Travel Insurance Statistics in Canada 2026 | Adoption, Claims & Key Facts

Travel Insurance in Canada 2026

Travel insurance in Canada is at an odd crossroads right now. The market is growing fast, the policy count is climbing, digital adoption is well ahead of the global average — and yet a majority of Canadians heading outside their home province still do not buy coverage. A TD Insurance survey conducted by The Harris Poll Canada in May 2025 found that of the 73% of Canadians planning to travel for pleasure in the coming year, only 51% of domestic travelers planned to buy any travel insurance at all, and only 42% planned to purchase emergency travel medical coverage. The most common reason? They believed they were already covered. That belief, in many cases, is wrong — and for anyone who has seen the bill that follows a cardiac emergency in a Florida hospital, “wrong” is a serious understatement. The 74-year-old Ontario man who received a $620,000 US hospital bill after a heart attack at a Florida airport in 2024 was not a fringe case. He was an Ontario resident whose provincial health plan had eliminated virtually all out-of-country coverage in 2020.

The broader market context in 2026 is one of sustained expansion. The Canadian travel insurance market generated USD $784.3 million in 2024 and is projected to reach USD $2.17 billion by 2030 — a CAGR of 18.5% that makes Canada the fastest-growing travel insurance market in North America. The penetration rate among Canadian international travelers sits at 46% in 2025, up from just 31% in 2020 — a gain of 15 percentage points in five years driven by post-pandemic health awareness, the dismantling of provincial health coverage abroad, and digital comparison tools that have made buying a policy faster than booking a flight. But 46% still means 54% of international travelers leaving Canada are uninsured, and the domestic coverage gap is far wider. The provincial healthcare patchwork that Canadians have relied on for decades has been quietly shrinking, and the people who haven’t noticed yet are the ones most likely to need a $12,000 repatriation flight with no coverage in place.

Key Interesting Facts: Travel Insurance in Canada 2026

CANADA TRAVEL INSURANCE — SNAPSHOT 2026
=========================================

Market Revenue (2024)       ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  USD $784.3M
Projected Revenue (2030)    ████████████████████████████░░░  USD $2.17B
CAGR (2025–2030)            Growth rate: 18.5% — fastest in North America

TRAVELER PENETRATION RATE
==========================
2015:  ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~33%
2020:  █████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  31% (pandemic low)
2025:  █████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  46% (+15 ppt in 5 years)
2030*: ██████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~52% (projected)

*analyst projection | Scale: Each █ ≈ ~3.5%

CANADA vs. GLOBAL COMPARISON (2025)
=====================================
Sweden            ████████████████████████████████  88%
United Kingdom    █████████████████████████░░░░░░░  78%
France            ████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  52%
Canada            ██████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  46%
Global Average    █████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~40%

Source: Grand View Research Canada Travel Insurance Market Outlook (September 2025); HelloSafe Travel Insurance Barometer 2026 (August 2025); TD Insurance / Harris Poll Canada survey (June 19, 2025); Statistics Canada National Travel Survey Q4 2024 (May 2025) and Q3 2025 (February 2026); Deep Market Insights (November 2025)

Two numbers in this table deserve to sit right next to each other: 46% of Canadian international travelers are insured, and 44% of domestic travelers believe their provincial health plan already covers them when they travel within Canada. The second figure explains a lot of the first. Canadians have grown up assuming their healthcare card travels with them. In some provinces, that used to be broadly true. In Ontario, the largest province, it has not been true for international coverage since January 1, 2020 — and the province’s own government now tells residents explicitly that “all medical costs will be your responsibility if you fall sick or are involved in an accident while abroad.” British Columbia’s MSP still reimburses physician services abroad, but only at BC rates — meaning a Florida doctor’s bill for $500 USD gets partially covered at the rate BC would have paid, which covers a fraction of the real cost. Quebec’s RAMQ does the same: a 2024 real-world example from Florida showed a physician visit billed at $262 USD, with RAMQ reimbursing just $52.53.

The market growth numbers tell a parallel story about awareness catching up with reality. The USD $784.3 million market in 2024 heading toward USD $2.17 billion by 2030 is not speculative — it reflects an industry where more Canadians every year are learning the hard way or the researched way that provincial health has gaps that matter. The 18.5% CAGR makes Canada the fastest-growing travel insurance market in North America. The 67% online purchase rate in 2025 — up from 48% in 2019 and already ahead of France, Australia, and the United States — reflects the speed of the digital shift and the role comparison sites like HelloSafe, Rates.ca, and SoumissionsAssurances.ca have played in making policy comparison a five-minute task instead of a phone call.

