TORONTO — You can do anything with your iPhone these, days, including purchasing travel insurance.

Travel Guard Group Canada, Inc., an AIG company, has launched a new travel insurance app that allows Canadian customers (except Quebec residents) to buy coverage in blocks of time through their iPhone.

With the app, customers can now optimize travel insurance through hourly coverage. GPS technology allows users to utilize coverage from the moment they leave their home province until they return, and tracks the number of total hours used. It’s a convenient way to purchase select Travel Guard products and services that are offered as specific blocks of insurance coverage up to 90 days, for use within 365 days from the date of purchase.

According to Marc Lipman, AIG Canada’s Chief Operating Officer, the Travel Guard On Demand app represents a departure from the traditional travel insurance options, which include trip or annual plans, and instead offers 16- to 55-year-olds a more flexible way to buy insurance.

“We’re always looking for new ways to keep pace with our travellers and by offering this innovative, fast and easy way to purchase travel insurance, our travellers can get more convenient coverage for when and how they want to use it,” he said.

The app enable consumers to gain protection in only 90 seconds after filling out the four fields required. Consumers can activate the purchased insurance by swiping the app button “on” at the start of their trip, and “off” at the end of it. Alternatively, they can use the app to pre-set the desired departure and return dates for an upcoming trip.

How it works is simple. When the app’s geolocation feature senses that the customer has arrived at an airport or a border crossing into the U.S., a notification is sent to their iPhone to ask whether they want to activate the purchased insurance. Then, for each hour the coverage is activated, the app automatically subtracts that time from the block of coverage purchased.

This new method of buying and utilizing travel insurance allows travellers to customize their protection period for each trip – down to the hour.

The app can be downloaded from apple’s App Store (search for Travel Guard On Demand) or from the Travel Guard Canada website at travelguard.ca/travel-insurance/travel-guard-on-demand.

For more information go to aig.ca or travelguard.ca.