BMO Travel Insurance Review 2024 (2024)

Bank of Montreal (BMO) is the eighth largest bank in North America with total assets of $1.29 trillion as of October 2023. Founded in Montreal in 1817 and now headquartered in Toronto, BMO provides personal and commercial banking, global markets and investment banking services to over 12 million customers. In Canada, BMO Financial Group operates through several divisions, including BMO Bank of Montreal, BMO Harris Private Banking, BMO Nesbitt Burns and BMO Capital Markets.

BMO Travel Insurance is underwritten by CUMIS General Insurance Company, a member of The Co-operators group of companies and administered by Allianz Global Assistance.

Here are the key types of travel insurance coverage offered in BMO plans:

• Emergency medical insurance: If you get ill or are injured on your trip, travel medical insurance can pay for emergency medical expenses, up to the coverage limits in your plan. These expenses can include doctor and hospital bills, medication and lab work, as well as medical evacuations, repatriation and arranging for a bedside companion if you are hospitalized.
• Trip cancellation insurance: If you cancel a trip for a reason listed in your travel policy, such as you or your travelling companion becoming ill, weather conditions cause a massive delay or you lose your job, trip cancellation insurance can reimburse you for prepaid, non-refundable costs.
• Travel interruption or delay insurance: Trip interruption insurance can pay for a last-minute flight home in an emergency and reimburse money that you lose by cutting a trip short due to a covered reason, including non-refundable activities and hotel stays. If your flight is delayed, your insurance can cover the cost of incidentals, such as meals or accommodations, after a specified period of time, such as six, 10 or 12 hours.
• Baggage insurance: Baggage travel insurance can compensate you up to your policy limits if your luggage is lost or stolen. It will reimburse the depreciated value of your suitcases and what you packed. If your bags are delayed, it can reimburse you for the cost of the necessities you’ll have to buy to tide you over. It also extends to your personal belongings, if they are lost, damaged or stolen.

BMO Travel Insurance offers three core plans for travelling outside of Canada.

Premium Travel Plan: This is the most comprehensive plan offered by BMO. It includes coverage for unforeseen medical emergencies, trip cancellation and interruption, and baggage and personal effects insurance, but does not include flight and travel accident coverage, or accidental death and dismemberment coverage.

Emergency medical treatment includes:

• Hospital accommodation up to a semi-private room and/or treatment expenses in an intensive care unit or coronary care unit
• Treatment by a physician
• X-rays and other diagnostic tests
• Use of an operating room, anaesthesia and surgical dressings
• The cost of a licensed ambulance service
• Emergency room charges
• Prescription drugs and medication, up to a 30-day supply
• Rental or purchase of minor medical appliances, such as a wheelchair or crutches
• Private duty nursing, up to $5,000
• Emergency air transportation or evacuation
• Paramedical services, such as care from a chiropractor, osteopath, physiotherapist, chiropodist or podiatrist, up to $150 per profession
• Emergency dental due to a blow to the face, up to $2,000
• Emergency dental due to pain, up to $150

Medical benefits also include coverage to bring someone to your bedside, expenses for meals, hotel accommodations and associated expenses if you are hospitalized and/or if a medical delay prevents you from returning home, repatriation expenses and return of your remains if you die.

Travel Medical Plan: If you’re only worried about medical emergencies while travelling, this benefit offers all of the medical coverage listed above.

Trip Protection Plan: This coverage option reimburses you for insured non-refundable travel expenses (such as hotels or prepaid excursions) if you have to cancel, interrupt, or delay your trip due to a covered reason. This benefit also includes baggage and personal effects coverage, but does not include flight and travel accident coverage, or accidental death and dismemberment coverage.

We’ve highlighted the key benefits of BMO travel insurance for the single trip plans to help you identify which coverage is the best fit for you.

The price of a BMO Insurance travel insurance plan depends on factors such as the cost of your trip, your age, your answers to a medical questionnaire (if required) and the amount of coverage you choose.

BMO offers individual coverage and family coverage. Dependent children are automatically covered under a family plan to parents who are under the age of 60. A dependent child must be:

• 20 years old or less, or
• 25 years old or less and a full-time student, or
• 21 years old or more and be permanently mentally or physically challenged and incapable of self-support

Here are some examples of the cost for BMO travel insurance single trip plans for healthy travellers based in Ontario, including taxes. In these sample quotes, each traveller is quoted separately as the family coverage is more expensive.

For example, using the sample quote (below) for the couple, age 27, travelling to Mexico, the cost per traveller is $106.69 for the Premium Travel Plan. If each traveller purchases separate insurance, the cost is $213.38 for both. The cost for two adults travelling under the Premium Travel family plan is $325.14.

