Travel insurance for wildfire advisories

While Canada is home to some of the most diverse cities, like Toronto and Montreal, the real beauty lies in its  incredible wildlife, national parks, and natural scenic beauty. But, if you’re setting off to explore the heartland of Canada’s back country, it’s important to think about travel insurance and advisories due to wildfire.

Your travel insurance may help you be better prepared for unexpected delays and interruptions, and medical emergencies due to wildfires. At Allianz Global Assistance, we offer comprehensive travel insurance plans that include emergency medical coverage, trip cancellation, and trip interruption benefits.

However, the extent of these coverages can be impacted by government-issued travel advisories, such as an “avoid all travel” or “avoid non-essential travel” advisory. Understanding how these advisories may affect your travel insurance coverage is crucial for making informed decisions.

Read on for more about how emergency medical and trip cancellation benefits may help protect you from financial losses due to wildfires, and what to know about how wildfire advisories impact your travel insurance. 

• Travel insurance may protect your financial investment in your vacation plans if your trip is interrupted by a reasonably unforeseeable wildfire evacuation, or if your destination becomes inaccessible due to a reasonably unforeseeable government advisory.
  
  Let’s say you’ve booked a flight for a fall camping trip to Banff to peep some fall leaves. The weather is unusually dry, and after you booked your resort stay and flight, a government advisory is issued for a wildfire in the national park.
  
  If the advisory prohibits travel to your destination, an Allianz Travel Insurance plan with trip cancellation benefits may reimburse certain non-refundable expenses, such as hotel reservations and airfare, up to the total cost of your trip. You could postpone your trip for another day with minimal financial loss. Trip cancellation coverage would also apply if your trip is interrupted midway due to a wildfire advisory or evacuation.
  
  Allianz Travel Insurance plans with emergency medical benefits may also reimburse certain medical treatment expenses, up to $10,000,000, if you experience a medical emergency related to a wildfire during your trip.
  
  Stay up to date on travel advisories from the Canadian government.
  

This type of coverage aims to address the cost of medical emergencies that arise while you are travelling, such as hospitalization, surgery, and prescription medications. However, it’s essential to be aware of how your emergency medical travel insurance coverage may be impacted by travel advisories. 

How travel advisories for wildfires impact emergency medical coverage

Whether the Canadian government issues an “avoid all travel” or “avoid non-essential travel” advisory to your destination before or during your trip, impacts your travel insurance coverage.

How when you depart, where you travel, and when advisories are issued, impact your emergency medical coverage:

• Pre-departure advisories: If the Canadian Government issues an advisory to avoid all non-essential travel, or to avoid all travel to your destination, before your departure, it is likely that travel insurers won’t provide emergency medical coverage for fire-related injuries you incur in that destination.
• Travel insurance only offers protection against financial losses due to reasonably unforeseeable circumstances. If the advisory was issued before your departure, medical emergencies related to the fire would not be reasonably unforeseeable events.
• Post-departure advisories: If the Canadian Government issues an advisory to avoid all non-essential travel, or to avoid all travel to your destination, after your departure, it is likely that insurers will provide emergency medical coverage for fire-related injuries you may incur in that destination. Because the advisory was issued after your departure, medical emergencies related to the fire are reasonably unforeseeable.
• If you are travelling to a country with an existing advisory, you may need to explore alternative accommodation options in nearby regions with safer conditions. Allianz travel insurance plans may not include booked accommodation costs if the advisory was in place prior to departure.

Allianz Global Assistance also offers trip cancellation benefits, which reimburse certain non-refundable expenses if you need to cancel your trip before departure due to covered reasons. Trip interruption benefits reimburse certain non-refundable expenses if you need to cancel your trip midway. Coverage for trip cancellation and interruption due to a travel advisory can vary depending on the circumstances.

Travel advisories for wildfires impact trip cancellation and interruption coverage

How when you book, where you travel, and when advisories are issued, impact your trip cancellation and interruption coverage:

• Advisories issued pre-booking: If you booked your trip before an “avoid all non-essential travel” or “avoid all travel” advisory was issued for your destination, you may be eligible to cancel your trip and be reimbursed for non-refundable costs. It’s important to notify your insurance company as soon as possible to initiate the claims process.
• Advisories issued post-booking: If you booked your trip after an “avoid all non-essential travel” or “avoid all travel” advisory was issued for your destination, you would not be eligible to cancel your trip and to be reimbursed for non-refundable costs.
• Advisories issued during your trip: If your trip is midway and an “avoid all  non-essential travel” or “avoid all travel” advisory was issued for your destination, you may be eligible to cancel the rest of your trip under your trip interruption benefits, and to be reimbursed for non-refundable costs.
• If you are forced to end your trip early due to a government-mandated evacuation or the closure of local services, your travel insurance may also assist with issues related to the disruption.
• Voluntary Cancellation: If a travel advisory makes you uncomfortable but does not meet the criteria outlined in your policy, voluntarily cancelling your trip may not be eligible for coverage by your trip cancellation insurance. It’s essential to review the terms and conditions to understand what situations qualify for coverage.
• In some cases, Allianz may help with rebooking travel arrangements to an alternative destination, depending on the specific circumstances of the advisory and your policy coverage.

• Check government advisories before booking.
• Review your policy’s terms for natural disasters. 
• Stay up to date on government issued travel advisories. 
• Contact your insurer immediately if advisories are issued during your trip. 

To find a plan that may be right for you, visit us online. 

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