Did you know that, according to Statistics Canada, Canadian residents made a total of 72.3 million trips in the fourth quarter of 2018? Out of these trips, a little over 1 in 10 (11.8% of) trips were made to destinations outside of Canada.
If you’re a senior who’s planning on travelling outside of Canada, or even within Canada itself, then you might be considering using Medoc or Medipac as the travel insurance you use.
If you’re deciding between these two, you might be asking yourself questions such as:
“What are the differences between Medoc and Medipac?”
“When it comes to the best travel insurance for seniors in Canada, what features should I be looking for?”
“How do I decide which seniors travel insurance is best for me?”
If you don’t have the answers to these questions, keep reading.
After all, you have your whole trip planned, but you want to make sure you’re covered for emergencies and any issues with possible pre-existing medical conditions you might have.
That’s why we’ve put together this article. Once you know how Medoc and Medipac compare, you can choose which one is right for you.
Unlimited Trips
If you travel often, then you don’t want to buy travel insurance that only covers you for one trip. Instead, you want to pay for travel insurance coverage that lasts. Fortunately, both Medoc and Medipac have this option available. It’s perfect for any Canadian who’s a snowbird traveling to the US often.
Medoc Travel Insurance
Whether you need travel insurance for seniors over 75 or one for seniors who are younger than 75, you can use Medoc Travel Insurance for unlimited trips. All you have to do is sign up for their Base Plan. Through this annual plan, you get multi-trip coverage.
The number of trips is unlimited. However, the amount of time you are covered can vary.
This coverage time depends on the policy you have, which will tell you if you have stayed out of Canada or your province or territory of residence longer than you are covered.
If you want to travel out of the country longer than this amount and want coverage, then you should sign up for Medoc’s Supplemental Plan. This way, you can get coverage for a longer amount of time.
However, you are still limited by the maximum amount of days you get coverage according to your territory or province’s health plan.
Medipac Travel Insurance
Whether you need the best travel insurance for seniors over 70 or for seniors 70 and under, Medipac also offers annual plans that can work for you. These plans are called the Medipac Annual Plans.
With these plans, you can take unlimited trips abroad. One plan gives you the option of traveling abroad for 23 days, while the other plan gives you the option of traveling abroad for 33 days.
You’re also covered for trips outside of your province that occur within Canada. These trips can last up to 182 days.
Pre-Existing Medical Condition Coverage
If you’re looking for travel insurance for Canadian seniors with pre-existing medical conditions, you’ll be happy to find out that both Medoc and Medipac offer coverage of this type. However, there are some limitations when it comes to what they cover.
Medoc Travel Insurance
Regardless of your health status, you can get coverage through Medoc Travel Insurance. Pre-existing medical conditions are covered—but this comes with a caveat. You need to meet the stability requirement, first of all.
Second, you need to have met this requirement before booking your travel insurance coverage. This needs to be done both for trip cancellation coverage, trip interruption and delay coverage, and emergency medical coverage.
Usually, the amount of time that you have been in a stable condition with your pre-existing medical condition is 90 days.
Medipac Travel Insurance
When it comes to Medipac Travel Insurance, they have a similar policy. Even though pre-existing medical conditions are covered, you need to meet the stability requirement. If you don’t, then you won’t be covered for emergency medical coverage.
However, Medipac will create a specialized travel insurance plan if you don’t meet the stability requirement.
As you can imagine, this might be a pricier plan than the ordinary one, but it might be worth paying for, depending on your financial situation and travel needs.
By this point, you might be wondering: “How do you define the stability requirement?”
Let’s cover this now. That way, if you don’t meet it before your trip, you won’t go on the trip only to find yourself not covered when an emergency arises.
The Stability Requirement
When you meet the stability requirement, this means that your pre-existing medical condition has been “stable” for 90 days before the day your coverage date or trip date falls on. By “stable,” these insurance companies mean that the following has to be true for your pre-existing medical condition:
- There hasn’t been a newly prescribed medication
- There hasn’t been a new treatment
- There hasn’t been a new diagnosis
- There hasn’t been a change in treatment
- There hasn’t been a change in medication (there are exceptions to this)
- You haven’t had any new symptoms
- You haven’t had more frequent symptoms
- You haven’t had symptoms that are more severe
- You haven’t had any test results that show a deterioration
- You haven’t been referred to a specialist
- You haven’t been hospitalized
- You aren’t waiting for the results of a further test or diagnosis determination
As you can see, there are many requirements that demonstrate whether you’re stable. If you aren’t sure if you meet the stability requirement, you should contact your friends at Insurdinary. They can clarify whether you might have any issues signing up for their travel insurance.
