Medical insurance for parents is essential when visiting Canada and most importantly if they have any pre-existing conditions.
In this article, I will share my personal experience on medical insurance for parents visiting Canada and which is best for you.
Table of Contents
Factors to Consider
There are a few factors that you should consider before choosing any medical insurance company for your parents. You can choose a travel medical insurance company from your home country or directly any good company from Canada.
Here are a few factors that were important for me while booking medical insurance for my parents.
1. Ease of Booking
How simple is it to book medical insurance is my number one priority. There are lots of medical insurance companies in Canada, India, and other countries that ask too many questions before even they provide you with a price estimate or quote.
I find this frustrating, so I try to choose the medical insurance company that asks a few questions and their website is simple to use.
2. Coverage & Cost
Overall coverage & cost of medical insurance are other important factors when deciding the medical insurance for parents visiting Canada.
Generally, travel medical insurance in Canada is more costly in comparison to India and even you can get more coverage at less cost.
So if your parents can submit & coordinate with the insurance company in India, it is best to book medical insurance from there (don’t forget to read their terms & conditions carefully), but it comes with the drawback that you will have to pay the medical cost upfront in case of emergency and then have to claim it which could be a lengthy process.
If you don’t want to go through that hassle, just book insurance from Canada and choose the company that gives the cashless option.
3. Pre-Existing conditions
It is also very important to consider any pre-existing medical conditions before booking health insurance for overseas parents.
Most of the parents are at the age where they have some medical condition. It could be diabetes, asthma, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, etc.
So choose the company which offers travel medical insurance for pre-existing medical conditions and is not over-charging for that.
4. Reputation
When choosing medical Insurance for Canada, the insurance company’s reputation also plays an important role.
Check if the company settles the claim on time or not, what other customers think about that company, check the reviews, and how many years they are in business.
If the company is well established, it will process medical claims on time and will have most probably better coverage options.
Medical Insurance Company I choose
Now the main question is which medical insurance company did I choose for my parents?
Just for your information, when I came to Canada as a visitor, I booked medical insurance for myself and my mother from an Indian insurance company and it was a good deal. So I have experience in dealing with companies in India as well as in Canada.
I have tried to get quotes from multiple companies in India & Canada, and the company that fits my above criteria is Manulife for now in Canada.
They offer medical insurance for travelers called “Manulife CoverMe“. It is for new students, newcomers (permanent residents), and visitors.
For the last few years, I’m booking this medical insurance coverage coverage for my parents when they visit Canada. They fit in all the above factors which I discussed earlier and coverage can be booked through their website or through call.
Note: This is NOT a sponsored post.
This is my personal experience & views, and if it changes I will update this article. If you are parents are visiting Canada, don’t forget to book their medical insurance. It is not mandatory, but will surely help in case of a medical emergency.
If you have any questions for me, please let me know through your comments.