CIBC Travel Insurance

Emergency medical: $10 million
Cancel For Any Reason: No
Baggage insurance (maximum): $2,000

Related: CIBC Travel Insurance Review

TD Bank Travel Insurance

Emergency medical: $5 million
Cancel For Any Reason: No
Baggage insurance (maximum): None

Related: TD Bank Travel Insurance Review

RBC Insurance

Emergency medical: Unlimited
Cancel For Any Reason: No
Baggage insurance (maximum): $1,000

Related: RBC Insurance Travel Insurance

Worldwide emergency travel assistance is available 24/7 by calling BMO’s claims and assistance partner Allianz Global Assistance. When you have a travel emergency, depending on your coverage, the following support may be available:

• Referral to the nearest appropriate medical facility
• Offering guarantee of coverage for medically necessary treatment or assistance in arranging and coordinating payment
• Coordinating claims with your provincial or territorial insurance plan
• Emergency messaging services to your family, business or physician
• Emergency cash transfer services
• Replacing lost or stolen airline tickets
• Referral to a local legal advisor
• Coordinating bail bond services and the payment of legal fees, to a maximum of $5,000

You must contact Allianz Global Assistance through the Operations Centre before receiving medical treatment or your benefits may be limited, delayed or denied. If you don’t contact the Operations Centre as soon as possible and you receive medical treatment, you may also be responsible for paying all bills out of pocket and then submitting a claim after you return home. In addition, if you don’t notify the Operations Centre early in the claims process, you may receive inappropriate or unnecessary treatment that may not be covered by your insurance.

Allianz Global Assistance also provides non-emergency trip services, such as:

• Passport and visa information
• Health hazards advisory
• Inoculation requirements
• Weather information
• Currency exchange information
• Consulate and embassy locations

In general, a pre-existing condition is defined as any sickness, injury or medical condition that existed before the start of your coverage, whether or not diagnosed by a physician, that you showed signs or symptoms of or received medical attention for.

With a BMO travel insurance policy, any pre-existing conditions must be stable for 90 or 180 days, depending on your age, before the start of your policy to be eligible for coverage.

According to BMO, a medical condition is considered stable when all of the following are true:

• There has been no new treatment.
• There has been no change in treatment or change in treatment frequency or type.
• There have been no signs, symptoms or new diagnosis.
• There have been no test results showing deterioration.
• There has been no hospitalization.
• There has been no referral to a specialist (made or recommended) and you are not awaiting surgery or the results of further investigations performed by any medical professional.

Depending on the medical condition, BMO may also stipulate a pre-existing condition exclusion regardless of whether the medical condition has been stable or not.

In addition to pre-existing condition exclusions, there are a number of scenarios not covered by travel insurance and it’s critical to know what not to do before you make a claim. The following are general exclusions to coverages provided by BMO travel insurance:

• Pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth or complications of any of these conditions within nine week of your expected due date
• Riot or civil disorder, acts of war, rebellion, revolution, act of terrorism or service in the armed forces
• Committing or attempting to commit a criminal offence
• Intentional self-injury, suicide or attempted suicide
• Abuse of any medication or non-compliance with prescribed medical treatment or therapy
• Mental, nervous or emotional disorders
• An injury or accident while you are under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol
• Any chronic illness or hospitalization related to or exacerbated by the habitual use of alcohol or illicit drugs
• Participation in professional sports, any speed contest, scuba diving without certification, hang-gliding, skydiving, parachuting, bungee jumping, parasailing, spelunking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, or a flight accident, except as a passenger in a commercially-licenced aircraft
• Nuclear reaction or radiation
• Radioactive, biological or chemical contamination
• Seepage, pollution or contamination
• Any trip taken against medical advice
• Failure of any travel supplier if, at the time of booking, the supplier is in bankruptcy, insolvency or receivership
• Failure or any travel agency, agent or broker
• Non-presentation of travel documents, such as visa, passport or inoculation/vaccination reports
• The death or serious illness of a person when the purpose of the trip is to provide care for that person
• Travel to any country, region or city with a Level 3 (Avoid non-essential travel) or Level 4 (Avoid all travel) travel advisory issued by the Canadian government if you have an emergency or medical condition related to the advisory
• Travel to any sanctioned country that would violate any economic or trade sanction laws
• Any cyber risks

There may be additional exclusions specifically for medical, trip cancellation/interruption/delay and baggage coverage.

To be eligible for BMO Travel Insurance you must be:

• A BMO Financial Group client
• A Canadian resident
• Insured for benefits under a Canadian government health insurance plan during the entire coverage period

You are not eligible for coverage if you:

• Require assistance with any of the following as a result of a medical condition or state of health: Eating, bathing, using the toilet, changing positions (including getting in or out of bed or a chair) or dressing

You can file a claim 24/7 by visiting the Allianz Global Assistance online claims portal or by calling the Operations Centre for a hard copy of the claims form.

If you are making an emergency medical claim, documentation may include (but is not limited to):

• Any explanation of diagnosis(es) along with original itemized bills and receipts
• Your valid provincial or territorial health card number
• Authorization to secure medical records
• Proof of departure dates and your scheduled and actual return dates

For a trip cancellation/trip interruption/trip delay claim, you may be asked to provide:

• Any appropriate documentation that officially explains the cause of your trip cancellation, delay or interruption
• The report of your physical examination and any explanation of diagnosis, along with original itemized bills, receipts and proof of other insurance payments
• Certified death certificate
• Original unused tickets, copies of invoices, proof of payments, other documents that substantiate the cost or occurrence of the trip cancellation, delay or interruption
• Documentation of refunds received from the travel supplier(s) or common carrier(s)
• Copy of the supplier’s literature that describes the penalties
• A letter from the tour operator or an itemized bill from the travel agent stating the non-refundable amount of the trip cost

If you are making a baggage insurance and personal effects claim, you may need to provide:

• Original claim documentation from the common carrier
• Original police report or other report by local authorities
• Original receipts and list of stolen, lost or damaged items
• Statement of loss providing amount of loss, date, time and cause of loss

If you are making a flight delay insurance claim, you may need to provide:

• Original police, common carrier or other report that verifies that cause and duration of the delay
• Original itemized receipts