Manulife travel insurance for Canadians: which plan, which medical questions, and how to claim
Single-trip, multi-trip, TravelEase, all-inclusive and top-up plans from Manulife's CoverMe range, for trips outside your province or outside Canada.
Provincial health plans rarely pay for care outside Canada, and when they do, it is usually only a small part of the bill. Manulife's plans for travelling Canadians fill that gap. Picking the right one comes down to how many trips you take, how long they are, your age and health, and whether you also want cover for prepaid trip costs.
In short
Many Manulife plans for travelling Canadians pay up to $10 million in emergency medical benefits. Under 60 you generally don't fill in a medical questionnaire; from 60 you may, and pre-existing conditions must be stable for 3 or 6 months depending on age and rate category. If a condition needs review, TravelEase uses medical underwriting. Multi-trip plans cover trips of 4, 10, 18, 30 or 60 days. Call 1-888-881-8010 before treatment or you may pay 20% of the bill.
The six Manulife plan types
A starting point. The confirmation and policy wording decide what you actually have.
Single-Trip Emergency Medical
One trip, within or outside Canada. Up to $10 million on the standard plan, trips up to 365 days, medical questions depending on age.
Multi-Trip Emergency Medical
Unlimited trips in a policy year. Each trip outside Canada can be 4, 10, 18, 30 or 60 days; travel within Canada has no selected trip limit. Top up for a longer trip.
TravelEase
For travellers whose pre-existing conditions need medical underwriting. Single-trip and some multi-trip versions. A questionnaire is required, and disclosed conditions may be approved.
All-Inclusive
Emergency medical plus trip cancellation and interruption, baggage loss, damage or delay, and flight and travel accident benefits.
Emergency Medical Top-Up
Adds days to credit-card, employer, Manulife annual or other-insurer coverage. Can be requested after departure, before the existing cover expires.
Youth plans (29 and under)
Some all-inclusive or deluxe options for younger travellers: emergency medical, cancellation and interruption, baggage and travel accident benefits, with plan-specific limits.
| Feature | Single-Trip Medical | Multi-Trip Medical | TravelEase | All-Inclusive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designed for | One trip | Several trips in one year | Conditions that need underwriting | Medical plus non-medical risks |
| Emergency medical | Included | Included | Included, subject to underwriting | Included |
| Trip cancellation | Not normally part of a medical-only plan | Not normally part of a medical-only plan | Check the plan | Included up to plan limits |
| Medical questionnaire | Under 60: generally not required; 60+: may be required | Under 60: generally not required; 60+: may be required | Required | Under 60: generally not required; 60+: may be required |
| Pre-existing conditions | Stability exclusion applies | Stability exclusion applies | May be approved through underwriting | Plan stability rules apply |
| Good fit when | You travel once | You travel several times | A condition needs individual review | You have prepaid costs or want baggage cover |
Manulife advertises lower premiums on some emergency medical plans when the whole trip is within Canada.
What the emergency medical cover pays for
Eligible expenses, up to the limits and conditions in your policy, can include:
- Hospital and physician care: emergency hospital stay, physician services, surgery and medically necessary care.
- Ambulance and medical transport: ground or air, when medically necessary and approved.
- Prescription drugs needed for the covered emergency, within duration and benefit limits.
- Diagnostic tests: lab work, X-rays and other approved tests.
- Emergency dental: pain relief and accidental dental, each with its own maximum.
- Paramedical services from registered professionals such as chiropractors and physiotherapists.
- Return home when medically necessary or more appropriate than treatment abroad.
- Bedside companion: travel costs to bring someone to you after a qualifying hospital stay.
- Extra meals and accommodation when a covered emergency delays your return.
- Other returns: a travel companion, dependent children, a pet or baggage.
Who can apply
- Age
- At least 30 days old
- Residence
- Live in Canada
- Health plan
- Covered by a provincial or territorial plan for the whole trip
- Questionnaire
- Under 60: generally not needed. 60+: may be needed. TravelEase: always
- Stability
- 3 or 6 months before the effective date, by age and rate category
- Family multi-trip
- Family members under 60, named on the confirmation
Getting the medical questionnaire right
A wrong answer is the most common reason a travel claim is cut or refused. Never guess, play a condition down or answer from the medicine name alone.
1List everything
- Diagnoses and medicines, with doses
- Recent changes, tests and referrals
- Hospital visits and specialist care
2Read the exact wording
- Check each question's date range
- "Treated", "investigated" and "change" have specific meanings
- "Stable" is a defined policy term
3Keep the records
- Save the application, confirmation, policy and questionnaire
- Keep any advisor notes before you leave
For example, suppose you are 66 and your blood-pressure pill dose changed four months ago. On a plan that asks for 6 months of stability, that condition would not be covered yet; on a 3-month rule it could be. Your rate category decides which applies.
Topping up or extending after you've left Canada
It is possible, but not automatic. Check your dates against Manulife's conditions.
Check your own province's limit; it differs across Canada. The Assistance Centre must approve every extension.
Manulife's extension conditions
- Ask the agent or broker who sold the policy before the current cover or trip-length limit ends.
- The whole trip, extra days included, must stay within your provincial or territorial health plan's limit.
- Pay the additional premium.
- No event that has led or may lead to a claim, and no change in your health.
