FAQ’s

At RBC Insurance^®, we want to make affordable travel insurance coverage available to as many Canadians as possible. In general, any Canadian resident can purchase some form of coverage with us. Factors such as where you are travelling, your health condition and the length of your trip will affect the specific coverage available to you. Here is the quickest way to see what you are eligible for:

Try our Travel Insurance Recommendation tool

Note: Non-residents travelling to Canada and Canadians without government health plan coverage can purchase our Visitors to Canada Plans.

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Generally speaking, no. While your age can affect the type of coverage you can buy, we have packages and plans that cover all age groups. If you are age 60 or older, we may ask you to answer a few questions about your health to ensure you have the appropriate coverage in place.

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Possibly. Depending on your age, condition and, if applicable, your answers to our health questions, pre-existing medical conditions are covered if they are stable for a certain time period (as specified in your policy) before your policy's effective date.

• If you are under age 60: pre-existing conditions are covered if they have been stable for at least 90 days before your policy's effective date.
• If you are over age 60: for our TravelCare^® Package and our TravelCare^® Medical Plan, we use your answers to our health questions to determine the TravelCare category you are eligible to purchase. These categories include: HealthSelect, Gold, Silver Plus, Silver and Bronze. Each category offers different coverage exclusions for pre-existing conditions . If you are under 85 years of age and choose not to answer the health questions, you are automatically placed into the Bronze category.

Note: Please refer to the policy document for complete coverage details regarding pre-existing conditions. View current policy documents.

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Your answers to the health questions (if applicable) will place you into one of five categories and form part of your insurance policy.

When answering the health questions:

• Be sure to take your time. The health questions may take up to 10 minutes to complete.
• If someone else completes the health questions on your behalf, keep in mind that it is still your responsibility to sign the form and make sure the answers are correct.
• Please read each question carefully as incorrect answers will lead to cancellation of your coverage and the denial of your claim.
• Have your prescriptions or a description of your medication nearby for reference.
• Please review the answers you have provided to the health questions to confirm that they are correct.

• If you are unsure about any questions regarding your medical condition or medications, please speak to your physician or call Assured Assistance Inc. (AAI). AAI can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling:

  1-800-387-2487 toll-free from the US & Canada, or

  (905) 816-2561 collect from anywhere in the world.

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If necessary, you may have someone else complete the health questions on your behalf. Please keep in mind, however, that it is still your responsibility to sign the form and make sure the answers are correct.

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This answer depends mainly on the child's age.

• If your child is under 2 years old and you are purchasing the Deluxe Package or a TravelCare Package, then your child receives emergency medical coverage at no extra cost.
• If your child is 2 or older, you'll need to purchase emergency medical coverage for him or her.
• No matter how old your child is, if you've purchased an airline ticket or made a separate trip deposit for him or her, you may wish to buy a travel insurance package that contains trip cancellation and interruption insurance as well as baggage and personal effects insurance.

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Yes, you may purchase a policy on behalf of your parents. Simply call or visit your travel agent to purchase your parents' coverage. Depending on their age, they may be required to complete health questions in order to obtain coverage. If this is not a requirement, please keep in mind that all terms and conditions apply to your parents, therefore we recommend that you review the insurance with them prior to purchase.

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The appropriate coverage for your trip depends on several factors, including (but not limited to) where you're travelling to, how long you will be gone, the kind of transportation you'll be using and, in some instances, your health condition.

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It might, and it might not. We recommend that you carefully review the travel insurance coverage that your credit card provides, as well as any conditions or stipulations. You may also wish to speak with your travel agent.

Do you have an RBC Royal Bank^® credit card?

To review the travel insurance coverage that comes with your card, visit: www.rbcroyalbank.com/cards/documentation/index.html and click the "Insurance Certificate" link for your card.

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We recommend that you carefully review your government health plan coverage. Government plans may not cover all emergency medical expenses once you leave your home province/territory and typically cover only a limited portion once you leave the country. In fact, the Canadian Government (Consular Services, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada) urges all Canadians to purchase supplemental health insurance when leaving the country:

"Do not rely on your provincial health plan to cover costs if you get sick or are injured while abroad. Out-of-country healthcare can be costly, and your health plan will cover only part of the bill at best."⁽¹⁾

In addition, government plans don't guarantee coverage for special care (air ambulance or emergency dental services, for instance).

As shown below, medical treatment can be very expensive in the U.S. Purchase travel insurance for your next trip to the U.S. or another province/territory—it's a small expense for a tremendous amount of protection.

Actual Cases and Costs in the U.S. (in U.S. Dollars)⁽²⁾

Motor Vehicle Accident (Multiple Trauma):
Pennsylvania
19-day admission
$451,380

Cardiac Catheterization & Bypass:
California
13-day admission $384,274.92 (hospital costs)
$19,875 (air ambulance with full medical team)

Fractured Femur:
Florida
6-day admission
$58,825

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An accident, illness or emergency can happen anywhere. If you need medical care in another country, your government health plan may pay only a portion of the costs. Travel insurance starts where these plans leave off.

Plus, with our emergency medical coverage, you have access to the multilingual representatives of Assured Assistance Inc. (AAI), the RBC Insurance travel emergency assistance network.

Because our representatives are multilingual and have 24-hour access to real-time translation services, we can provide the help you need in your own language—and also have someone to communicate on your behalf with medical personnel who may speak a different language.

Here for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, our representatives are experienced experts in coordinating emergency care for travellers in foreign lands, managing more than 400,000 calls per year.

Whenever possible, AAI will also request for the medical service provider within the network to bill the covered medical expenses directly to us instead of you—reducing stress and hassle.

