Snowbird pre-existing conditions travel insurance is a type of travel insurance designed to provide coverage for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, particularly for "snowbirds." Snowbirds are people who travel to warmer climates during the winter months, often to escape cold weather in their home countries or regions.
Here are some key points to understand about Snowbird travel insurance for pre existing conditions:
When looking for snowbird pre-existing conditions travel insurance reviews, it's advisable to shop around, compare policies, and consult with American Visitor Insurance to find the coverage that best suits your needs. Keep in mind that insurance requirements and offerings may change over time, so always check the latest information and consult with a qualified insurance agent for personalized advice.
The cost of snowbird travel insurance for pre-existing conditions can vary significantly based on several factors. These factors include the type and severity of your pre-existing conditions, your age, the duration of your trip, the destination, and the specific insurance provider. Here are some key factors that can influence the cost:
To get an accurate estimate of the cost of snowbird travel insurance for your specific pre-existing conditions and travel plans, it's advisable to review quotes of several insurance providers on American Visitor Insurance. Be prepared to provide detailed information about your medical history and the specifics of your trip. Remember that while cost is an important factor, it's equally crucial to carefully review the coverage, policy terms, and any limitations to ensure you get the protection you need.
The main question to consider is if it is very important to have coverage for unexpected issues due to a pre-existing medical condition or not. If it is not important or you are willing to take a risk in that department, you can get very economical policies, both fixed and comprehensive that will cover you while you are away from Canada and wintering in the US. Plans such as Patriot America Plus or Safe Travels USA can be purchased from Canada before you leave for your trip (up to 12 months). The plans are very flexible. You can get a full refund on them before they start or you can extend them for a minimum of 5 days without returning to Canada.. Also, if you are concerned about a cardiac or stroke coverage, we have a fixed plan, Safe Travel Elite and a comprehensive plan, Safe Travels Comprehensive which cover $25,000 for cardiac issues and stroke up to age 69 and $15,000 for persons 70-89. There are many options available to you. If you are having difficulty choosing the best option for you, please give us a call and we can help!
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Here are some travel insurance tips for travelers with pre-existing conditions
There are several visitors insurance plans available for international travel. However many visitors insurance and travel insurance plans exclude pre-existing conditions. This means that a travel insurance plan will not cover the costs of treating a pre-existing medical condition. The insurance company can therefore deny a claim if the ailment was pre-existing when the travel insurance was purchased. However, there are some travel health insurance plans which do offer coverage for pre-existing conditions with the policy clearly defining a look back period and what is covered for pre-existing conditions as well as specifying a limit for this coverage.
Some travel health insurance plans like Atlas America, Patriot America Plus offer coverage for the acute onset of a pre-existing conditions, ie, when there is a sudden medical emergency without any prior symptom that needs to be treated immediately. The coverage typically includes emergency medical treatment, hospitalization, and evacuation expenses related to the acute onset of the pre-existing condition. INF insurance however has the INF Elite insurance plans which cover pre-existing conditions going beyond the acute onset coverage. It is important to compare visitors insurance for pre-existing conditions both for the price as well as the specific details for pre-existing conditions coverage as well as review the policy brochures for exclusions and coverage limits before making a decision.
The travel health insurance plans which cover pre-existing conditions have clear definitions of what is a pre-existing condition, the look back period for pre-existing condition, whether the travel insurance coverage is limited to acute onset of pre-existing conditions, and if it provides full coverage for pre-existing conditions the coverage limit within the policy for pre-existing conditons. Any travel health insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions will depend on all these.
The following are the factors to consider while purchasing travel insurance for pre-existing conditions
There are many international travelers who have medical ailments and it is important for them to be well informed about visitors insurance for pre-existing conditions. Many of the regular travel insurance plans exclude any coverage for pre-existing conditions. The definition of pre-existing conditions varies for different insurance providers as they have a ‘look back’ period and any medical ailments during this look back period would be considered pre-existing. At American Visitor Insurance, we offer plans which do offer coverage for acute onset of a pre-existing condition, as well as full coverage for pre-existing conditions up to a clearly defined limit in the policy document. All of these details can be better understood by using our facility for comparing visitors insurance for pre-existing conditions.
