Kanetix Forum

Hello,

I am a Canadian citizen, however I have been living abroad for the past year. I am interested in purchasing travel insurance, however, I have had problems doing so, since I am not currently residing in Canada. Is it possible for me to purchase insurance even though I have not been living in Canada for the past year?

Thank you

After looking at a few of policies found online, it appears that many stipulated that eligibility for coverage requires that:

• You are insured under the government health care plan of the province or territory in which You reside.


• You must have valid provincial health coverage for this insurance to be valid.


• You must be covered under your government health insurance plan for the full duration of your trip.

So it seems that many Canadian travel insurers require you to have Canadian health care coverage under a Canadian government health insurance plan in order to apply for a Canadian travel insurance policy. Each province and territory in Canada has different limitations on how long you can be out of the country and still remain eligible for coverage under a government health plan. Because of this you¿ll have to check with your province or territory. If you still have coverage under a government health insurance plan then you should check out the following post for more information:

I forgot to buy travel insurance! Can I still do it after I¿ve left for my trip?

As an alternative option, you may also want to look into getting coverage from the country you are visiting. In Canada, there is coverage available for Visitors to Canada that have already arrived, so it seems realistic to assume that travel insurance companies operating in other countries would offer a similar product. Call a travel agent in whichever country you are currently in; they might be able to point you in the right direction.

Good luck!