Insurance

What insurance do you need for your trip? I'll explain all the different coverages that are available, and here's a great article that discusses when insurance is useful and who to buy from (it's US-based but similar to the Canadian offerings), plus another article that explains all the tricky bits to watch out for.

Travel Medical - out of province/country

• This might be included in the extended health plan you have at work. Be sure that it covers vacation travel and not just business trips, and that it covers the length of trip you are taking.
• If you need emergency medical care during your trip, make sure to call the insurance company and get approval before getting any treatment, unless you are completely unable to. Some plans offer assistance in finding appropriate emergency care via a toll-free number, and will also help with all the approvals.

Trip Interruption/ Trip Cancellation

• This is covered by some, but not all, credit cards. It is fairly inexpensive to purchase this coverage when you buy your trip. It is not advised to buy this from the company that is providing the travel (airline, cruise company, tour company, etc) since you are insuring partly in case the company ceases to exist. Travel agents usually offer coverage from a large insurance company.
• There is a lot of fine print and different plans offer insurance for different reasons of cancellation - some are only for a family medical emergency (and only certain family members), others are for any reason including changing your mind.

Car Rental Damage Waiver

• Many credit cards offer this coverage, although most require that the car rental is paid for by that credit card. In BC, ICBC's Road Star package also includes this coverage.

Third-Party Liability

• If travelling outside of Canada, consider carrying third-party liability insurance because some places do not require drivers to be insured or carry as much as is required in Canada. This is definitely true in the US, where drivers usually carry very little personal liability insurance and more third party liability insurance - the opposite of the Canadian norm.
• In BC, ICBC insurance includes third-party liability that travels with you outside of BC, but it is limited to $200,000. You might want to purchase more.

Common-Carrier Accident Insurance

• Many credit cards offer between $200,000 and $1,000,000 coverage against accidents on commercial airplanes, trains, boats, buses, etc.

Lost Baggage

• Baggage insurance varies from "delayed baggage", which pays for necessary items while your luggage is being located, to "lost baggage", which reimburses you for baggage that was lost by the travel provider. North American airlines are on the hook for a minimal payment to you if they lose your bags, but it's rarely enough to cover what you actually had in those bags. Additional insurance could pay a lot more, but read the fine print - some plans require you to have an itemized list of the bag contents PLUS original purchase receipts for each item!

Hotel Burglary

• Often included in homeowners or tenant insurance, this covers the theft of personal property from your hotel room.

Purchase Protection

• Insurance against accidental theft or breakage of any item that was purchased in the previous 1-3 months (depending on the plan). This insurance is included with many credit cards and covers items purchase with that credit card. Some homeowner/tenant insurance plans also provide similar coverage. Confirm that coverage extends to purchases made in other countries if you are travelling.

Extended Warranty

• Doubles the manufacturer's warranty on new purchases, up to 1 additional year. This likely applies only to purchases made in the country where the credit card was issued. It may also cover purchases in other countries when the manufacturer's warranty remains valid in Canada.