- Approval by the Assistance Centre.
- No cover beyond 12 months after the date you first left home.
What the top-up won't cover
Any medical condition that first appeared, was diagnosed or was treated after your scheduled departure date and before the extension or top-up starts. Don't wait for a symptom before asking for more days.
Multi-trip: a top-up can add days when a trip is longer than the plan's trip limit or runs past the plan's expiry. A new multi-trip plan may also work if there is no lapse. If your multi-trip plan isn't from Manulife, confirm it allows a Manulife top-up without losing cover. You may be asked health questions.
A request isn't cover. Wait for written confirmation with the approved start and end dates, and make sure there is no gap.
In an emergency, and making a claim
Keep your policy number, passport and provincial health card with you.
Call before treatment
The Assistance Centre confirms coverage, refers you to a provider, coordinates treatment and pre-approves care. It may arrange direct billing so you don't pay the hospital yourself.
If you don't call before treatment, you may pay 20% co-insurance on eligible expenses the plan would normally pay, unless calling was medically impossible.
Use the numbers on your current confirmation or wallet card, in case they change.
Refunds
- 10-day free look: a refund if you haven't left and no claim is in progress.
- Early return: some single-trip plans give a partial refund when the policy conditions are met.
- Multi-trip: generally not refundable under the wording reviewed.
Commonly not covered
- Unstable pre-existing conditions
- Routine, elective, experimental, cosmetic, chronic or rehabilitation care
- Travel to get treatment, or care you could expect before leaving
- Paid or professional sports and some hazardous activities
- Losses linked to excess alcohol, non-prescribed drugs, self-harm or crime
- Routine pregnancy care, delivery near the due date, and a child born on the trip
Buying for a visitor to Canada instead?
These plans are for Canadians leaving their province. Parents and guests coming here need Manulife's Visitors to Canada plans. See Manulife visitors insurance.
Questions about Manulife travel insurance for Canadians
What does Manulife travel insurance cover for Canadians?
Depending on the plan: emergency hospital and medical care, ambulance, prescription drugs, diagnostic tests, emergency dental and medical transport, and on all-inclusive plans, cancellation, interruption, baggage and travel accidents.
Manulife sells these as CoverMe plans for travelling Canadians. For visitors coming to Canada, see Manulife Visitors to Canada insurance.
How much emergency medical cover is there?
Many standard Manulife plans for travelling Canadians pay up to $10 million in eligible emergency medical benefits.
The maximum is a ceiling, not a promise that every expense is covered. Each benefit has its own conditions.
Who can buy it?
You must live in Canada, be at least 30 days old, keep provincial or territorial health coverage for the whole trip, and meet the plan's eligibility rules.
On the Multi-Trip Emergency Medical plan, family members must be under 60 and named on the confirmation.
Do I need to fill in a medical questionnaire?
Generally not under 60; from 60 a questionnaire may be needed to set eligibility and the rate category, and TravelEase always needs one.
Read the date range in each question carefully. The words "treated", "investigated" and "change" carry a lot of weight.
How long must a condition be stable?
Three or six months before the effective date, depending on your age and rate category.
A routine follow-up, medicine change, new symptom, investigation, referral or pending test can affect whether the condition is "stable" as the policy defines it.
What is TravelEase?
A Manulife plan for travellers whose pre-existing conditions need to be reviewed through medical underwriting.
Disclosed conditions may be approved for coverage. It comes in single-trip and some multi-trip versions, and acceptance and terms depend on the review.
How many days can a multi-trip plan cover?
Each trip outside Canada can be 4, 10, 18, 30 or 60 days, depending on the option you choose, with unlimited trips in the policy year.
Travel within Canada outside your home province does not use the trip-length limit. If a trip runs longer, buy a top-up.
Can I buy a Manulife top-up after I've left Canada?
Possibly, if you ask before your current coverage expires, pay the extra premium, have had no claim-related event or health change, and the Assistance Centre approves.
The whole trip must stay within your provincial plan's limit for time away, and cover can't run past 12 months from the day you first left home. Use the extension checker.
What happens if I don't call the Assistance Centre?
You may pay 20% of the eligible expenses the plan would otherwise pay, unless calling was medically impossible.
Call 1-888-881-8010 from Canada or the US, or +1-519-945-8346 collect where available. The Assistance Centre may arrange direct billing.
Can I get a refund?
You have 10 days to cancel for a refund if you haven't left and no claim is in progress; after that, some single-trip plans allow a partial refund on early return.
Multi-trip plans are generally not refundable under the wording reviewed. Ask for the exact calculation before you cancel.
Written by Pankaj Bhatia, CHS, PFA
Insure In Canada Inc. · Licensed in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
Pankaj has 11 years of experience with travel, life and health insurance. He helps travellers pick the right Manulife questionnaire and request top-ups before cover runs out.
Sources and related pages
- Manulife CoverMe travel insurance for travelling Canadians
- Manulife medical plans comparison chart
- CoverMe travelling Canadians brochure
- Manulife Emergency Medical Policy for Travelling Canadians (November 2019 wording) and medical questionnaire
- Government of Canada: travel insurance
An independent summary, not Manulife's website. Manulife and CoverMe are trademarks of their owner. The policy wording reviewed is dated November 2019; the policy issued at purchase always governs.