IEC Health Insurance Options
Do I need health insurance for the Working Holiday?
For the International Experience Canada (which includes the Working Holiday) you must have health insurance for the entire duration of your stay in Canada. Your health insurance must cover:
- medical care;
- hospitalization; and
- Repatriation (transportation expenses to your home country in case of serious illness, injury or death).
Also, provincial health care coverage is not acceptable. Because repatriation is not covered by the provincial health insurance.
Your IEC health insurance must be valid for the entire intended stay in Canada.
If your insurance policy is valid for less than your expected stay, you will get a work permit that expires at the same time as your insurance. You will not be able to extend your work permit if you receive a shorter work permit due to a shorter health insurance.
For example, if you show up at the border with a 3-month health insurance then you will receive a work permit for 3 months. That’s it, after 3 months you can return back home.
What is the reason behind this strict requirement?
Firstly, and most importantly, with this requirement, the Canadian government wants to make sure you are not a burden on Canada’s health care system and that you have a chance to get back to your home country in case of injury, illness or death.
The Canadian government will not pay for your medical expenses.
To put it very bluntly, if you die and if there is no adequate coverage for repatriation, and your family is not able to afford your journey home, you will be buried somewhere in Canada where it suits the city best. This is unfortunately something, young work and travellers don’t consider when choosing the health insurance for their Canadian adventure.
Secondly, many travellers who come to Canada are not eligible for provincial health care or not eligible right away. Specifically the ones who come with an open work permit under the Working Holiday category who explore Canada and travel and work in many other provinces. Therefore, making them ineligible for provincial health care.
Depending on the province, there are strict requirements for provincial health care. Quebec for example does not insure travellers on a Working Holiday work permit. In Ontario and BC you must have a full-time job for at least 6 months.
As you can see, you might not be eligible for provincial coverage or not right away.
What IEC health insurance options are there?
Below are the IEC health insurance options you can compare to choose the adequate coverage to your liking.
Also, please make sure you read the fine print before signing up for one of the insurance options. They have different coverages and requirements, such as residency (if you live in the home country or not).
Thousands of work and travellers who come to Canada on a Working Holiday every year, recommend the following policies for the IEC Working Holiday health insurance.
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True Traveller
- For citizens from Europe and UK
- Available up to 24 months
- Can be extended by 12 months with discount
- Already Travelling policy available
- Public Liability included in premium
- Additional coverage for winter sports possible
Best Quote
- For all IEC countries
- Available up to 24 months
- Already Travelling policy available
- Website that helps find the best coverage
World Nomads
- For over 100 countries
- Available up to 12 months
- Already Travelling policy available
Common IEC health insurance questions
What $$ coverage do I need for the IEC health insurance?
You can save money on a flight, a car or clothes, but never cheap out on health insurance. It is the most important thing to have in Canada. ‘Cheap’ does not necessarily mean good.
With all the comparisons you make on different websites, you simply think choosing the cheapest deal is enough. But that’s where many insurances differ. Especially in the cover amounts you should not cheap out. Medical expenses in the U.S. and Canada can be very expensive. For example, a day in the hospital ICU can cost up to $20,000 after an accident or a medical emergency. If you have a $100,000 coverage for medical expenses (which exists), who will pay for you after 5 days?
Therefore, it is recommended to take a health insurance policy with at least $1 Million coverage in medical expenses.
For example, for UK and European citizens, True Traveller offers a very high coverage in Medical Expenses with £10,000,000
Keep in mind, you must provide the policy of the health insurance at the time of activation of the work permit, i.e. when entering Canada. In other words, it means that you must have the health insurance for the Working Holiday before travelling to Canada.
My country allows a 2-year work permit, can I buy 2x 1 year IEC health insurance policies?
You should make sure to buy an insurance policy for the entire 2 years and fully paid upfront. If you cannot find an insurer that offers 2 years insurance policies, you can buy 2x 1-year policies. There cannot be a gap between the two policies.
