Travelance Travel Insurance Review 2024

Travelance travel insurance is marketed by Travelance Inc., a Hamilton, Ont.-based distributor of travel and accident insurance for Canadian residents, visitors to Canada and students. You can purchase a Travelance policy directly on the website or via one of its 4,000 licensed partner brokers.

Travelance travel insurance is underwritten by Old Republic Insurance Company of Canada that started as a small Hamiton, Ont.-based association in 1887.

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

• Emergency medical insurance: If you get ill or are injured on your trip, travel medical insurance can pay for emergency medical expenses, up to the coverage limits in your plan. These expenses can include doctor and hospital bills, medication and lab work, as well as medical evacuations, repatriation and arranging for a bedside companion if you are hospitalized.
• Trip cancellation insurance: If you cancel a trip for a reason listed in your travel policy, such as you or your travelling companion becoming ill, weather conditions cause a massive delay or you lose your job, trip cancellation insurance can reimburse you for prepaid, non-refundable costs.
• Travel interruption or delay insurance: Trip interruption insurance can pay for a last-minute flight home in an emergency and reimburse money that you lose by cutting a trip short due to a covered reason, including non-refundable activities and hotel stays. If your flight is delayed, your insurance can cover the cost of incidentals, such as meals or accommodations, after a specified period of time, such as six, 10 or 12 hours.
• 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’ll have to 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, while on your trip.

Travelance Travel Insurance offers three core plans for travelling outside of Canada, plus two Youth Premier Plans (Non-USA and USA) for travellers under age 30.

All Inclusive: This plan includes $10 million coverage for unforeseen medical emergencies, and trip cancellation & trip interruption, travel accident and baggage insurance coverage.

Eligible emergency medical expenses include:

• Services of a physician, surgeon or in-hospital duty nurse
• Hospital accommodation up to a semi-private room, including a cruise ship cabin or hotel room if recommended for recovery from an illness or injury
• Ambulance transportation to and from hospital
• Emergency evacuation from a remote location
• Diagnostic and laboratory procedures
• Medical equipment purchased or rented for therapeutic purposes
• Prescription medication to treat an emergency injury or illness, up to a 30-day supply
• One follow-up visit after the medical emergency, up to $500
• Lost, stolen or damaged prescription drug replacement, up to $50
• Emergency dental due to an injury to the head or mouth, up to $4,000
• Emergency dental due to pain, up to $400
• Paramedical services performed by a chiropractor, chiropodist, physiotherapist, osteopath or podiatrist, up to $300 per practitioner

Medical benefits also include meals, hotel accommodations and associated expenses if you or your travelling companion is hospitalized and/or if a medical delay prevents you from returning home, repatriation expenses and return of your remains if you die.

Emergency Medical: If you’re only worried about medical emergencies while travelling, this benefit offers all of the medical coverage listed above.

Trip Cancellation & Interruption: This coverage option reimburses you for insured non-refundable travel expenses (such as hotels or prepaid excursions) if you have to cancel, interrupt or delay your trip due to a covered reason.

Youth Premier USA and Non-USA Package Plan: This plan offers most of the same coverage as the All Inclusive Plan but with lower benefit limits. It is only available for travellers under age 30.

We’ve highlighted the key benefits of Travelance Travel Insurance and the maximum benefit payable for the three single trip plans and the Youth Premier Plan to help you identify which coverage is the best fit for you.

The price of a Travelance Travel Insurance plan depends on factors such as the cost of your trip, your age, your answers to a medical questionnaire, if required, and the amount of coverage you choose.

Here are some examples of the cost for Travelance Travel Insurance single trip plans for healthy travellers based in Ontario:

Travelance also offers a Youth Premier plan for travellers under age 30. Using the example of the couple, age 27, travelling to Mexico, here’s how the cost of the All Inclusive Plan (with $10 million emergency medical coverage) and the Youth Plans (with $1 million emergency medical coverage) compare.

Travel Guard Travel Insurance Review

Emergency medical: $10 million/Unlimited
Cancel For Any Reason: Yes, 75%
Baggage insurance (maximum): $1,000

Related: Travel Guard Travel Insurance Review

Allianz Global Assistance Travel Insurance

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

Related: Allianz Global Assistance Travel Insurance

TuGo Travel Insurance

Emergency medical: $10 million
Cancel For Any Reason: Yes, 50%
Baggage insurance (maximum): $500

Related: TuGo Travel Insurance Review

Travelance does not offer any additional add-ons, endorsements or riders for its insurance plans.

No.

Yes. You can buy multi-trip annual insurance if you travel more than once a year for multiple individual trips. Travelance offers 15 or 30-day annual plans for emergency medical and all-inclusive coverage. You can choose from three levels of trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage: $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000.

Here’s how the cost compares for the two single trip plans and the different options for annual plans:

Worldwide emergency travel assistance is available 24/7 by calling the number listed in your policy.

You must contact the assistance provider before being admitted to the hospital or within 24 hours of a life or organ-threatening emergency or you will be responsible for 30% of any eligible expenses you later try to claim.

When you have a travel medical emergency, the following services may be available:

• Medical assistance
• Coordination of medical evacuation and repatriation
• Emergency return home assistance
• Travel arrangement assistance
• Lost or delayed baggage or document assistance
• Legal or translation assistance

Travelance notes that you should have your policy number or policy confirmation with you at all times. When contacting the assistance provider, be prepared to provide your name, policy number, your location and the nature of the emergency.

