Travel insurance: coverage from birth to age 99

InsuranceINTEL, the insurance product information centre of the Insurance Journal Publishing Group, has compiled the features of individual travel insurance products for the first time.

The insurance product information centre has expanded its monitoring to include individual travel insurance products, as reported by the Insurance Portal on August 13, 2025. With the addition of travel insurance, InsuranceINTEL now analyzes more than 450 insurance products sold in Canada.

The following insurers participated in this new monitoring service offered by InsuranceINTEL in this sector: Blue Cross of Ontario and Quebec, with its Single Trip product; Desjardins Insurance, with its Travel Insurance product; Humania Insurance, with its Travel Insurance – Single Trip plan; and RBC Insurance, whose product is also called Single Trip.

Not at any age… but almost  

According to data collected by InsuranceINTEL for this initial comparison of individual travel insurance products, two players dominate in terms of the age limit at which a traveler can be covered. Leading the pack, Desjardins Insurance does not impose an age limit, followed closely by Blue Cross, which sets the limit at 99, and Humania Insurance at 95, as shown in the comparison table below.

At the bottom of the pack is RBC Insurance, which has set the age limit for insurance at 75. However, the insurer stands out by accepting insureds from birth, as does Humania. At Desjardins Insurance, infants must be at least 15 days old to be insured. At Blue Cross, they must be at least 31 days old.

One-year trips up to $5 million  

Blue Cross and Desjardins Insurance accept insurance applicants whose single trip will last one year, or 365 days. Humania Insurance limits the duration to 212 days. RBC Insurance limits the duration of a trip based on age: 183 days for those under 60 and 59 days for those 60 and over.

As for the maximum amount of travel coverage for emergency medical expenses, three insurers agree to protect policyholders up to a total coverage amount of $5 million. RBC Insurance stands out by imposing no limits. It does make one exception: its insurance covers a maximum of $20,000 for those who are not covered by a provincial health insurance plan.

All four insurers also offer coverage in the event of accidental death or dismemberment. Desjardins Insurance will cover these risks up to $500,000, and Blue Cross up to $300,000. At Humania Insurance and RBC Insurance, accidental death or dismemberment will be covered up to $100,000. However, RBC Insurance only offers this limit for accidental death or dismemberment occurring during a flight accident. It limits the maximum coverage it provides to $50,000 if death or dismemberment occurs during a travel accident.

Be aware of the stability period 

Insurers require that a medical condition has been stable for a certain number of months before agreeing to cover a pre-existing health problem. They call this requirement the “required stability period.”

An in-depth search using our Product Finder service allows you to highlight this feature to your customers. Please note that you must subscribe to use this service. Product Finder subscribers can fill in fields that will allow them to perform a search and obtain a more detailed comparison table in PDF format for any of the products listed on InsuranceINTEL.

Product Finder reveals that individuals diagnosed with a pre-existing health condition will see this condition excluded from emergency medical insurance coverage if their condition has changed in the last three months. Humania Assurance is an exception, requiring only two months of stability when it comes to medication adjustments for high blood pressure or diabetes.

Depending on the age of the insured, the stability requirement may be extended to six months, except at RBC Insurance. For example, Blue Cross and Desjardins Insurance extend the stability period required for those aged 55 and over. 

Not everyone can get insurance 

In addition to being in stable health, Product Finder reveals that applicants for individual travel insurance must reside in Canada in order to be insured by one of the four insurers listed in the comparison table. They must live in Canada for at least six months of the year, according to Desjardins Insurance. Humania Assurance states that the person to be insured must have permanent residence in Canada.

Among other features of the comparison table it generated at our request, Product Finder provides details on covered doctor’s fees and prescription drug costs.

It also shows the date on which the insurer last updated its product data. For individual travel insurance, Blue Cross and Desjardins Insurance did so on August 25 and 26, respectively. More recently, Humania Assurance and RBC Insurance did so on November 4 and 7, respectively.