Whether you are planning a vacation out of Canada for a few weeks or just plan to go across the border to do some shopping, please be aware of the limitations provided by OHIP, should you require medical care.
The following two questions and answers are taken directly from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website.
Question 1.When I travel outside of Canada, will OHIP pay the same medical expenses that are covered in Ontario?
No. If you are a resident of Ontario and you are insured under OHIP, you are entitled to very limited funding for a limited range of medical services when you are travelling outside of Canada.
Question 2. Should I obtain additional insurance coverage for my absence from Canada?
Yes. The ministry strongly recommends that you do, whether you are absent from Canada for a few minutes or for an extended time. OHIP does not insure or pay for all out-of-country medical services. Also, the amount of funding provided by OHIP will not usually cover the full cost of any health services that you do obtain outside of Canada. You should therefore, obtain supplementary health insurance from a private insurance company to provide you with additional coverage during your absence. It is also recommended that you understand the terms and conditions of the additional insurance coverage you have purchased and the implications of any pre-existing health conditions on your insurance coverage. To obtain private insurance contact a private insurance company of your choice.
Is travel insurance expensive? For a 52 year-old male, it costs about $3 per day for $5 million of Emergency Medical Insurance coverage.
Below is a list of available insurance benefits.
· Emergency Medical Insurance: Covers up to $5,000,000 for expenses as a result of emergency medical attention required during a trip.
· Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: For Single-Trip Plans – covers up to the sum insured to a maximum of $3,500 per trip.
· For Multi-Trip All-Inclusive Plans - covers up to $5,000 per trip to a maximum of $7,000 per policy.
· Baggage Loss, Damage & Delay: Covers up to $1,000 per trip (up to a maximum of $3,000 per policy year for a Multi-Trip Plan) for loss or damage to baggage and covers up to $500 per trip (up to a maximum of $1,500 per policy year for a Multi-Trip Plan) for baggage delay.
· Flight Accident: Covers for $100,000 for death or double dismemberment, or $50,000 for single dismemberment.
· Travel Accident: Covers for $50,000 for death or double dismemberment, or $25,000 for single dismemberment.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada today announced the benefit rates for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), effective January 1, 2012.
CPP benefits will increase by 2.8 percent for those already receiving CPP benefits. CPP benefits are revised once a year, in January, based on changes over a 12-month period (November 2010 to October 2011) in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the cost-of-living measure used by Statistics Canada.
This is the time of year to consider tax-loss harvesting for your non-registered portfolio.
Follow the attached link to learn more about it and with good examples.
We are pleased to announce that we now offer ELITE U.S. Healthcare™ Insurance.
ELITE U.S. Healthcare™ Insurance covers any illness, accident, or injury with a treatment wait time in Canada .
- The minimum age is 60 days, while the maximum is 74 years for coverage.
- includes a lifetime limit of US $5 million and can be used for multiple occurrences.
- Includes a no-cost Rapid 2nd Opinion (not subject to any deductible), no-wait access and a personal case manager to navigate you through diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
- Annual cost for a 50 year-old, male non-smoker is $2,098 CDN ($10,000 US deductible) or $2,907 CDN ($5,000 US deductible).
Please call or email for a free, no obligation quote.
It’s not your fault. The financial industry has done a poor job at defining what a “financial plan” is, especially a “comprehensive financial plan”.
This article discusses some recent polling results from a large Canadian Bank and an article from a financial columnist at a major Canadian newspaper.
Click here for November 3, 2011 newsletter “Planners Should Make Plans”
We are please to provide the Provisus Wealth Management Quarterly Investment Review for the period ending June 30, 2011.
Click the link below to download the PDF.
I recently came across an article by Deanne N. Gage on the Morningstar.ca website entitled “Whose interests are truly being served?”. This article describes how to tell financial advisors and product pushers apart. Does your advisor act as a fiduciary or a salesperson?…read more
Here is a great article from Morningstar. The key message is as follows.
- Does your advisor have professional certification such as a CFP?
- Does your advisor act as a fiduciary or salesperson? An advisor acting as a fiduciary will mention the use of anInvestment Policy Statement (IPS).
- Clearly states how they are compensated.
- Gives you a document in plain interests to describe the relationship. This is typically called a “Client Engagement Document”.
- Double check credentials
The lofty valuation of LinkedIn, the massively popular professional networking site, makes one wonder if investors have forgotten the perils of paying too much for a stock, however sexy its prospects may be, a mere decade after the bursting of the technology bubble…read more
From IFA Life. An IFA is an Independent Financial Advisor in the UK.
Latest findings from Sun Life Financial of Canada’s landmark study into the retirement plans of the mass affluent, Sense Check at 60, found that very few of these people have planned adequately for later life.
Here are some of the key findings from the report:
- Many people’s expectations of how much income they are likely to be able to generate from their pension savings are unrealistic.
- Around four in 10 people in our survey expect to work after retirement.
- Three quarters of our survey believe retirement planning is more complex these days.
- Almost 70% had seen an adviser in the last two years.
- Trust in the industry is a major issue.
- Attitudes to risk differ, but generally people become more cautious in retirement.
- While simple products are desirable, it’s not considered essential for products to be simple to understand.