No.

No.

In general, a pre-existing condition is defined as any sickness, injury or medical condition that existed before the start of your coverage, whether or not diagnosed by a physician, that you showed signs or symptoms of or received medical attention for.

Travelance Travel Insurance has the following stability requirements for pre-existing medical conditions:

For trip cancellation benefits (single-trip plans)

For trip interruption and/or emergency medical benefits

A medical condition is considered stable when all of the following are true:

• There has not been any new treatment prescribed or recommended or changes to existing treatment, including a stoppage in treatment.
• There has not been any change to any existing prescribed drug, including an increase, decrease or stoppage to a prescribed dosage, or any recommendation or starting of a new prescription drug (with exceptions for Coumadin, Warfarin or insulin).
• The medical condition has not become worse.
• There has not been any new, more frequent or more severe symptoms.
• There have not been any tests, investigation or treatment recommended, but not yet complete, nor any outstanding test results.
• There is no planned or pending treatment.

In addition to pre-existing condition exclusions, 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. The following are general exclusions to coverages provided by Travelance travel insurance:

• Any sickness or injury resulting from a heart condition involving the taking of nitroglycerine more than once per week for the relief of angina within the time periods listed in the pre-existing stability period
• Any sickness or injury resulting from a lung condition treated with home oxygen or the treatment of oral steroids, such as prednisone or prednisolone, within the time periods listed in the pre-existing stability period
• Any event that might cause your covered trip to be cancelled or abandoned that you had knowledge of when you purchased your insurance
• Consequential loss of any kind, including loss of enjoyment of your covered trip for any cause
• Your mental and emotional disorders, including stress, anxiety and depression, unless admitted to hospital (major psychiatric illnesses such as psychosis, schizophrenia and major affective disorder not included)
• Any elective medical treatment
• Your use of drugs, alcohol or any medication that could directly or indirectly cause a claim
• Any sickness or injury resulting from long-term excessive consumption of alcohol or drugs
• Your attempted suicide or any self-inflicted injury unless admitted to hospital
• Your participation in adventurous activities
• Driving a motorcycle, moped or scooter, unless you hold an applicable valid Canadian driver’s licence
• Your riding, driving or participating in motorized races of speed or endurance
• Piloting an aircraft or air travel on any air-supported device, other than as a fee-paying passenger on a flight
• Fraud, concealment or deliberate misstatement
• Your participation in a crime or malicious act
• Your participation in a riot or insurrection
• Acts of terrorism, war, invasion, civil hostilities, civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection or military uprising
• Acts of terrorism by nuclear, biological, chemical or biochemical agents
• Participation in the armed forces
• Events related to “avoid all travel” and “avoid non-essential travel” travel advisories in effect before your coverage became effective
• Orbital and suborbital flights
• Any illness or injury that is directly or indirectly related to any medical condition for which you declined or delayed treatment, diagnostic testing or prescription medication in the previous two years
• Contamination resulting from radioactive material or nuclear fuel or waste
• Any trip as a driver, operator, co-driver, crewmember or passenger on any commercial vehicle used to carry goods for sale, resale or income

There are additional exclusions listed for the emergency medical, trip cancellation and interruption, travel accident and baggage coverages.

To be eligible for Travelance travel insurance, you must meet the following conditions:

• You must not be travelling against your physician’s advice.
• You must not have been diagnosed with a terminal illness before your effective date.
• For travellers over 69 years old on the effective date, you must not be living in a retirement home, nursing home, assisted living home, convalescent home, hospice or rehabilitation centre that provides daily assistance with your mobility or medications.
• You must be a resident of Canada.
• You must be covered under valid provincial or territorial health insurance.
• You must be under age 90 on your effective date.
• Your policy must be purchased before your departure date.

You can file a claim by visiting the travelance.ca/claims/forms website and either submitting electronically via the online eClaims system or by downloading the required form(s) and mailing to the address provided. You can also initiate a claim by calling the underwriter’s Client Services Department.

Depending on your claim, you will be required to submit supporting documentation. The website provides a comprehensive list of required documents for each type of claim.

For a trip cancellation/trip interruption claim, you may be asked to provide:

• A statement by the attending physician
• Your consent to release your medical records
• A copy of the trip invoices showing a breakdown of total costs, including airfare, cruise/land costs, taxes, etc.
• Proof of payment for trip, such as credit card statements
• Travel supplier’s terms and conditions
• Airline tickets or e-ticket confirmations
• Confirmation of any refunds or credits
• Death certificate, if applicable

For a trip delay claim, you may be asked to provide:

• Documents to support the reason for your delay, such as an incident report from the airline or travel supplier, or police report confirming the date and length of the delay
• A copy of the trip invoices showing a breakdown of total costs, including airfare, cruise/land costs, taxes, etc.
• Travel itinerary
• Receipts for expenses, showing the amount paid, what the payments were for and the dates of payment
• Confirmation of any refunds or credits

For a medical expense claim, you may be asked to provide:

• Medical documentation to support your illness or injury, such as a medical report confirming the diagnosis and treatment dates
• Your consent to release your medical records
• Medical bills, receipts and itemized accounts for medical expenses
• Proof of payment for medical bills, such as a credit card statement
• A copy of the travel invoice showing the dates that the initial and final payment was made
• An explanation of any benefits from any other insurance