Understanding travel insurance: essential for safe travels

Traveling is an exciting adventure filled with dreams, planning, and anticipation. However, unforeseen events can disrupt your plans. Having a travel insurance plan to help protect against such occurrences can be essential to help protect your health and financial wellbeing while you travel.

At its core, depending on the plan purchased, travel insurance can help provide financial protection against certain unexpected events that may occur before or during your trip. These events can range from inconveniences such as travel delays, lost baggage or medical emergencies. Additionally, travel insurance offers 24/7 emergency care and assistance, along with critical support when navigating foreign healthcare systems, such as finding the nearest hospital and arranging direct billing when possible.

Whether you're purchasing travel insurance for yourself, your family, or anyone else, consider the potential risks with those travel plans and what coverage would best help protect against such risks.

Here are a few scenarios where CIBC Travel Insurance may prove invaluable:

1. Medical emergencies outside of your home province: Health emergencies can happen to anyone, and medical care outside of your home province or territory, can be very expensive. Emergency medical benefits can help cover eligible medical costs up to $10 million, ensuring you receive necessary care when you need it.
2. Trip cancellation & interruption: Life is unpredictable, and plans may change due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness. Trip cancellation and interruption benefits may help recover non-refundable expenses, such as flights and accommodations, if you need to cancel or cut your trip short for a covered reason.
3. Lost, stolen, or delayed baggage: With millions of bags handled daily at airports, the risk of lost or delayed luggage is real. If your baggage is delayed, CIBC’s Travel Insurance may reimburse you for lost or stolen items and cover the cost of covered essential items.
4. Entry requirements: Some countries require proof of travel insurance for entry. Ensure you have the necessary coverage to avoid complications at customs.

Choosing the right Travel Insurance plan depends on your travel habits and needs. Here are the options offered by CIBC Travel Insurance:

• Single Trip Plans: Ideal for those planning a one-time trip, offering medical and/or trip cancellation and interruption coverage for that specific journey.
• Multi-Trip Annual Plans: Convenient for those who plan to travel more than twice a year, providing medical coverage for multiple trips within an entire year.
• Comprehensive Travel Insurance Plans: For those seeking all-round protection, this plan combines emergency medical coverage, the cost of lost or damaged baggage and personal effects insurance coverage, trip cancellation and interruption into one convenient package.
• Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Plans: Travel is an investment that is worth protecting. This plan provides coverage for when a trip is cancelled before departure, or for when interruptions or delays come up during travel.

For more information, explore CIBC travel insurance products.

Before you buy travel insurance, take a moment to understand what’s included and what’s not so you can choose the right coverage for your trip. Check all requirements for leaving, arriving at your destination, and returning to Canada. Always review and follow Government of Canada travel advisories Opens a new window..

By understanding your needs and exploring available options, you can have the protection necessary for a worry-free journey.