You've booked your flight, hotel, and are already thinking about what outfit to pack for dinner at that chic, seaside restaurant, but like other Canadians, you may be forgetting something.
According to a TD Travel Insurance report published in February, 2019, almost half (43%) of Canadian professionals aged 20-29 who had travelled in the last year or were planning a trip in the next 12 months, said they believed that travel health insurance would cover any type of medical emergency while on vacation. Fifty-nine per cent of Canadian young professionals quoted in the same report also said that without travel insurance, they believed their airline and hotel would refund these expenses if they encountered a travel emergency.
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The reality is that not purchasing trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance could cost you, and not every travel medical insurance plan will cover the expense of injuries resulting from activities, like mountain climbing or even scuba diving. According to The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, without insurance, the average hospital stay in the U.S. costs over $10,000. Moreover, many travelers don't look into what their policy specifically does and does not cover.
Researching what your policy covers and getting the appropriate travel health, trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance coverage as part of your vacation planning to-do list can help you avoid a costly emergency.