In talking with clients and friends over the past few months, it seems many have already booked (or at least are in the planning stages of booking) a trip. Cheryl and I haven’t nailed down anything yet (Portugal is on our radar). We have however been across the border twice; for either a day or just to go for coffee at the Starbucks in Blaine, USA.
Before we crossed the 49th we knew we had to sign up for a travel insurance policy. Over the years we’ve had annual travel insurance policies that covered trips for up to 4 weeks. Pricing does vary a bit depending on where you go to get coverage but, since it is insurance, the biggest cost differences are always due to differences in coverage. A lot of those may not be apparent to you when signing up, but they will be when you most need it. It’s at this point when you really need the insurance to do it’s thing – covering your medical expenses when you are out of your own province or country (yes, you need travel insurance when travelling out of province).
In the past, you may gone to a neighborhood insurance office, BCAA, London Drugs etc. They have agents that are licensed to advise on and sell you coverage. Cheryl and I have always done it through a storefront general insurance office (one that does car insurance). We don’t do that anymore for travel insurance. Here’s why.
A few years ago, our youngest son had to get some travel insurance because he was heading across the border for a couple of days. The night before his early morning departure, I found out he didn’t have travel insurance so I urged him to just go to London Drugs and get coverage there. When he got back I saw what he had signed up for. It would expire at midnight, the day before he was to be heading home. I contacted one of the executives of the travel insurance company who agencies such as London Drugs and BCAA, use for their travel insurance. He was in my contact list so it was easy to connect with him. I explained (in frustration I must confess) what the insurance agent had missed and he quickly made sure the coverage was extended for the time my son needed.
The point I want to make here is that I realized (more so than ever before), how important it is to deal with a specialist. What better way to do that than to talk directly to someone who does travel insurance ONLY. As well, they only do travel insurance of 1 kind and through 1 insurer.
What we did (Cheryl actually signed up for us) is go directly to TUGO. TUGO (1 of the Best Managed Companies in Canada for 2023) is the travel insurance company that BCAA, London Drugs (and many others) use for travel insurance. Travel insurance is all TUGO does.
Their current “multi-trip annual policy” 2 day trip rates are:
$35 / yr for ages 0 -59 $70 / yr for families $80 for ag 60+
If you plan on travelling at some point, you’ll obviously need travel insurance and of course you’ll need it for a day trip. Here is the link to put it in place. Just complete your contact info and a travel insurance specialist from TUGO will call you very shortly (I’m guessing within 2 hours as that was our experience). You’ll have high quality coverage in no time and all your questions answered by someone who only does travel insurance. This will significantly reduce the chances of finding out you aren’t covered, which would be at the worst possible time; when it’s too late.
IMPORTANT NOTE: ENSURE YOUR CONTACT INFO IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. IF YOU DON’T GET A CALL BACK IN A TIMELY MANNER, THE REASON PROBABLY IS AN INCORRECT PHONE NUMBER.
PS. Cheryl and I have used TUGO for many years and have almost always had a 1 year policy since, because we travel more than once a year out of our province, a 1 year policy is the most effective.
PPS. Here are some actual TUGO travel insurance claims that happened in 2023 by clients of theirs.
An Invitation: If your Financial Advisor isn’t providing you with this kind of info and guidance, then you have to ask yourself: What else are they not doing for me or dropping the ball on? Perhaps it is a time to look at us as your new Financial & Wealth Advisory Office? Contact Jen@ipcsecurities.com to get the discussion going (and yes, we have clients across Canada so distance isn’t an issue). Still not sure? This should help. We look forward to connecting with you.
