Every month or so, the main stream media picks up on a story about a Canadian traveling without proper coverage. Many of these unfortunate situations arise from a misunderstanding on the part of the client. Clients find out too late that their pre-existing condition is not covered by the policy they purchased.

This is devastating since the client took the time and had the foresight to purchase coverage for their trip. This prudent move can be compromised quickly if pre existing conditions apply.

Further misunderstandings occur due to the fact that different insurance companies have vastly different policies concerning pre-existing conditions.

One insurance company may have a five year stability clause for a change in heart medication while the next one has a two year clause. GMS may insure you for pre existing conditions if you take five or less medication while Manulife or Blue Cross will exclude coverage for a condition if you take more then three medications.

Medications being used are only one of the factors that should be carefully examined to ensure the eligibility of a claim while traveling.

HealthQuotes.ca allows for a direct purchase of travel insurance via the website, however, we recommend that if you are over the age of 55 or if you are taking medications or have had previous health concerns that you speak with one of our agents before you buy.

We have a dedicated team of fully trained licensed insurance agents to assist you free of charge. Even if you have been purchasing travel insurance from the same supplier for many years it is worth while to seek a second opinion.

We are an independent broker and are not owned in whole or in part by any insurance company. We sell thousand of policies every year and for many different suppliers. We charge no fees for service, we add no administration cost and there is no charge for refunds of cancellations.

You can trust that your needs come first at HealthQuotes.ca. You do not buy travel insurance to make the insurance companies profitable, you buy it for protection. So before you travel again call us for your free quote.

I guarantee we will find you the right policy at the best possible rate.

Thank you for reading this blog and as always please send us your comment and suggestions.

Ian Baker
The Insurance Blogger

If you are thinking about buying health insurance and have pre-existing conditions it is important that you speak with a HealthQuotes.ca advisor. In many cases families will have members that use medication regularly while other family members have no pre-existing conditions.

If you deal with an insurance company call center they generally guide you to a guaranteed issue product. They then put the whole family on one plan.

Guaranteed issue plans are great for people who have pre-existing condition, but better value exists in a medically underwritten plan if you qualify or are willing to accept some exclusions.

Our agents will help you find the right plan and will take the time to find out which insurance company is best for each member of your family.

In some cases, it is worth while for a person to accept exclusions for a pre-existing condition, rather then going with the guaranteed issue option. Applying for a guaranteed issue plan without exclusion can also be a good choice. We can help you make that determination over the phone or by email.

Some generalizations do exist. If the medications you are taking now are affordable then it is a good idea to accept the exclusion for the minor condition. Other more expensive conditions can develop over time and you will want to be protected.

If you have a condition that is covered by a guaranteed issue plan then most plans are great value. Under certain conditions your guaranteed issue plan can pay for itself right away.

The true purpose of insurance is to transfer the risk of medical expenses to an insurance company. You pay your premiums now and do what you can to stay healthy. If your health changes the cost of your insurance will be returned to you many times over.

Hundreds of Canadian visit us everyday looking for health insurance. Regardless of their situation we are delighted to assist. We promise to listen carefully to your situation and we can guarantee we will offer our non bias recommendation for your consideration.

Thank you to the thousands of HealthQuotes.ca customers for putting their faith in us.

Please use our quoting engines (we offer instant, online no medical insurance quotes and standard health insurance quotes) or call our toll free number 1-800-474-4474 today.

Thanks for reading and we welcome your comments and suggestions.

Ian Baker
The Insurance Blogger

No longer only a large company benefit!

It is widely known and well proven that employees who feel like their employer cares about their future and retirement are happier and more productive members of the workforce. Probably the most direct and profound measure of this is the retirement plan. Pensions and Group RRSP’s have and continue to be the cornerstone of industry for attracting and retaining a quality workforce. Still only 38% of working Canadians are members of a group retirement savings plan because small business think it is too complicated or expensive to be involved in a Pension or Group Savings plan.

Recent developments in technology and recognition of an underserved market is making a great new employee benefit available to Canadian Small Business. Traditionally small company benefit plans were limited to the standard health and dental benefits with small amounts of life insurance and sometimes including long term disability income protection.  Often overlooked and rarely even considered available for small companies is the Group Registered Retirement Savings plan.

Until recently there were prohibitively high cash flow minimums, complicated reporting and administration requirements that needed dedicated staff just to manage reporting, as well as new issues for compliance and education. These factors all were deterrents to most small business owners even considering a GRRSP.

This has all changed.

