Do International Students Need Health Insurance for Canada? whether you're a foreign student visiting Canada, you may be asking whether you need health insurance for Canada.International students now travel in large numbers to Canada to attend universities such as Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Ottawa.
Over 621,000 foreign students were enrolled in Canadian colleges and universities as of 2021, with over 388,000 of them being international students. Over the last 20 years, this figure has surged 400%, indicating how well-liked Canada has become as a globally-recognized destination for education.
Getting a student visa may be an exciting and daunting process to navigate. Make sure you have everything you’ll need for your international travel before you go from your home country. This covers your baggage, a laptop or other educational gadget, and any documentation related to your study permission.
Examining your health insurance alternatives is also a smart move. Far too many foreign students make the mistake of just bringing travel insurance when they visit Canada. Purchasing health insurance is a separate kind of insurance that will protect you from high medical costs while you are visiting, even if purchasing travel insurance is still a smart option.
What distinguishes health insurance from travel insurance?
To be safe when studying abroad in Canada, it’s critical to understand health insurance for foreign students. Despite their similarities, health insurance and travel insurance provide coverage for distinct aspects of your trip.
Insurance for travel
The majority of the time, people get travel insurance to lessen the financial effect of unplanned events like delayed or cancelled flights. Due to the increasing frequency of airline cancellations and vacation disruptions, this coverage may shield you from having to pay for these inconveniences out of pocket.
Travelers may choose the coverage choices to incorporate in their package from a selection of alternatives provided by most travel insurance providers. Many travel insurance companies give medical coverage as a standard feature, however this insurance usually only covers emergencies.
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Health coverage
On the other hand, health insurance is meant to assist in paying for medical costs for those who do not yet meet the requirements for provincial health coverage in Canada. International students may avoid paying out-of-pocket for routine medical expenditures like doctor visits and medication refills by using their private health insurance for Canada.
International students should have both kinds of insurance, but health insurance is particularly crucial for those studying in Canada.
Would you want to look into your possibilities for health or travel insurance? We’ve collaborated with Cigna, which gives incoming foreign students in Canada the chance to go through all of their available coverage choices. To find out which plan is best for you, click this link.
What happens if you visit Canada without health insurance?
Canada is noted for having a single-payer, publi cally financed healthcare system. Every province manages its healthcare system independently, and citizens and long-term residents are given health cards that cover the cost of numerous provincial health services.
But in other provinces, foreign students are either not eligible for healthcare or must reside in Canada for a certain amount of time in order to get a provincial health card.
This implies that you would have to cover all medical expenses and prescription drugs out of pocket if you were sick or hurt while studying in Canada. These expenses might be quite high for those without insurance.
How to get Canadian travel insurance
If you need emergency medical attention and you don’t have insurance, you can have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is the reason it is crucial for foreign students studying in Canada to have health insurance. In Canada, a lot of post-secondary institutions demand it.
You should always do your homework before making a purchase since some institutions even provide their own group programs. You could be required to carry a certain quantity of coverage or purchase into their group insurance depending on where you enroll.
If your school does not have a group plan, you may use our partners at Best Quote to compare the instantaneous, free prices of many well-known insurance companies. It’s simple to assess which plan is best for you using their pricing comparison tool, ensuring that you’re always covered.