Insurers have confirmed that health coverage will still apply as non-essential travel restrictions stay in effect
After declaring that group health coverage will still apply to commercial truck drivers going across the U.S-Canada border, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) has provided additional reassurance for those with their own travel health insurance policies.
“Canada’s life and health insurers are confirming that commercial truckers who hold travel health insurance policies on an individual basis will not lose coverage when entering the United States,” the CLHIA said in a statement last week.
The association cited new measures through which insurers can exempt commercial truckers from routine exclusion clauses that would normally be triggered by an “avoid non-essential travel” advisory by the Canadian government.
In a previous announcement, the CLHIA had confirmed that commercial truckers covered by workplace or group insurance policies would get continued out-of-country medical coverage despite a federal restriction on non-essential travel to the U.S.
“The situation has been less clear for truckers holding individual insurance as the insurers generally do not classify individual travel health policies by employment category,” the association said.
To address this, insurers said they will ask people making claims on their individual policies to identify themselves as cross-border commercial truckers. Similarly, those applying for new life insurance will be asked to specify their occupation as they purchase their policies.
“These changes will apply to all individual out-of-country travel insurance policies containing the specific exclusion for ‘Avoid non-essential travel’ federal travel advisories,” the CLHIA said, adding that those whose policies contain a pandemic exclusion should seek further clarification from their insurance provider.
