# IEC- health-care insurance, Toronto



## katqq (Mar 31, 2013)

Hi all,

I am in the process of researching for my move to Toronto with my friend. Does anyone have any recommendations for economical health-care insurance as required for IEC applications?

Thanks in advance,

Kat


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## RhychelleW (Jan 25, 2013)

hi Kat, 
i am in the same boat and have been finding a lot of conflicting information (i work in insurance in Australia and did not anticipate how complex this would all be). my one suggestion is don't skrimp on cover; policies that are cheap and labled as travel insurance will not be sufficient as they have a cut off date of 1 year full stop which means your visa may get stamped for just one year.

You also have to have cover that will mimic your domestic policies, encompassign emergency medical/ambulance/Accidental death/etc (eg your local private health). Bupa International offer cover that is compliant with entry for Aussies on the IEC WHV's, def contact them; they are more expensive but htats beacuse they are medical insurance not just travel. i have been dealing with a guy named Ray, their details:
Email: [email protected] 
Web: Health Insurance - Health Cover - Health Fund - Bupa

i would also suggest (if you can budget it in) getting extensions on the cover for general GP visits and the like. it's cold in winters as you no doubt know and you are guaranteed to get the flu etc. GP's are pretty expensive but if you think you wont go to the GP's often then the bare minimum may do but two years is a long time and i know i get the flu at least once a year during winter here in Perth and am pretty accident prone.


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## katqq (Mar 31, 2013)

Hi RhychelleW,

Thanks for your reply! I will be sure to check out Bupa.
Do you know if there is a similar website in Canada to Australia's iSelect website?
Would be good to get comparisons for the best rate and what I get out of the insurance.

Thanks

Kat


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## RhychelleW (Jan 25, 2013)

I couldnt say sorry, ive only been sussing direct at the international companies that cover aus and Canada but if you find one id love to know about it


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## katqq (Mar 31, 2013)

RhychelleW said:


> I couldnt say sorry, ive only been sussing direct at the international companies that cover aus and Canada but if you find one id love to know about it


I did find these two sites:
(I'm too much of a newbie so can't post html links so get rid of the space after .ca)
kanetix. ca/travel-visitors-to-canada
healthquotes .ca/VisitorsToCanada

Unfortunately, they only cover for max of 1 year and as you said it would be advisable to buy insurance for 2 years if that is the intended duration of stay otherwise they might only stamp your visa to last a year.


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## GRETZKY427 (Jan 5, 2013)

I to am looking at what Health Insurance is out there but i cant find an answer if i can get a cover that covers my wife and i as a couple or if we need to take out individual insurances ourselves.

Wolrd Nomads do $1,900 for 12mths for a couple, i rang a spoke to BUPA and i was amazed but reading between the lines he pretty much said dont go with us you can get better deals out there for this, they wanted $1,950 for 12mths each...thats $3,900ea for the 2yrs, omfg....

This is what the CIC Sydney wrote back to me:

Q: What type of insurance must I buy before leaving for Canada?
A: IEC requires you to buy and maintain health-care insurance (covering medical care, hospitalization and repatriation) for the entire duration of your stay in Canada. We recommend that you buy this insurance only after you have received your Letter of Introduction, confirming that your IEC application was successful.
You may be refused entry if you do not have insurance. If your insurance policy is valid for less than 24 months, you may be issued a work permit that expires at the same time as your insurance.
The work permit cannot be extended even if you obtain an insurance coverage extension later on. Instead, you will need to re-apply through the Consulate General of Canada in Sydney Australia if the re-application policy is still in place at the time of the new application, meet the criteria at the time of the new application, submit the required documentation and pay another fee. Please be advised that the IEC Section at the Consulate General of Canada in Sydney does not have the mandate of providing a list of insurers and cannot provide further advice on insurance matters.

So i read this as you can not get a continuation letter to extend from 12mths cover and roll over to another 12mths cover = 24mths in total. You must get either a 12mth cover or 24mths cover ? have i read this wrong...


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## GRETZKY427 (Jan 5, 2013)

GRETZKY427 said:


> I to am looking at what Health Insurance is out there but i cant find an answer if i can get a cover that covers my wife and i as a couple or if we need to take out individual insurances ourselves.
> 
> Wolrd Nomads do $1,900 for 12mths for a couple, i rang a spoke to BUPA and i was amazed but reading between the lines he pretty much said dont go with us you can get better deals out there for this, they wanted $1,950 for 12mths each...thats $3,900ea for the 2yrs, omfg....
> 
> ...


Elaborating on this, i am yet to find a company that will insure for the full 24mths...only insure at 12mth blocks...


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## RhychelleW (Jan 25, 2013)

no company anywhere will ofer helth/medical insurance for longer than a year. most policies are a year term. with domestic health cover, i know mine doesnt have an expiry as such, it just continually rolls over and i pay the premium monthly or annually. i think the issue is visa holders just get Travel insurance which has some medical cover (emergency only) which has a set end date as the end of your trip. some brokers i have spoken to suggest looking for "visitors to canada" cover which is an expat cover that mimics what you would get locally if you were a citizen/resident i think though those too only offer 1 year cover from what i have seen. i think i am going to bite the bullet and pay for 2 years up front, i need to pay it anyway why not all ahead of time and then i dont need to worry half way through my trip  if my visa is stamped for less then that time then the worst that can happen is you call the insurer and ask to reduce the cover duration and you get a refund (if they are an above board place that operates like local insurers would)


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## GRETZKY427 (Jan 5, 2013)

And how about insurance that covers us as acouple or do we need our own individual insurance?


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## GRETZKY427 (Jan 5, 2013)

I have read that i my wife and i could only get 12mths health cover prior to leaving for Canada and providing with get work for a duration longer then 3mths we are then eligible to apply for Canada version of Medicare - so we would have to then re-take out another 12mth health cover policy.

Can anyone please confirm this?


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## RhychelleW (Jan 25, 2013)

didnt think visitors on IEC visas could get provincial health care, regrdless of what the provinces sites say. Id try contact someone at the consulate or something about it to be safe


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## GRETZKY427 (Jan 5, 2013)

Its on the CANAUSSIE site, explains about it


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## katqq (Mar 31, 2013)

World nomads insurance seems to be the cheapest. Has anyone else found any other cheaper health insurance quotes?


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## GRETZKY427 (Jan 5, 2013)

Yes world nomads have been the cheapest ($1744 for a couples cover x 12mths)


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