The question of whether to get travel insurance is one that comes up often.
This question has become even more relevant in recent years due to the pandemic and North American wildfires, but even prior to 2020, it was an extremely common inquiry. Our answer has never changed: We strongly recommend that all guests, regardless of age or health status, purchase travel insurance.
When do we recommend purchasing insurance?
We recommend that you purchase your travel insurance following the completion of your non-refundable deposit payment. In order to get full coverage, most insurers require that your health is considered “stable” for 60 days prior to purchase. By purchasing at the time of the deposit, you may be able to lock in the same terms for insuring the remainder of your trip, when payment is due 70 days prior to departure. This way, if your condition changes after your deposit has been paid, but prior to your remaining balance being paid, you should not be at risk of losing your deposit if it no longer makes financial sense to commit to your travel plans as intended.
Every season we have incidents happen that end up impacting our guests’ ability to travel. The only thing that they have in common is that they are totally unexpected. No one ever plans to get sick or injured.
In the event of wildfires when travelling through Western Canada, the Rocky Mountaineer does not provide refunds. Having travel insurance is something that will allow you a “refund” through your insurance provider in this type of situation.
It is important to note that once a fire advisory begins, you cannot add wildfire coverage. Some general rules and guidelines regarding travel insurance can be found below.
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- In order to make a claim for any medical condition for the client or even clients family member, that medical condition has to be stable for 60 days prior to buying the travel insurance, it’s not 60 days prior to the trip starting.
- To be covered for any wildfires etc., you must have the travel insurance purchased before any travel advisories have been declared for the area you’re travelling to. In this case it’s smart to ensure the whole trip all at once in case any wildfires break out weeks or months after you already bought the insurance, then you will be 100% covered.
- You can purchase the insurance at anytime you want to. Most people buy it as soon as they make their first non-refundable deposit and are stable 60 days prior to the purchase.
- Once the tour starts, that’s when the Trip Interruption part kicks in. If someone’s tour was interrupted and they had to go home, the insurance company would pay for a one-way economy ticket back to their original departure point.
Previously, we had a guest get severe food poisoning from a sushi restaurant she had eaten at the night before her flight. This was a restaurant she had visited many times in the past, and while she never had any issues before, she certainly got unlucky on this particular visit. She was so ill that she was unable to make her flight the next day. Without insurance, she would have lost the cost of her flight and the rest of the trip; however, because she had extensive travel insurance coverage, she was able to be reimbursed.
Also, we previously had a guest test positive for COVID just a few days before his 16-day Canadian Trip of a Lifetime was set to begin. At this point, all flights, hotels, trains, and transportation were booked and paid for, and the trip was completely non-refundable. Luckily, his travel insurance provider will be reimbursing him in full for his missed trip, and he’ll travel with us as soon as he is healthy and able to cross the border again.
These are just a few recent stories of the many cancellations that we see each year. We hate to see guests get sick or have something happen that prevents them from travelling. While we will always do our best for our clients, in many cases, large components of the trip cannot be reimbursed, no matter the reason for cancelling. For this reason, we direct our guests to purchase Tugo Travel Insurance online or call Sanderson Travel Insurance at 1-877-226-8728 and ask for Brian Sanderson if you would like to speak with someone before purchasing. We’ve been recommending them since 2015, and our guests have always been looked after in the best way possible.
Please see the following page to learn more and get a full quote: Travel Insurance
