BMO Travel Insurance review

Plans BMO offers and who can buy

BMO lists single-trip medical, a single-trip all-inclusive plan, multi-trip annual medical, a multi-trip annual all-inclusive plan, Trip Protection (trip cancellation and interruption) and top-up coverage. It calls the all-inclusive versions Single Trip Premium and Multi-Trip Premium.

You must be a BMO Financial Group customer to buy. Coverage is underwritten by CUMIS General Insurance Company, part of The Co-operators group, and administered by Allianz Global Assistance. Family plans automatically include dependent children, but family coverage is only available to parents 59 or under.

Emergency medical and trip length

BMO lists out-of-province or out-of-country medical coverage of up to $5 million per insured person. Trip length depends on the plan:

• Single-trip plans: up to 183 days, or 212 days if you live in BC, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia or Ontario
• Multi-Trip Medical: 4, 10 or 23 days per trip, with unlimited trips in each 12-month coverage period
• Multi-Trip all-inclusive: 10 or 23 days per trip, per the plans page; that certificate wasn’t reviewed
• Top-up: available when a trip runs past your annual plan’s per-trip limit

Pre-existing conditions and stability periods

BMO doesn’t use a single stability rule. Your Declaration of Coverage Letter sets out which of three exclusions applies to you. Under the first two, a condition controlled by consistent use of medication with no change in the period isn’t excluded. The options are:

• Exclusion 1: a condition must be stable for at least 90 days before coverage began
• Exclusion 2: a condition must be stable for at least 180 days before coverage began
• Exclusion 3: any condition present in the 180 days before coverage began is excluded, stable or not

Age limits and the medical questionnaire

The plans page says coverage is for BMO customers who are Canadian residents under age 75 and covered by a government health insurance plan. If you’re 60 or older, you must complete a medical questionnaire and qualify. Trip Protection lists no age limit. The certificates we reviewed don’t repeat the age 75 limit, so confirm it applies to your plan. Answer every health question accurately, since your answers decide whether you qualify.

Buying, COVID-19 and claims notes

You can buy online. The single-trip all-inclusive plan bundles trip cancellation up to the sum insured (overall maximum of $20,000 per certificate), trip interruption and delay of $3,000 per person, flight delay of $500 per trip and baggage of $1,000 per person or $3,000 combined. Multi-trip plans can renew each year, with an automatic renewal option. BMO lists 24/7 trip assistance at 1-800-661-9060 and a 10-day review period after purchase. No deductible options were stated.

BMO says emergency medical covers an unexpected sickness, including being diagnosed with an epidemic or pandemic disease such as COVID-19. It excludes emergencies related to an avoid all travel or avoid non-essential travel advisory issued before your effective date.