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Insurance for Spouse before travel

I

International_Student

Star Member
Sep 30, 2020
82
37
Hi there,

I need some suggestions on insurance options for my spouse. I have a student visa, and I'm covered with my university plan. The plan does have the ability to add dependent, however my husband has an OWP and would be covered through his new workplace from January. We are looking for an insurance which covers the month of December for him which covers Covid-19 in case of any emergencies. Please suggest some options! Thank you so much!
 
B

bongoman

VIP Member
Dec 3, 2014
4,176
811
I don't believe such insurance exists as far as I have looked in Ontario at least, so I suggest you get them covered under your school plan.
Also I believe but am not sure most employers don't actually provide health insurance, they provide additional benefits on top of the province provided free health insurance, so in Ontario you would be under the government OHIP plan then your employer might offer some additional benefits such as dental and vision which are not covered by OHIP so you need OHIP to get the additional benefits, so check with the employer how that will work.
OHIP also might have several months delay to kick in.
 
I

International_Student

Star Member
Sep 30, 2020
82
37
bongoman said:
I don't believe such insurance exists as far as I have looked in Ontario at least, so I suggest you get them covered under your school plan.
Also I believe but am not sure most employers don't actually provide health insurance, they provide additional benefits on top of the province provided free health insurance, so in Ontario you would be under the government OHIP plan then your employer might offer some additional benefits such as dental and vision which are not covered by OHIP so you need OHIP to get the additional benefits, so check with the employer how that will work.
OHIP also might have several months delay to kick in.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your detailed response! Yes, the insurance would be the provincial one and additional benefits are from the employer. However, the province my university is in and the one my spouse will work are different. Since his provincial coverage will start only when he lands in Manitoba, we were wondering if there's any visitor insurance or something we can take for that period. My university plan is for the entire year, and might not be necessary. Please let me know what do you think would be best in such situation. Thank you!
 
B

bongoman

VIP Member
Dec 3, 2014
4,176
811
International_Student said:
Thanks for your detailed response! Yes, the insurance would be the provincial one and additional benefits are from the employer. However, the province my university is in and the one my spouse will work are different. Since his provincial coverage will start only when he lands in Manitoba, we were wondering if there's any visitor insurance or something we can take for that period. My university plan is for the entire year, and might not be necessary. Please let me know what do you think would be best in such situation. Thank you!
Click to expand...
The only options I have seen are essentially travel insurance, these are more for emergency type coverage and may not cover things like normal doc visits and you would have to pay anyway and submit a claim and hope they cover it, they might also turn out more expensive than the schools whole year coverage. You also have to read the fine print carefully before you sign (e.g Only figured out Blue Cross doesnt cover you if you apply after more than 30 days in Canada by reading the fine print), you can see some options here https://www.visitorsinsurance.ca .

Also provincial health insurance might have a waiting period, e.g Ontario had a 3 months waiting period but I think they removed it due to Covid.
 
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I

International_Student

Star Member
Sep 30, 2020
82
37
bongoman said:
The only options I have seen are essentially travel insurance, these are more for emergency type coverage and may not cover things like normal doc visits and you would have to pay anyway and submit a claim and hope they cover it, they might also turn out more expensive than the schools whole year coverage. You also have to read the fine print carefully before you sign (e.g Only figured out Blue Cross doesnt cover you if you apply after more than 30 days in Canada by reading the fine print), you can see some options here https://www.visitorsinsurance.ca .

Also provincial health insurance might have a waiting period, e.g Ontario had a 3 months waiting period but I think they removed it due to Covid.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your detailed response. It's very helpful, we'll go over the available insurance and see if the University one is better than the others. The university is providing a guard.me plan and the other one we were considering was the Manulife one for 3 months.
 
C

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,772
International_Student said:
Thank you so much for your detailed response. It's very helpful, we'll go over the available insurance and see if the University one is better than the others. The university is providing a guard.me plan and the other one we were considering was the Manulife one for 3 months.
Click to expand...
If your husband is living in another province your university insurance may not cover him. You should also take out extra insurance. Insurance only starts when school starts.
 
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Y

yenice

Hero Member
Sep 14, 2020
493
165
Category........
PNP
NOC Code......
7237
App. Filed.......
30-10-2022
Nomination.....
17-10-2022
AOR Received.
30-10-2022
canuck78 said:
Yes. Sorry hadn't realized you had started studying. I would doublecheck that insurance costs for the semester weren't refunded to those studying online.
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Hi! which insurance did you take for your OWP?
 
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