 50% CFAR reimbursement if your travel is booked through another provider.

While trip cancellation covers any issues that happen before you leave, trip interruption covers issues once you’ve already left home.

Trip interruption insurance covers issues, such as:

• A missed connection due to bad weather, road delays or a road accident.
• A medical emergency back home.

CAA also offers Interruption For Any Reason insurance up to $2,500, that covers you for any reason outside of your policy to the following limits:

• 75% IFAR reimbursement if your travel is booked through CAA Travel.
• 50% IFAR reimbursement if your travel is booked through another provider.

For travellers under age 60, CAA Travel Insurance will not pay any claims due to any sickness, injury or medical condition that is not stable in the three months before your departure date (and for travellers age 70 to 84, your condition must be stable for six months), unless you purchase the Pre-Existing Medical Condition rider that reduces the waiting period to seven days and covers to a maximum of $200,000.

Here’s how this add-on could affect your premium cost:

For travellers under age 60, CAA Travel will also not cover any lung condition if in the three months prior to departure you received treatment with Prednisone.

For travellers age 60 to 84, CAA Travel will also not cover any lung condition if in the three months prior to departure you received treatment with prednisone, or any heart conditions if you had heart bypass or valve surgery more than eight years prior to the departure date; if you were taking three or more medications for your heart; you were diagnosed or treated for a heart condition, diabetes and high blood pressure; or you were prescribed or are taking medication for heart failure.

There are a number of scenarios not covered by travel insurance and it’s critical to know what not to do before you make a claim only to be told you’re on the hook for all associated costs. The following are some of the most common issues not covered by travel insurance:

• A claim against an unstable pre-existing medical condition. CAA defines a condition as unstable if you have sought medical treatment for that condition, if new or existing symptoms appear or there has been a change in medication or the dose you take.
• Ongoing medical treatment or services. Your coverage treats the emergency then gets you back to Canada for further treatment. The emergency medical coverage does include medical follow-up in Canada.
• Non-emergency, experimental or elective treatment, including cosmetic surgery, chronic care or rehabilitation.
• Pregnancy (other than unexpected complications) or a child born on a trip.
• Injury or illness as a result of alcohol or drug abuse.
• High risk activities, such as being in the air (balloon, kite balloon, paraglider, parasail, parachute, kite, wingsuit, etc.), unless you’ve purchased the Adventurous Air Activities rider.
• Travelling against medical advice or not following medical advice in regards to treatment.
• Travelling to get medical treatment, included diagnosis, palliative care or alternative therapy.
• Suicide or attempted suicide, or any self-inflicted injuries.
• Travelling after the Canadian government issues a “Avoid non-essential travel” or “Avoid all travel” advisory.
• Any professional sports, unless you purchase the Sport & Speed rider.
• Air ambulance services, unless approved in advance.
• Damage to or loss of contact lenses or prosthetic teeth or limbs.

Due to high call volumes, CAA recommends you file your claim online or by email. You can file a claim online 24/7 by logging into your account via CAA’s partner Global Excel Management. You can also visit the CAA website and download your appropriate claim form. Depending on the kind of claim, you will also need to provide supporting documentation. For example, for a claim on your baggage insurance for a theft, you’ll need to submit a report from the police. After the claim is submitted, you will receive an email confirmation with your case number.