Month-Long Series Will Follow One Snowbird's Search for Denial-Proof Travel Insurance
TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2013 /CNW/ - Robert Woodcock, also known as Builder Bob, wants a guarantee of coverage with his travel health insurance. His search for denial-free coverage--for himself and other Canadians--will be the focus of a month-long series of stories on the Travel Insurance File website.
Like thousands of other Canadians, the 72-year-old retiree aims to visit the southern United States each winter. But he is nervous about the cost of medical emergency care while there, and whether travel insurance for him and his wife Lynn will cover the potential expense. "I sit there poolside and I am constantly thinking: Do I really have coverage? I [won't] know until I make a claim."
So the part-time hockey goalie set out on a mission, and he agreed to let writer James Daw tag along. Now, in the Concerned Snowbird Series, Daw will explore the proposals, questions, and worries of the retired home renovator.
Does Robert have any reason to worry? Can he and Lynn overcome their latest health uncertainty before their next trip? Is his dream of denial-free coverage realistic? Do insurers need to change, or do travellers? Might provincial governments restore out-of-country medical coverage, if travellers would pay the cost? If not, what role could doctors and consumers play to lift the number of paid claims from the recent average of more than 94 per cent a year?
President of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada, John Thain, explains that a lot of uncertainty could be eliminated once provinces compile digital records of a person's health file, and make it simple for willing residents to share their information with travel insurers.
"Maybe that's a kind of utopia," he says. "But it would eliminate a lot of confusion." "Insurers don't enjoy denying claims."
Publication schedule:
2013/10/15 - Introduction: Meet Robert Woodcock. Hockey Lover. Avid Traveller. Concerned Snowbird.
2013/10/17 - Part 1: Travel Insurance Scares Bob More Than Flying Pucks
2013/10/22 - Part 2: Why the Provinces Won't Offer Bob's Dream Coverage
2013/10/24 - Part 3: Can Bob Count On His Travel Policy?
2013/10/29 - Part 4: Claim Denied! How Sonja and Others Fought Back
2013/10/31 - Part 5: Just How Many Travel Insurance Claims Are Denied?
2013/11/5 - Part 6: 'Builder Bob' has a PHD*… and a New Mission
Coming next year: A video summary of the Concerned Snowbird Series. Stay tuned!
About Travel Insurance File (TIF)
TIF is published by Ingle International, one of Canada's leading providers of travel, snowbird, international student, and special risk insurance products. An independent and unbiased resource, TIF helps Canadian snowbirds and out-of-country travellers make an informed travel insurance purchase before their trip.
SOURCE: Ingle International Inc.
Please contact Matt Davies at: 416-644-2082 ext. 324 / [email protected] or visit the website to learn more: www.travelinsurancefile.com.
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