travel medical insurance for b.c. residents
 

We are planning a trip this year thru the USA, Mexico, Central/South America. We will be on the road for 1 year. We are considering medjet coverage, but are wondering what other motorcyclists from B.C. and Western Canada are doing for medical insurance? The local insurance agents just don't cater to this type of travel. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Bren
Last year I used Travel Underwritters travel Insurance,3 months was 156.00 for 2 million in benefits, bought it on line. They are in Richmond B.C. tell them you are on a motorcycle.
For the bike in Mexico I used www.mexins.com and bought a 6 month policy 158.00 for my bike valued at 7000.00 included 100000 liability, collision and fire and theft.

I used BCAA for my 3 month trip from Victoria to Panama and back. They'll definitely cover you on a motorbike while many others don't. You can even buy it online

...Michelle
www.scrabblebiker.com

We also used BCAA for 6 months coverage and renewed it whilst on the road for another 6 month period. We also paid for our MSP for 12 months in advance as well.
Daryll

Three-phase coverage
 

I live in BC and when traveling, especially remote travel, I try to have coverage for three phases of care... 1) evacuation from the scene of the accident to the nearest hospital, 2) care at the local hospital, and 3) repatriation to BC. Normal insurance plans seem to cover one or two of the above.

If I have an accident on a well-traveled road, insurance for coverage to get to a hospital is either not normally necessary or is covered by your basic travel medical coverage anyway. For remote travel, I (maybe naively) trust the initial evacuation coverage that I purchased for use with my Spot device.

As for the hospitalization coverage while outside BC, I have coverage on my wife's employer-medical plan. I checked and they cover me worldwide except for areas officially listed by Canadian Foreign Affairs as "not recommended for travel"... actually not very many places in the world. This is the type of coverage you may need to buy, and suggestions by others above sound very good.

For repatriation to BC, I carry MedJet Assist coverage. No personal experience but have heard that they are a decent outfit and it is relatively cheap insurance given the cost of a medivac flight to Canada.

I've noticed that insurance policies seem to cover one or two phases of a medical incident, but not all. I would just make sure I ask lots of questions about what is covered, make sure to read the fine print and be sure to get yourself coverage for all three phases.

Then don't worry about it and enjoy yourself.