[bootlegga]

Sure, travel insurance CAN be a scam, but there are also instances of companies paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars to people who were hurt overseas in accidents.

When I worked in travel a decade ago, a client of AMA was injured in a scooter accident in Greece and airlifted to Geneva for surgery after she slipped into a coma. Family was flown to Europe to be by her side and each was given a per diem to cover food, hotel, etc. She stayed on life support for months until she died. The cost was almost $800k for that one claim.

The trick with travel insurance (or any insurance for that matter) is that you have to understand the questions and really know your health history. If you disclose it upfront, a lot of agents (the good ones with reputable companies) will actually let you know whether or not a policy is worthwhile for you. If you don't, you're better off talking to an insurance broker instead of an insurance company.

[andyt]

$1:

Insurance broker Bruce Cappon is lobbying for provincial regulators to force insurance companies to be more up front about what the medical questions really mean.

“The way the system is rigged right now is that insurers have a legal weapon. The misrepresentation clause is a legal weapon,” said Cappon.

Bruce Cappon
Ottawa insurance broker Bruce Cappon is lobbying regulators to make it tougher for insurance companies to reject claims for unrelated health issues. (CBC)

“I find it very unfair that you are asking these people to fight back when the remedies would be very simple, just to add a few changes to the regulations.”

He also thinks it should be illegal for insurers to refuse to pay for treatment unrelated to any pre-existing conditions.

[OnTheIce]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Goober911 Goober911:

Troll away, but not with me. Got it?

Wow....an apt comparison of how private insurance works is now trolling?

Andy's purpose here is to troll and stir up shit. He's not far off.

[Goober911]

Basically you need a Doctor to ensure you are covered correctly. Now good luck one finding one who will.
They can go after tests for years prior.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/travel-in ... -1.1256056

Bill and Tracy Jennings were shocked when their travel insurance claim was denied. They were hit with U.S. medical bills totalling $346,000 six months after Bill had emergency heart surgery in Florida.

Bill and Tracy Jennings were shocked when their travel insurance claim was denied. They were hit with U.S. medical bills totalling $346,000 six months after Bill had emergency heart surgery in Florida. (CBC)
Related Stories

The travel health insurance that millions of Canadians buy may offer no protection at all if they answer a single question incorrectly — no matter how innocent the error — on a medical questionnaire full of convoluted language, confusing clauses and tricky definitions, the CBC's Marketplace has learned.

For some people, the result can be financial ruin when their claims are denied.

That’s what happened to Bill Jennings, 67, and his wife Tracy, 48, of Gold River, B.C., who bought travel insurance from Manulife before leaving on a trip to Fort Walton, Fla., in December 2010.

[jj2424]

The best travel insurance is the one that "stabilizes you" after hospitalization then ships you home ASAP.

[Goober911]

jj2424 jj2424:

The best travel insurance is the one that "stabilizes you" after hospitalization then ships you home ASAP.

Yes, Med Evacs can go upwards of 200 K from what I understand.

Tried to lacate this Market Place episode. Going out and I will look later
http://www.bcinjurylawyersblog.ca/2012/ ... insurance/

[Goober911]

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/ ... tripped-up

Going on vacation? Think travel health insurance is going to protect you if something goes wrong?

Marketplace exposes an industry that's set up to fail -- convoluted medical questionnaires that can trip people up, travel agents on hidden camera giving dangerous advice, and travellers left on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Watch what happens when Erica Johnson goes looking for answers from a multi-million dollar industry that "regrets your claim is denied."