Unfortunately, this simple question has a fairly complicated answer. The answer is: it depends. Firstly, it depends on whether you are a US resident traveling outside the US or a visitor to the US. US residents can purchase trip cancellation insurance that can cover pre-existing conditions and even plans that are travel medical only without cancellation often are more generous in their coverage of pre-existing conditions. These plans may have specific requirements in order to waive the usual exclusion of coverage for pre-existing conditions (like purchase them within a certain number of days of your initial trip deposit or that you have a primary domestic insurance plan in the US), so you should check these details carefully if this is important to you.
Non-US residents or US residents traveling into the US have much more limited options to insure their pre-existing conditions are covered. Some plans offer coverage for "acute onset" of pre-existing conditions. However, this is misleading, since a careful look at their definition excludes chronic or congenital disorders from such coverage. Chronic illnesses are those that worsen over time and congenital disorders are issues one is born with. They exclude emergencies due to chronic illness because they will say that is not "acute" it is simply a worsening of your condition. There are only two policies we know of that offer coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. They are INF Premier and INF Elite plans.
Firstly, they define pre-existing conditions in the following way: A pre-existing condition is a condition for which the insured received treatment or took medication for in the previous 12 months before the start of the policy. If the medication dosage has not changed and is taken as a maintenance medication, this would NOT count as a flare up or treatment of the condition. In that case, very stable conditions that have no flare ups in the past 12 months are not even excluded as pre-existing conditions. Conditions that have had flare ups or doctor recommended treatment or change in medication, are still covered by the plans but with a higher deductible and a lower maximum.
INF Elite (also INF Elite 90) are comprehensive plans offering fairly complete coverage. INF Premier is a fixed plan. Find details on these plans here.
The above plans must be purchased for at least 90 days and can be quite pricey for seniors, but they offer the only real coverage for chronic conditions.
The other option, of course, is to take a plans with little ($1000) or no coverage for pre-existing conditions and take a risk that that condition will not flare up during the trip.
INF plans boast they offer "full" coverage for pre-existing conditions. This can be a little misleading. Firstly, any regular treatment or medication that is required by the condition is never covered. The main advantage to the INF Elite and INF Premier is that they cover sudden illness/injury regardless of whether it is pre-existing or not. The only difference is that a pre-existing condition will be covered with a higher deductible at at a lower maximum than any other "new" illness or injury. However, coverage is not limited to an emergency or life-threatening situation.
The "Acute Onset of a Pre-Existing Condition" is a sudden and unexpected outbreak or recurrence of a pre-existing medical condition which occurs without any advance warning either in the form of physician recommendations or symptoms and requires immediate care (within 24 hours of first symptoms). A Pre-Existing Condition that is a chronic or congenital condition or that gradually becomes worse over time will not be considered acute onset.
The acute onset coverage benefit does not include coverage for known, scheduled, required, or expected medical care, drugs or treatment existent or necessary prior to the effective date of coverage. An example of this might be someone who has a food allergy or bee allergy and is unknowingly exposed to their allergen and requires immediate medical attention.
Acute onset of a pre-existing condition can be defined as the sudden & unexpected occurrence of a pre-existing condition which requires in-patient, emergency hospitalization within 24 hours of exhibiting first symptoms. The main difference between acute onset & full pre-existing is that with Full Pre-Existing coverage, is that one is covered for all pre-existing conditions and associated medical costs and this includes follow up visits, hospitalizations and doctor’s visits, etc. The acute onset coverage will only cover the in-patient hospitalization expense.