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You must purchase coverage before departing on your trip. You may benefit from purchasing coverage when you make your initial trip deposit, especially if you are purchasing trip cancellation and interruption insurance—either as stand-alone coverage or as part of one of our travel insurance packages.

For example, consider the fact that more than half of Canadian travellers book their trips at least 6 months in advance.⁽³⁾ Then consider the unpredictable things that might happen in that time.

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There are various sports that are not covered during your trip, all of which are described in more detail under the General Exclusions section of the Certificate of Insurance.

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You may extend your coverage if you extend your trip, subject to certain conditions of your policy.

If you've purchased a single-trip plan, the following conditions apply:

• If you have not had a medical condition during your trip or while covered under your policy, you can request an extension by contacting your travel agent before the expiry date of your original policy.
• If you have had a medical condition during your trip and while covered under your policy, you must request the extension by contacting Assured Assistance Inc. (the RBC Insurance travel emergency assistance network) before the expiry date of your original policy. Your extension is subject to the approval of Assured Assistance Inc.
• You must pay the required additional premium before the expiry date of your original policy.
• If we cannot extend your particular policy's coverage due to the trip duration limits of your policy, you may be able to purchase a new policy from us.

If you've purchased a multi-trip annual plan, the following conditions apply:

You may purchase a top-up policy for the additional number of days beyond the duration covered by your multi-trip annual plan as follows:

• Before your effective date, you may contact your travel agent to purchase top-up coverage.
• After your effective date and if you have not had a medical condition during your trip, you must contact your travel agent before the expiry date of your original policy to purchase top-up coverage.
• After your effective date and if you have had a medical condition during your trip, you must contact Assured Assistance Inc. (the RBC Insurance travel emergency assistance network) before the expiry date of your original policy to request approval for and to purchase top-up coverage.
• The terms, conditions and exclusions of the new top-up policy apply to you.
• You must pay the required top-up premium on or before the effective date of the top-up period.

If you do NOT top up your coverage for a trip, you will not be covered for any claims you make outside the period of insurance for that trip. If the top-up policy you are purchasing requires you to complete health questions, you must complete the health questions.

Please see the policy documents for complete coverage details regarding trip extensions. View current policy documents.

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You may purchase a top-up policy for the additional number of days beyond the duration covered by your multi-trip annual plan. Here are the conditions:

• Before your effective date, you may contact your travel agent to purchase top-up coverage.
• After your effective date and if you have not had a medical condition during your trip, you must contact your travel agent before the expiry date of your original policy to purchase top-up coverage.
• After your effective date and if you have had a medical condition during your trip, you must contact Assured Assistance Inc. (the RBC Insurance travel emergency assistance network) before the expiry date of your original policy to request approval for and to purchase top-up coverage.
• The terms, conditions and exclusions of the new top-up policy apply to you.
• You must pay the required top-up premium on or before the effective date of the top-up period.

If you do NOT top up your coverage for a trip, you will not be covered for any claims you make outside the period of insurance for that trip. If the top-up policy you are purchasing requires you to complete health questions, you must complete the health questions.

Please see the policy documents for complete coverage details regarding top-up coverage. View current policy documents.

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If you purchase one of our travel medical insurance plans—either Classic Medical or TravelCare^® Medical—you can, subject to certain conditions.

• If you are under 40 years of age and travelling for more than 183 days and to a maximum of 365 days, you may purchase the single-trip coverage, or "top up" (extend) your multi-trip annual medical coverage, provided that you are covered under your government health plan for the full duration of your trip.
• If you are 40 years of age or older and under 75 years of age, you must also answer a few health questions, which will determine whether you are eligible to purchase coverage for trips beyond 183 days.

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Yes, emergency medical coverage for family members under 60 years of age is available with our Classic Medical Plans (single-trip or multi-trip annual). This coverage insures you and your partner/spouse and/or children when they travel with you or join you during your trip. You may insure your natural and adopted children and stepchildren under this plan if they meet one of the following criteria:

• They are unmarried and under the age of 21
• They are unmarried, over 20 years old and have a mental or physical handicap
• They are unmarried, under 26 years old and are full-time students

Family pricing is also available under Deluxe Package Single Trip, Non-Medical Package and our Travel Within Canada Package. Children 0 – 17 years of age travelling with at least 1 insured parent(s) or grandparent(s) are eligible for a flat rate.

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Your trip probably represents a significant investment. Plus, you may be among the 51% of Canadian travellers who book their trips at least 6 months prior to departing.⁽³⁾ A lot can happen in that time—if a medical emergency or other unfortunate event prevents you from going on your trip, you may lose some (or possibly all) of the money you paid.

With trip cancellation and interruption insurance, you're protected when a specified situation prevents you from travelling as planned. Examples include:

• You can't travel due to an illness, job loss or immediate family member's medical emergency
• You need to return home earlier than scheduled because of a family emergency or medical condition
• And more—our travel insurance packages provide trip cancellation and interruption insurance coverage for over 40 specified situations

We also offer stand-alone trip cancellation and interruption insurance.

Note: We strongly recommend that you purchase this insurance at the time you pay your initial travel deposit. Please see the policy document for complete coverage details, including terms and conditions.

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Yes! Tell them about our Visitors to Canada Plans. These plans offer affordable emergency medical protection to visitors, immigrants, foreign students and Canadians without government health plan coverage.

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We strongly recommend that you do. Your insurance policy is a valuable source of information and contains provisions that may limit or exclude coverage. Please read it before you go, keep it in a safe place and carry it with you when you travel.

View current policy documents

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