The flight is booked.
The hotel confirmation is saved.
The calendar is blocked off.
Whether you’re heading to a conference, escaping winter for a week, or planning a summer trip overseas, there’s one assumption many Canadians make:
“If something happens, I’m covered.”
But once you leave your home province — and especially once you leave Canada — that assumption doesn’t always hold up.
What happens to your health coverage when you leave home?
Provincial health plans provide comprehensive coverage at home. Outside your home province — and even more so outside Canada — coverage becomes limited.
If you’re hospitalized in another country, you could be responsible for:
• Hospital stays
• Emergency surgery
• Ambulance services
• Medical evacuation back to Canada
Those costs can be significant, particularly in the United States.
Travel insurance sponsored by Lawyers Financial and underwritten by Manulife can provide up to $10 million in emergency medical coverage for eligible accidents and illnesses while travelling.
It’s not about expecting something to go wrong. It’s about understanding how your coverage changes once you cross a border and planning accordingly.
Travel is an investment — not just an experience
Travel isn’t only about the destination. It’s the flights you’ve booked months in advance, hotel deposits, conference registration, prepaid excursions. By departure day, you’ve often committed more than just anticipation.
If an unexpected illness, emergency, or disruption forces you to cancel your trip — or return home early — those prepaid expenses may not be recoverable.
Trip cancellation and interruption coverage can help protect that investment, so a change in plans doesn’t automatically become a financial setback.
Why many Canadians overestimate their coverage
Credit cards sometimes include travel insurance benefits — but coverage limits, exclusions, and eligibility requirements vary widely.
Before relying solely on credit card coverage, it’s worth confirming:
• What is the emergency medical maximum?
• Are pre-existing conditions excluded?
• Are your travel companions covered?
• Does it include cancellation before departure?
Travel insurance allows you to choose coverage that aligns with your actual trip — not just what happens to be bundled with your card.
Before you leave
Travel plans don’t always unfold exactly as expected. Having the right protection in place means you can focus on where you’re going — not what might interrupt it.
It takes only minutes to get a quote online. And as a member of Canada’s legal community, you save 10% on Manulife’s already affordable travel insurance rates.
