Once you’ve been living in your new home in Canada, and you’re all settled, you’ll most likely start thinking of long-term factors such as insurance for your home and car or perhaps even life insurance.
Once you’ve been living in your new home in Canada, and you’re all settled, you’ll most likely start thinking of long-term factors such as insurance for your home and car or perhaps even life insurance.
It’s important to prepare for any unforeseen tragedies such as an injury, damage to your car or home for example. Having insurance in place to take care of these unforeseen circumstances can bring great relief to you and your family. Allowing you to focus on recovery or rebuilding if need be.
Another benefit of having insurance is knowing that you’ll be able to leave money for your children or loved ones one day and by doing so, creating financial security. Let's explore in detail the different types of Canadian insurance.
1. Health Insurance
The Canadian government uses the tax income to provide somewhat free essential medical services. The official name is Medicare. Each province and territory is responsible for allocating its own healthcare services, which means the extent of medical cover will vary from province to province.
The answer is yes, the medical services offered as free are limited. This is why having private health insurance is important. Medicare will only cover medically necessary and hospital physician services.
When using the Medicare services, you’re not billed directly, as bills go to the government, and there are no excesses to pay.
Here’s what provincial health insurance plans typically don’t cover:
Please note that this list will change depending on the province or territory you’ll be living in. And some items on the list are covered by medicare for children, people over 65, and people on low incomes.
Getting private health insurance in Canada is purely dependent on your medical needs. Even if you’re fit and healthy and perhaps wear prescription glasses, you may want to consider getting private health insurance.
Private healthcare insurance plans cover services such as:
It would also be worthwhile having private healthcare insurance if you’re:
Healthcare premiums for a family in Canada are around $157 per month, for an individual male it’s an average of $47 per month and for an individual female, it’s $80 per month.
Having a property is probably one of the biggest financial investments you can make. Replacing or repairing a home in the event of theft or fire can be extremely costly. Having property insurance will give you a sense of peace knowing that if anything happens, you’re covered. You’ll also be required to have property insurance by financial institutions before receiving a mortgage.
Property insurance pays for damage to or loss of your house, condominium, or property. The insurance company may cover:
Below are a few of the best home insurance companies in Canada:
Canadian Home Insurance | |
---|---|
Home Insurance Provider | Features |
InsuranceHotline.com | Quick and easy comparison shopping for the best home insurance rates from more than 30 insurers online. |
SquareOne Insurance | Get quotes, buy policies and make claims online. |
The Co-operators | A trusted, Canadian-owned institution for over 70 years. |
Allstate Home Insurance | Option to personalize your home insurance. |
TD Home Insurance | Offers additional enhanced home coverage and optional add-ons. |
If you would like to own your own vehicle in Canada, it’s mandatory that you have car insurance. In all Canadian provinces and territories require drivers to have at least liability and accident benefits or bodily injury coverage. Some provinces may require extra coverage to own a car. Auto insurance can be provided by a public or private insurer.
Province and territories that have purely private auto insurance systems:
Province and territories that have hybrid auto insurance systems, in which residents must purchase the mandatory basic insurance through the provincial government:
Quebec residents have two insurance policies:
Pets become like family, they are like family. We buy the food we think is the best, make sure their sleeping area is as comfortable as possible and make sure they get all the love and attention. So why not make sure they are covered too? Pet insurance is the best thing for your pet and pockets when an emergency occurs which will lead to an unexpected veterinary bill.
You’ll pay a monthly fee, and if your pet becomes sick or injured the insurance company will cover a certain amount of the expense. Below are some examples of costs that are commonly covered by pet insurance:
There are pet insurance companies that offer extra services on their packages such as checkups, vaccinations or parasite prevention. There are generally five factors that vary the cost of pet insurance:
2.your pets breed
2.your pet's age
3.the deductible you choose
4.the extent of coverage
A deductible is what you agree to pay for your vet bills before your policy kicks in. So if your deductible is $200 then you’ll have to cover 100 percent of the expenses until you meet that amount and only then will the pet insurance begin to cover any additional amount after that.
1.Pets Plus Us Accidents Plan
2.Petplan
3.Trupanion
Travel insurance is very important, especially if you’re travelling with all of your belongings when moving to Canada. When you take out travel insurance you are covering yourself against travel risks such as lost or stolen luggage, cancellation cover if you can’t travel because of any unexpected medical or personal reason. You’ll also be protected from unexpected medical costs.
Travel insurance could cover the below list of items, depending on the insurer:
Any person who immigrates to Canada as a permanent resident and is covered by Medicare will be able to apply for Canadian travel insurance.
Those who are going to Canada with a work visa, study visa, or travel visa can apply for a flexible travel insurance while in the country.
There are over 100 different immigration programs available in Canada. They vary from being an international student to being a truck driver and more. One of the most popular programs is Express Entry, which will contribute 332,750 towards the goal of over 1.2 million immigrants being welcomed by 2023.
Express Entry also has one of the fastest processing times of as little as six months. Click on the link below to see if you’re eligible for Express Entry or any of the other Canadian immigration programs.