TORONTO — Snowbird Advisor Insurance is looking to get the word out to travel advisors about personalized travel insurance coverage options that cover snowbirds for medical emergencies while they’re away over the winter.

The company is a travel insurance broker specializing in providing Canadian snowbirds, boomers and seniors with travel insurance solutions designed to meet their needs.

Stephen Fine, President of Snowbird Advisor Insurance, says personalized travel insurance is one of the best-kept secrets in the travel insurance industry, in part because it’s only offered by a select group of providers.

“Unlike ‘standard’ or ‘traditional’ travel insurance policies that most travellers are used to, personalized policies don’t lump you in with other travellers who have an array of medical conditions when determining your premiums and coverage,” says Fine. “Instead, personalized policies base your premiums and coverage on your unique medical history.”

Fine points to people with heart conditions, noting that most insurance companies put anyone with a declared heart condition into the same category. “But there’s a big difference between someone with stable atrial fibrillation (AFib), for example, and someone who has a more serious heart condition.”

With a personalized plan, these conditions might be treated differently by the insurance company when assessing risk, which can reduce the price significantly, says Fine.

Another unique benefit of some personalized plans is that they cover pre-existing medical conditions with no stability requirement, he says. In addition, personalized plans often provide coverage for individuals who may not be eligible for coverage under a standard plan due to their medical conditions.

Fine also notes that most standard/traditional travel insurance policies include a ‘stability clause’ that requires pre-existing medical conditions to be ‘stable’ for a defined period for those conditions to be covered under a policy – usually 90, 180 or even 365 days depending on the medical condition, age and other factors.

Some personalized plans, on the other hand, cover all declared pre-existing medical conditions with no stability clause requirement, which removes the risk and uncertainty of having to qualify for a stability period.

Fine says people might be surprised to learn that the #2 reason travel medical insurance claims are denied is for failing to meet the ‘stability clause’ requirements included in standard travel insurance policies.

“The fact that some personalized travel insurance plans don’t require pre-existing medical conditions to comply with a stability clause is a big advantage – and reduces the risk that an individual won’t be covered and suffer a financial loss as a result of a medical emergency occurring while travelling.”

He adds: “Overall, personalized policies often provide better coverage, pricing and features over standard/traditional policies.”

Some of the advantages of personalized coverage include:

• No stability requirement for declared pre-existing medical conditions
•  Potentially lower premiums, depending on the traveller’s medical history
• Ability to get coverage where other insurance companies won’t provide coverage.

“One of our goals at Snowbird Advisor Insurance is to educate snowbirds about the availability and potential benefits of different types of travel insurance – including personalized travel insurance coverage, as many people don’t even know this option exists,” Fine says.

“Having said that, we do offer our clients both personalized and standard / traditional travel insurance coverage, as travellers should be able to compare their options.”

He suggests personalized coverage for a variety of different travellers, including:

• Travellers with pre-existing medical conditions, or who have experienced a recent change to their health, both of whom can benefit from the no stability clause feature.
• Healthier travellers with minor or no medical conditions may benefit from potentially lower premiums than standard plans.
• Travellers with significant medical conditions who may not be eligible for coverage under a standard plan may be eligible for coverage under a personalized plan.

More information is at SnowbirdAdvisorInsurance.ca.