Full Pre-existing means we will cover any issue regarding a pre-existing condition, however, if one is traveling to the United States solely for medical treatment, that will not be covered. INF plans do not cover any medical tourism related claims. Pre-existing conditions under the INF plans are covered with a higher deductible and a lower maximum than other illnesses or injuries. These are chosen or specified when you purchase you plan.
Yes, the INF policies will cover any pre-existing issue that the traveler may have during their stay in the United States. This includes blood pressure, diabetes, kidney related issues and arthritis, all of which are covered by the INF Premier & INF Elite Plans.
The insurance company takes on an enormous risk by insuring individuals and including coverage for pre-existing conditions without any prior medical examination. Under the INF plans, you are paying more, but you are getting the full value for the money you pay given the very high cost of US healthcare. With the INF Premier Plan & INF Elite Plan, even though it is expensive, you can have the comfort of knowing that you are covered for any emergency or contingency. This peace of mind given the expensive US healthcare expense is what makes INF plans worth it despite being expensive.
The list of covered services under Visitors insurance full pre-existing conditions coverage can be found on the American Visitor Insurance website of the INF Premier & INF Elite Plan pages. INF plans are open to green card holders
Snowbird travel insurance provides emergency healthcare coverage for seniors leaving Canada for long periods of time. Canadian provincial health insurance provides very limited coverage for medical emergencies out of country, including in the U.S. There are several Snowbird travel insurance options available and many can provide excellent health insurance however mainly with the exclusion of preventive care and cost of any ongoing medical care.
The sole purpose of Snowbird travel medical insurance is to cover your medical expenses (and some related travel costs) if you suffer an illness or injury while outside Canada that requires immediate medical attention and can not wait until you are able to return to Canada.
Yes. Snowbird Visitors and tourists can all buy travel health insurance in the US. We recommend the travel insurance for Canadian snowbird visitors to be purchased from the day they leave their home country until they return, however, most companies allow you to purchase it even after the traveler has already started their journey.
Snowbird travel medical insurance is for unexpected medical expenses while on your trip. Many travel insurance for Canadian Snowbirds also cover baggage loss/ delay, trip delays, and have other benefits to help travelers with unexpected problems (loss of documents, etc). Since they are meant to be used in an emergency, you can use any doctor/hospital. In a non-emergency situation, you should consult your documentation and try to stay in-network (if applicable) while in the US since this will likely help defray your out-of-pocket cost.
Often health insurance from a home country will not cover Snowbirds while they are traveling in a different country. If they are in a country with high medical costs such as the US, they should consider purchasing international travel insurance in case they should need any medical care. The travel health insurance for Canadian Snowbird tourists will help defray costs and also often has many travel benefits (trip delay, trip interruption, baggage loss) that will also assist a traveler in getting back on track with their trip.
The maximum of the health insurance for Snowbird travelers will depend on where they are going. For example, if they are headed to Europe or the Philippines, $50,000 may be enough for your trip. If they are going to the US, you may opt for a much higher maximum ($500,0000 or $1 million) if possible due to the higher potential cost of care in those countries.
Snowbird Tourists can use Urgent Care clinics, make appointments at a doctor's office or go the the hospital, if needed. However, they will have to pay out-of-pocket for any and all medical care they receive. This is why we recommend getting a travel or US tourist health insurance for Snowbirds for the duration of their stay.
Snowbirds must be physically present in Canada for at least 183 days in a 12-month period. It is however important for Snowbirds to consult a qualified immigration or legal professional to understand the full requirements.
Canadian Snowbirds can stay outside Canada for up to six months at a time without losing their status as a Canadian resident. It is however important to have good travel medical insurance while outside Canada since your Canadian health insurance will not be available outside the country. This is particularly true for travel to the United States where the cost of healthcare is very expensive.
Yes, you can get snowbird travel insurance if you have a pre-existing medical condition, the coverage for the pre-existing condition will depend on the specific condition and the insurance plan and provider. Some insurance providers offer coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, others offer coverage only for acute onset of pre-existing conditions, while some others may have exclusions or limitations on coverage related to pre-existing conditions.
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