The second policy must be an already "travelling" policy and could be more expensive in the premiums.
Not many insurers offer already travelling policies, this is why it is important to have one 2-year policy.
I don't plan on staying the maximum time, can I take a shorter insurance policy?
If you are absolutely certain you will stay in Canada for a shorter period of time, you can also take out health insurance only for the planned stay, e.g. only 9 months. An example is when travellers only come to Canada for the winter and summer season then return home for good.
However, if you are not sure if you want to stay the allowed time, it is not recommendable to take a shorter insurance and receive a shortened work permit. I guarantee you will fall in love with Canada and will want to stay longer, but because of the shortened work permit this would not be possible.
I will only travel to Canada to activate the work permit, then return home to come back later
While this process is allowed and many travellers do this, it is very important to point out two things:
- At the time of activation of the work permit you need to have the full-length health insurance policy in order to receive the maximum work permit validity. For example from the UK, in order to receive a 2-year work permit you need a 2-year health insurance.
- Most insurance policies do not allow you to return to your home country without invalidating the policy. Please read the fine print of the health insurance policy.
I have health insurance coverage from my credit card, can I use that?
Unfortunately not. Credit card companies cover you for travels up to a certain amount of time, for example 45, 60 or 90 days.
You will receive a work permit for only 45 days, 60 days or 90 days with no option to extend.
I am already in Canada and have provincial health care, can I use this for my second IEC participation?
As mentioned above, provincial health care is not sufficient to activate a work permit in the International Experience Canada program (which includes the Working Holiday).
In addition, because you are not in your home country anymore, you need an ‘already travelling’ policy.
When I arrive in Canada I am eligible for provincial health care, can I cancel my IEC health insurance?
Definitely no. This mandatory requirement to have health insurance is very strict for all three categories in the International Experience Canada (IEC) program.
If you cancel the health insurance you are breaching the IEC requirement which can invalidate your work permit. At the end of the Working Holiday application and before submitting it, you signed a disclosure to purchase adequate health insurance. There is no excuse later with “I didn’t know”.
Also, some health insurance companies report directly to IRCC if an insurance has been cancelled.
Can I still have IEC health insurance and provincial health insurance at the same time?
Definitely yes. Provincial health care is a great addition to your existing IEC health insurance from your home country. It is not a substitution. Provincial health care covers routine check ups that are excluded in travel health insurance, such as your yearly physical bloodwork. However they don’t cover everything.
What is more important, provincial health care does not cover repatriation and your family will have to pay the expenses in case you must be transported home in case of injury, illness or death. I am sure you would not want to do that to your family, just because you want to save a few hundred dollars per year on a good health insurance.
By the way, it is another big misconception that everything is covered by provincial health care. That is not the case.
Not even an ambulance is included free of charge. I had to pay $385 for it out of pocket in Alberta because it is not covered by Alberta Health.
In the event of an accident or medical emergency, you can take advantage of the private IEC health insurance that you have with the Working Holiday and that covers an ambulance.
Moreover, “dental” is also another major thing not covered at all in any provincial healthcare plan, while your private IEC health insurance covers procedures up to a certain amount (depending on the insurance policy conditions).
I am already in Canada and have employer benefits from work, can I use this?
Employer benefits are an additional great way to get better medical coverage while working for that specific employer. Those benefits can include dental, vision, massages, acupuncturist, and many more.
Despite having this great coverage, the IEC program does not accept this as an adequate health insurance.
Firstly, to be eligible for the coverage under the employer benefits, you must have provincial health insurance. So, if you have employer benefits but no provincial health care you might not be covered. Therefore it is important to read the fine print of that employer benefit policy.
Secondly, employer benefits cover “repatriation” to your Canadian home province, or to Canada only. They don’t cover repatriation to your home country.
Thirdly, you will not have any coverage from day one after you get fired from that job.
Those are the reasons, why employer benefits cannot be used as adequate health coverage for an IEC work permit.