If you’re going to be travelling to Canada through International Experience Canada (IEC) then one of the requirements to be allowed to enter Canada is that you have IEC travel insurance (IEC health insurance).
But what exactly does the IEC travel insurance need to cover and how can you make sure to get the best deal?
We’ll cover everything you need to know in this article.
International Experience Canada
If you’re figuring out what to do about IEC travel insurance, I’m sure you’re already familiar with what the International Experience Canada program is.
But just to confirm the context around the insurance:
IEC is what Canada calls its working holiday visas program for people aged between 18 and 35.
There are three different types of visa covered by IEC and which ones you can apply for depends on your country of citizenship.
The most common visa is the working holiday visa which is an open work permit. The working holiday visa lets you come to Canada without a job offer and work for almost any employer in Canada.
There are various requirements for each type of visa but, regardless of which visa you get, the IEC insurance requirements are the same.
IEC travel insurance
If you get an IEC visa then one of the requirements you need to meet to be allowed to actually enter Canada on that visa is having IEC travel insurance, or IEC health insurance.
The IEC travel insurance that is required for entry into Canada on an IEC visa is insurance that covers you for medical matters, it’s not travel insurance that covers things like lost baggage.
So a more accurate term for the insurance you need is probably IEC health insurance.
IEC travel insurance requirements
There are a number of requirements that your IEC health insurance needs to cover, otherwise you might be denied entry to Canada.
In terms of the policy coverage, the IEC heath insurance must cover:
- Medical care
- Hospitalization
- Repatriation which includes getting you to a medical facility, and returning you or your remains to your home country
The insurance policy must be for the full duration of the time you plan to spend in Canada. So if you want to stay in Canada for the full two years (or three years for some countries), the policy will need to cover two (or three) years.
If the policy is shorter than two years, when you arrive in Canada the border agent will only give you a permit for the duration of the policy – so your work permit will expire on the day your health insurance does.
Keep in mind you won’t be able to extend your work permit at a later date. So if you want to have the option of staying in Canada for the full length that your visa allows, you need to already have insurance that covers that full time period when you land in Canada.
This is where it’s a good idea to buy insurance that allows you to do partial refunds. So if you leave Canada before you’ve used the whole duration of the policy you can get a refund for the unused duration.
Many of the Canadian insurers offered on the price comparison website we recommend offer partial refunds on time that’s not been used.
One last point on getting insurance to cover your full length of stay – if you can’t get one insurance policy that covers the full time, it’s acceptable to get two consecutive policies instead.
When do I need to purchase IEC travel insurance?
It’s important to note that having IEC travel insurance is not required to apply to IEC or to be approved for the visa. But it is required before you arrive in Canada.
So when you arrive in Canada the border agent will check your insurance and if everything isn’t in order you might be denied entry to Canada.
Best IEC travel insurance
As with most insurance, there isn’t one insurer I can recommend that is always going to be the best or the cheapest.
What’s best for you will depend on your circumstances and what you want from a policy.
That’s why I recommend the best way of finding your insurance is to use a price comparison website.
The site I use for travel insurance when my family is visiting Canada is BestQuote.
It compares across a whole host of insurers and provides you with various options.
The results page also nicely displays the key components of each policy so you can quickly see which options look good for you.
You can then go ahead and purchase the policy through the BestQuite website.
You can check them out here.
What to look for in IEC travel insurance
When you’re comparing quotes, some of the key things to look out for are:
Coverage amount. What is the maximum amount the policy will pay out if you need to claim on it? Keep in mind the headline maximum figure will be further broken down into maximum amounts for individual things.
Coverage. What elements does the policy actually cover? Obviously you’ll want to make sure it covers the minimum requirements for IEC travel insurance as outlined above. But also make sure it covers anything else you think you might need and the coverage amount per item is sufficient. A big one here (with this being Canada!) is to consider if you want winter sports coverage.
The deductible. This is how much you’ll need to pay out your own pocket before the insurer will cover the rest. This can range from zero up to thousands, so pick which is right for you. Basically the higher the deductible the lower the insurance premium.
IEC travel insurance cost
If you’re wanting some ballpark figures of what IEC health insurance might cost I’ve outlined a few ranges below.
I’ve given the costs for a 27 year old, but the insurance cost doesn’t really vary significantly for anyone in the visa age range.
Here’s what some typical IEC travel insurance policies will cost:
- $1,200. 2-year IEC travel insurance policy for a 27 year old, with $100,000 coverage and $0 deductible. No pre-existing medical conditions and no winter sports.
- $2,700. Same criteria as above but with a stable pre-existing medical condition.
- $1,025. 2-year IEC travel insurance policy for a 27 year old, with $100,000 coverage and $250 deductible. No pre-existing medical conditions and no winter sports.
- $1,450. 2-year IEC travel insurance policy for a 27 year old, with $100,000 coverage and $250 deductible. No pre-existing medical conditions and winter sports included.
You can use a price comparison website to quickly get an idea of the cost of IEC health insurance for your circumstances.
Working in Quebec
Some countries have agreements with the province of Quebec that makes you eligible for health coverage. In which case you wouldn’t need IEC travel insurance that covers the medical care component of the requirements.
But the agreement doesn’t cover the repatriation part of the IEC travel insurance requirements so you’ll still need to buy separate insurance for that part. You can find out more if your country has agreements with Quebec here.
* All of the products and services I recommend on Canada for Newbies are independently selected based upon what I’ve personally found to be useful. If you buy insurance through BestQuote using one of the links in this article, I might earn a small affiliate commission. Rest assured it won’t cost you anything and I would never recommend something I don’t believe in or use myself.
So that’s my overview of IEC health insurance. I hope you’ve found it useful.
Please feel free to drop me a comment on anything below.