Access to Coverage at Any Age
One of the elements you’ll be looking for when researching the right travel insurance for you is access to coverage at any age. If you’re worried about this, you’ll be happy to know that, for both of these plans, you’ll be covered.
Medoc Travel Insurance
With Medoc, you can get coverage no matter what your health status or age is. However, if you aren’t sure about getting coverage because of your age, we once again recommend reaching out to Insurdinary. They are professionals in the travel insurance industry and are always happy to assist.
Medipac Travel Insurance
Medipac has no age limit when it comes to their travel insurance plans. However, when you’re signing up for their plan, you’ll have to fill out lengthy paperwork if you’re older. Even though this is common for many medical insurance companies, we can appreciate that it can be a little tedious.
COVID-19 Coverage
The COVD-19 Pandemic has had extraordinary circumstances when it comes to global travel, so it makes sense to worry about being covered if you have a flight or reservation cancelled as a result of the pandemic.
After all, back in 2020, hundreds of flights were cancelled by Canadian airlines.
So, when selecting travel insurance coverage when it comes to the pandemic, how do Medoc and Medipac compare?
Medoc Travel Insurance
With Medoc Travel Insurance, you won’t get any travel insurance coverage for Trip Interruption or Trip Cancellation Claims related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. For example, if all flights to or from a foreign country are cancelled because of the pandemic, you will not be covered for that interruption or cancellation.
However, you are still covered for Trip Interruption or Trip Cancellation Claims that are unrelated to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Medipac Travel Insurance
With Medipac, you do get coverage due to changes in plans that occur because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. You won’t have to pay for the administration fee you’re usually charged for the first date change you make.
Benefits and Features, Compared
Now that we’ve reviewed the main features of each plan that are most important, we’ll review some of the features that are specific to each travel insurer. This way, you can decide which one is best for you.
These benefits and features include dental emergencies, vehicle returns, and more.
Medoc Travel Insurance
With Medoc Travel Insurance, you get many benefits and features. These include trip delay, trip interruption, and trip cancellation coverage. This is for multiple trips during the year you have the policy coverage.
Additionally, you’re covered for medical emergencies and dental emergencies.
Vehicle and Pet Return
If you have a medical emergency and you aren’t able to bring your car back, they will also bring your car back for you. Additionally, if you have a medical emergency that keeps you from being able to take your pet back with you, they’ll cover your pet’s return.
You can also arrange to have your pet returned by Medoc if you’re travelling separately from your furry friend.
Baggage Protection
Baggage protection with Medoc covers damage, theft, and loss of your baggage. Additionally, if your baggage is delayed, they’ll reimburse you for any costs you have to pay as a result. For example, if you need to buy clothes to wear, they can reimburse you for this cost.
Home Bonus and Family Coverage
You can get 5% off of your home insurance when you get Medoc Travel Insurance. Additionally, when you’re using this travel insurance, you can get additional insurance for your children. This is even if they’re travelling without you on their own.
Emergency Assistance 24/7
Medoc Travel Insurance prides itself on being available to you 24/7. No matter what emergency you’re facing, you can get in touch with their Claims Assistance Centre whenever you need to. Simply find the right number on their claims page, your policy booklet, or your ID card.
They’ll be ready to answer any questions you might have about how you’ll be covered for the emergency you’re currently facing.
Medipac Travel Insurance
With Medipac Travel Insurance, you get many benefits and features. For one thing, they make it easy to pay your premium. You make two payments, which are debited directly and automatically from your bank account.
You pay 50% the first time, and 50% the second.
Medipac Rewards
You also get Medipac Rewards through Medipac Travel Insurance. With your claim-free status and loyalty, you can earn discounts of up to 18%. With loyalty credit, you get a discount of up to 8%. By remaining claim-free, you get a discount of up to 10%.
MedipacPLUS
If you plan on traveling often, then you can benefit from signing up for the MedipacPLUS plan. With this plan, you can get more than double your coverage. This will only cost you an additional $59.
If you’ve got grandchildren in the US, this is the perfect option for you.
Superannuate Special
Are you a retired RCMP officer, retired military personnel, or retired civil servant? Are you a participant in the Public Service Health Care Plan? Then you’re in luck. Through Medipac, you can upgrade to a 40-day annual plan and get a premium credit at no extra cost.
Need More Information?
Now that you’ve learned about the differences between Medoc and Medipac, you might need additional information. Maybe you want help figuring out which benefits and features are most important to you.
Or maybe you want to learn more about the stability requirement.
Whatever information you need, we’re here to help. At Insurdinary, we’re experts when it comes to Medoc, Medipac, and other travel insurance options. We’re also experts when it comes to financing, banking, and more.
To learn more about how we can help you at Insurdinary, contact us here.
