7 Travel and Health Insurance Myths In Canada Newcomers Should Know

Myth: Travel Insurance And Health Insurance Are The Same Thing For Newcomers

Travel insurance and health insurance are very different types of policies. 

Travel insurance typically covers emergency medical access, but it won’t usually cover routine medical care or ongoing treatment for existing conditions. Plus (and this is a big one), travel insurance policies typically aim to ‘repatriate’ you to your home country in the event of a medical emergency. That is, your travel insurer may pay for your flight back to your previous country of residence or country of birth in the event that medical care will be cheaper there. This is not an ideal outcome for newcomers looking to live long-term in Canada. 

Health insurance, on the other hand, covers routine and emergency medical services in Canada. It would cover a doctor’s visit for an earache, or an emergency appendix removal surgery. It could even cover preventative health services, like your annual checkup. But, it can cover a lot more than that too. 

Depending on your policy, you can opt for extra coverage for allied health services, such as physiotherapy, dieticians, and massage therapy. You could also get access to personalized digital tools, health coaches, and more, depending on the coverage you choose. 

Myth: Canada Has Reciprocal Healthcare Agreements

Newcomers from European countries, Australia, and the UK (amongst others) might be used to getting relatively easy access to healthcare in foreign countries. This is courtesy of ‘reciprocal healthcare agreements’ – and they’re actually pretty common, outside of Canada. 

Canada has inter-provincial healthcare agreements, so that people traveling or moving between provinces are generally able to access healthcare. But it does not have the same extensive reciprocal healthcare agreements many other countries enjoy.