Now the big plan technology has been driven down to a platform that allows for groups of as few as two people and cash flow minimums are greatly reduced and because the plans are administered electronically the expense ratios are low and MER’s and IMF’s are highly competitive with retail fund options.

There are many advantages for this type of small group RRSP plan. By design it is quick and easy to set up with online application and administration of the plan and there are no fees to the plan sponsors. Plan members get immediate tax savings by participating in an employer sponsored plan their contributions are deducted from gross pay before income tax is calculated and they get great rewards for having accumulated or transferring in money from their personal RRSP. Once an account has more than $25,000 in it the management fees are reduced and interest rates on guaranteed investments go up.

Members can participate or manage their investments to whatever style suits them. They can manage their own portfolios if they want to actively participate in their investments or there are options where members choose the date they wish to retire and the record keepers do all the management for them.

If your have two or more employees and expect to contribute as little as $10,000 per year to RRSP’s then a Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan can work for you.

Ian Baker. The Insurance Blogger

Here at HealthQuotes.ca we love all our American friends. Not only because we do a lot of business south of the border, it’s also fun and easy to deal with USA companies. USA companies have a great sense of how to "get down to business" and if they are treated fairly and we help educate them on how benefits and GHIP work here is Canada, they become very loyal.

As a number one "organic" search result on sites like Google for terms like "health insurance for Canadian employees" we get a lot of inquires from all over America. Both US brokers and US companies contact us everyday for health insurance solutions for their Canadian employees.

HealthQuotes has developed several key strategies for dealing with benefits for the Canadian arms of both large America companies and Multinational firms.

One of the most important factors for Multinational employers is creating parity, or equalization, between programs offered to employees in America and employees in Canada. If a US company adds a Canadian employee to their US coverage, an expensive duplication of services occurs. This costly mistake can cause difficulty for non USA employees when it comes to making a claim, and is also a waste of resources.

For example, employee benefits plans in most States include coverage for physician fees or doctor bills. The cost of this coverage makes up a large part of overall benefit costs. All Canadians receive coverage for physician fees as part of their Provincial health insurance coverage. This is true for Alberta Care, BC Medical, OHIP, RAMQ and other smaller provinces as well.

Although, in most cases, the number of US employees is much larger then the amount of Canadian employees, this "economy of scales" is lost due the duplication of services included in US plan and the socialized coverage for health care Canadians get.

In some instances Canadian employees can be covered by the US plan for Long Term Disability and life insurance, but with health insurance benefits is make great sense to set up a separate plan for the Canadian employees from a Canadian insurance company.

Additional consideration, for your Canadian work force, includes taxation of benefits, payroll deductions, cross border payments, and many other factors. Call us today and we will be delighted to get your company started with a superior benefit plan.  Our ultimate goal is to create an affordable and easy to understand system for insurance. We can include features like work place wellness, pensions and retirement planning, life insurance, Critical illness and long term care.

If you are an American company or Brokerage, looking for great solutions for health coverage for your Canadian work force, call us today. References are available on request and we know you will be pleased with our service.

Thanks for reading this week’s blog and I look forward to any comments or suggestions.

Ian Baker,
The Insurance Blogger

My name is Ian Baker. I am the president of HealthQuotes.ca. HealthQuotes.ca is Canada’s premier insurance quoting web site. Our site was launched in 1997 and has been a great success story.

HealthQuotes has grown form a small family run business to the nation’s top provider of health and dental plans, travel insurance, employee benefits and life insurance.

Our model has always been to “super serve our core customers.”

With a lot of hard work and the help of a great team we are anticipating even more growth. We understand that time has become an important commodity for Canadians and we strive to save our clients both time and money.

The future of insurance distribution will include more and more “on-line” fulfillment. The ability to purchase and complete insurance processes over the web is what Canadians are looking for. I know this can be done.

Clear and concise information is available to Canadians via our web sites or from our network of over 400 agents across Canada. We will be here on the web, over the phone or in person in order that Canadians can make informed and easy decision on the insurance products that fit their world.

HealthQuotes.ca is being improved on a daily basis. More and more products can be purchased over the phone or via the web site. Check us out on a regularly to see what is new.

My role has changed quite a bit over the years and I am now spending time everyday to write an interesting and topical insurance blog. Please read as much as you like and leave comments or suggest topics you would like explained and explored.

I love what I am doing and I am very grateful to our 10,000 plus policy holders.
Thank you very much to all of our customers and visitors.

I guarantee that your insurance needs will be quickly and professional handled by myself and the HealthQuotes.ca team.

Stay tuned to the insurance blog and thanks again.

Ian Baker
Insurance blogger