Covid 19 Update
March 12, 2020

(For Travel Insurance without Trip Interruption or Cancelation Coverage)

 

The situation and circumstances surrounding COVID-19 is changing rapidly, if you have questions about your health please contact your local health authority.  Information here will be updated as it becomes available. 

Common Questions

• Does my insurance cover me if I get the COVID-19 virus?
Your health insurance plan covers you for certain eligible medical services or products required for treatment of an illness or injury. There are no specific illnesses excluded from your student health plan, therefore, eligible medical services or products prescribed to you by a recognized practitioner would be covered under your plan regardless of what illness these are treating. Your regular group coverage would continue to be available if you are infected with coronavirus and being treated/medically quarantined.  If admitted in a hospital outside of Canada, coverage under OOC would apply.

If in a hospital in Canada, hospital global budgets may cover treatments and as such, group benefits would not necessarily be applicable if for something we would not typically provide coverage.


• What are the consequences for the travel/health insurance, once the WHO announced a pandemic?
As the directing and coordinating authority on international health, WHO assessments help national governments to identify health emergencies. Our national, provincial and regional governments then take steps to assess and respond respectively based on the local situation. Travel insurance contracts include clauses that relate to the level of risk as identified by the Government of Canada, these are publicly provided through their Travel Advise and Advisories service https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories. There are four risk levels, if a country, region, or destination has been identified at an official Level 3 or 4 travel advisory it will impact insurance contracts.  Travel to countries with travel advisories, including travel advisories due to illnesses such as the novel coronavirus does not exclude a claimant from coverage under standard Canada Life group benefits plans.

• Will the student insurance continue to cover and support students currently abroad?
Students can count on their travel coverage for emergency medical services required due to illness or injury while abroad, under the current provisions and limits of the plans. Students can count on their supplemental coverage for eligible medical services required due to illness or injury while in their province of residence, under the provisions and limits of the plan policy.  If a student is being treated/medically quarantined in a non-hospital setting, they will continue to be covered under the Out of Country emergency benefit plan. Follow-up treatments related to the initial medical emergency if they weren’t able to get home (if they’re not refusing to be evacuated) will be covered. There is no coverage for incidental expense [hotel, meals, ] for individuals who are quarantined as a preventative measure.   

• If the school needs to recall these students, would the insurance cover some costs?
It would depend on the insurance the student has in place. The travel coverage provided on this student plan does not have trip interruption insurance, therefore this plan does not cover costs related to coming home earlier than originally planned. In the event that a student has trip interruption insurance in place the eligibility for recovering costs through insurance would depend on the provisions of that insurance contract.

• Would the insurance still cover travel health costs, if the students travel within the next few months?
It would depend on the insurance the student has in place. The travel coverage provided on this student plan does not have trip cancellation insurance, therefore, this plan does not cover costs related to cancelling a trip for any reason. In the event that a student has trip cancellation insurance in place the eligibility for recovering costs through insurance would depend on the provisions of that insurance contract.

• What are the timelines? If there are coverage interruptions, how long will that last? What are the criteria?
The insurer has a contract in place and there are no interruption or suspension clauses that would allow for them to interrupt or suspend coverage for eligible services or products due to this type of situation. If a student is enrolled in the plan, the coverage will be provided based on the provisions and limits of the contract. If there is an increase in claims activity, there may be in an impact on processing times, but at this time that is not the case.


Please visit the following site for a current list of countries with travel warnings:
English: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html#ath

French: https://www.canada.ca/fr/sante-publique/services/maladies/2019-nouveau-coronavirus/derniers-conseils-sante-voyageurs.html

Disclaimer: The material provided in this update is for information only. Where the content refers to regulations or agreements it is intended to aid in understand and should not be interpreted to speak for any regulation or agreement, the actual regulation or agreement should be referred to in order to determine how it applies to your situation. Where this information speaks to insurance coverage it only applies to individuals enrolled under the insurance contract it may be referencing.  All information provided here is in effect on the date of this update, any changes to regulations or agreements after this date could affect the accuracy of this information.

Note: Disclaimers are a reality in this litigious world.  We strive to provide helpful information that is easy to understand.

For the most up-to-date information on the Covid 19 outbreak, visit the Public Health Agency of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html

For people in an area affected by the outbreak can get the latest travel advice from the Public Health Agency of Canada https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html

Covid 19 Update
March 12, 2020
(For Plans without Travel Insurance)

The situation and circumstances surrounding COVID-19 is changing rapidly, if you have questions about your health please contact your local health authority.  Information here will be updated as it becomes available. 

Common Questions

• Does my insurance cover me if I get the COVID-19 virus?
Your health insurance plan covers you for certain eligible medical services or products required for treatment of an illness or injury. There are no specific illnesses excluded from your student health plan, therefore, eligible medical services or products prescribed to you by a recognized practitioner would be covered under your plan regardless of what illness these are treating.


• What are the consequences for the travel/health insurance, once the WHO announced a pandemic?
As the directing and coordinating authority on international health, WHO assessments help national governments to identify health emergencies. Our national, provincial and regional governments then take steps to assess and respond respectively based on the local situation. Travel insurance contracts include clauses that relate to the level of risk as identified by the Government of Canada, these are publicly provided through their Travel Advise and Advisories service https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories. There are four risk levels, if a country, region, or destination has been identified at an official Level 3 or 4 travel advisory it will impact insurance contracts. 

• Will the student insurance continue to cover and support students currently abroad?
This student plan does not include any travel insurance provisions, therefore, there is no coverage  for emergency medical services required due to illness or injury while abroad.

• If the school needs to recall these students, would the insurance cover some costs?
It would depend on the insurance the student has in place. In the event that a student has trip interruption insurance in place the eligibility for recovering costs through insurance would depend on the provisions of that insurance contract. This student plan does not include any travel insurance provisions, therefore, there is no coverage for trip interruption.

• Would the insurance still cover travel health costs, if the students travel within the next few months?
It would depend on the insurance the student has in place. In the event that a student has trip cancellation insurance in place the eligibility for recovering costs through insurance would depend on the provisions of that insurance contract. This student plan does not include any travel insurance provisions, therefore, there is no coverage for trip cancellation.  

• What are the timelines? If there are coverage interruptions, how long will that last? What are the criteria?
The insurer has a contract in place and there are no interruption or suspension clauses that would allow for them to interrupt or suspend coverage for eligible services or products due to this type of situation. If a student is enrolled in the plan, the coverage will be provided based on the provisions and limits of the contract. If there is an increase in claims activity, there may be in an impact on processing times, but at this time that is not the case.


Please visit the following site for a current list of countries with travel warnings:
English: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html#ath

French: https://www.canada.ca/fr/sante-publique/services/maladies/2019-nouveau-coronavirus/derniers-conseils-sante-voyageurs.html

Disclaimer: The material provided in this update is for information only. Where the content refers to regulations or agreements it is intended to aid in understand and should not be interpreted to speak for any regulation or agreement, the actual regulation or agreement should be referred to in order to determine how it applies to your situation. Where this information speaks to insurance coverage it only applies to individuals enrolled under the insurance contract it may be referencing.  All information provided here is in effect on the date of this update, any changes to regulations or agreements after this date could affect the accuracy of this information.

Note: Disclaimers are a reality in this litigious world.  We strive to provide helpful information that is easy to understand.

For the most up-to-date information on the Covid 19 outbreak, visit the Public Health Agency of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html

For people in an area affected by the outbreak can get the latest travel advice from the Public Health Agency of Canada https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html