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Period of stability

For a pre-existing medical condition to be covered while travelling, it must have been stable for a certain number of months preceding the effective date of the coverage. We consider a medical condition to be stable if it meets the stability conditions established in the insurance policy.  

Any condition deemed unstable will be excluded.  

Coverage Stability Period

Emergency Medical Care 

Multi-Tip
Annual
Single-Trip
Top-up Insurance
Visitors to Canada 

To be covered while travelling, the pre-existing medical condition must have been stable during the 3 or 6 months preceding the effective date of the coverage, i.e., the date of departure. 

  • 54 years and under: 3 months before departure
  • 55 years and over: 6 months before departure 

Trip Cancellation and Interruption 

Multi-Trip
Annual
Single-Trip
 

To be covered, the pre-existing medical condition must have been stable during the 3 months preceding the effective date of the coverage.  

  • 0 to 99 years: 3 months before the effective date of the coverage 

In the Multi-Trip Annual plan, the stability period for Trip Cancellation and Interruption coverage is calculated from the latest of the following dates:

  • From the date of purchase of the contract
  • From the date of the first payment for each trip

 

The stability requirements do not apply to the medical conditions evaluated in the last six questions of the health declaration.  

Option: Reduced Stability Period

Eligible clients can reduce the 6-month stability period required under Emergency Medical Care coverage to a 3-month period. To be eligible, the client must meet the following criteria:

Age

  • Be 55 to 59 and travelling 18 days or more, or
  • Be 60 to 84, all trip durations


Purchase

  • They must purchase Emergency Medical Care coverage under a Single-Trip plan
  • They must purchase the option before their departure date
     

Stability criteria

For a medical condition to be considered stable, it must meet all of the following criteria: 

  1. No new medical diagnosis has been made 
  2. No new symptoms appeared and there was no worsening or increase in the frequency of existing symptoms 
  3. No hospitalization has taken place 
  4. No new medication was prescribed or recommended 
  5. No change of dosage was made to a medication already prescribed or recommended (dose increased or decreased, or consumption stopped) 
  6. No new treatment or medical test is pending or has been prescribed, ongoing or recommended 
  7. No ongoing treatment has been changed or discontinued 
  8. No prescribed or recommended treatment, nor medical advice has been ignored 

Exceptions

Change of dosage

We do not consider the following elements as a change of dosage of existing medication: 

  • Routine insulin or Coumadin® adjustment 
  • Replacement of a medication by an equivalent generic brand if its dosage remains unchanged 
  • Decrease in dosage of cholesterol medication 
  • Adjustment to hormone replacement therapy treatment 
  • Change in consumption of non-prescribed medication such as: Aspirin®, vitamins, minerals, etc. 
  • Use of cream or ointment prescribed for skin irritation 

Minor ailment

A non-chronic medical condition, which ends at least 30 consecutive days before the effective date of coverage, and which does not require any of the following is not excluded from coverage: 

  • Consumption of medication for a period of more than 15 days (consecutive or not), or 
  • More than one follow-up visit to the physician, or 
  • Hospitalization, or 
  • Surgery, or 
  • Consultation with a medical specialist