Making Up for Lost Travel Time
Now that opportunities for travel are appearing again, I want to provide some information and reminders when planning your next trips as you make up for lost time. To guarantee the comfort of travelling worry-free, it’s important to review your emergency travel insurance policy and understand your coverage.
If you are covered by a plan other than ARTA’s, ensure that you read any stability clause included in the contract’s fine print. A stability clause requires pre-existing medical conditions to be stable prior to leaving on your trip. This stability period varies, depending on the policy. Any pre-existing conditions that do not meet the criteria are excluded from coverage while you are travelling, even if your health state has improved.
ARTA’s Emergency Travel plan has no stability clause — any medical illness or injury must simply be considered “sudden and unexpected.” ARTA’s policy wording is available on the ARTA website (arta.net) under Forms and Documents. Remember that travel coverage is for emergencies. It is not designed to cover routine medical expenses, such as physician check-ups.
It’s a good idea to visit your doctor at least six to eight weeks before you leave. If your doctor indicates you are not healthy enough to travel, and if you have coverage with ARTA, you are covered for Trip Cancellation insurance. While you are talking to your physician, ask if you need any vaccinations, which may require multiple doses administered over several weeks.
It’s also a good idea to visit your dentist and pharmacist prior to leaving on your trip. This avoids any unwanted dental issues while travelling and ensures that you have enough medication for your entire trip.
Proof of departure might be required if you need to make a claim. Keep your boarding pass or make a small purchase with your credit card and keep the receipt to serve as proof. If you are covered by ARTA’s Emergency Travel plan, the same tip applies to reset your 92-day trip duration — once you can prove you have returned to your province of residence, you can leave on another trip. If you are not covered by ARTA’s plan, ensure you are familiar with the trip reset rules of that plan.
Contact your emergency travel assistance provider as soon as possible, and preferably before any treatment, in the event you need to make a claim. The sooner they hear from you in an emergency, the sooner they can find a quality local medical facility for you, make billing arrangements, and more.
If you are covered by ARTA’s emergency travel plan, Allianz Global Assistance is your primary travel assistance provider. You can contact them 24/7 by calling the number provided on the back of your ARTA Benefits ID card. If you continue with your trip following your emergency, your coverage only applies to new and unexpected emergencies unrelated to your existing condition.
This information will allow you to take those trips that you have been putting off with comfort, knowing you are prepared to handle any emergency travel situation.