Canadian Travel Insurance Adoption and Penetration Rates in 2026

TRAVEL INSURANCE PENETRATION — INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARK (2025)
==============================================================

Country         Insured % of international travelers
Sweden          ████████████████████████████████████████████  88%
United Kingdom  ████████████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░  78%
France          ██████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  52%
Canada          ███████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  46%
United States   █████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~40%
Global Average  ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~40%

CANADIAN DOMESTIC TRAVEL — INSURANCE PURCHASE INTENT (May 2025 survey)
========================================================================
Plan to buy any travel insurance    ██████████████████████████░░░░░░  51%
Plan to buy emergency medical cover ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  42%
Plan to skip travel insurance       ███████████████████████████░░░░░  ~49%

Source: HelloSafe Travel Insurance Barometer 2026 (August 2025); TD Insurance / Harris Poll Canada survey (June 19, 2025); Grand View Research Canada Travel Insurance Market Outlook (September 2025); Daily Hive Toronto, February 2026

The domestic vs. international gap in insurance purchase intent is one of the more revealing findings in the 2025 survey data. Canadians heading internationally buy travel insurance at a meaningfully higher rate than Canadians heading from one province to another — 16% more likely, according to TD Insurance. On one level that makes intuitive sense. Most people grasp that a hospital bill in New York is going to be a different scale than one in Montreal. What is less well understood is that a ground ambulance in Nova Scotia is not covered by Ontario’s OHIP, that Quebec’s RAMQ reimburses at Quebec rates for services received in British Columbia (often covering a small fraction of actual cost), and that prescription drugs obtained outside your home province are typically not covered by provincial drug programs at all.

The reasons Canadians give for skipping insurance domestically read like a list of misconceptions with real financial consequences. 44% citing provincial health coverage, 36% citing employer benefits, 25% citing credit card coverage — these three answers collectively suggest that a large share of uninsured Canadian travelers think they have overlapping safety nets in place. In practice, provincial health covers some emergencies in some circumstances at rates that do not reflect real costs. Employer group benefits often exclude travel disruptions or cap medical reimbursement well below what a serious emergency abroad would cost. Credit card travel insurance is real coverage but routinely carries eligibility conditions — trip paid in full with that card, trip duration limits of 10 to 21 days, pre-existing condition exclusions — that policyholders have often not read. The 1 in 4 Canadians who say they could not cover any out-of-pocket travel expense without insurance is the number that should end the discussion about whether travel insurance is worth the cost.

Canadian Travel Volumes and Trip Data in 2026

CANADIAN TRAVEL VOLUMES — 2024 FULL YEAR (StatCan)
====================================================

Total trips (domestic + international) █████████████████████████  330.8 million
  Domestic trips                        ████████████████████████░  292.1 million (88.3%)
  International trips                   ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   38.7 million (11.7%)
    To US                               ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   ~29 million (75% of intl)
    Overseas                            █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    ~9.7 million

YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE: +3.7% vs. 2023

Q3 2025 OUTBOUND TRIPS — YoY COMPARISON
=========================================
Total outbound abroad       ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░  9.1M  (-24.4% vs. Q3 2024)
  To United States          ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  5.9M  (-34.7% vs. Q3 2024)
  Overseas                  ████████████░░░░░░░░░  3.3M  (+similar to Q3 2024)

Source: Statistics Canada National Travel Survey Q4 2024 (May 30, 2025); Statistics Canada Q2 2025 NTS (December 2, 2025); Statistics Canada Q3 2025 NTS (February 24, 2026); Statistics Canada “Travel between Canada and the United States” (February 2026 and April 2026 updates)

The Statistics Canada travel data for 2025 captures something significant beyond the insurance market: Canadian travel to the United States dropped sharply and stayed down through most of the year. Q3 2025 saw a 34.7% decline in Canadian trips to the US year over year — the steepest quarterly drop since the pandemic era. Q2 2025 was down 21.6%. International arrivals to Canada overall fell 10.9% in full-year 2025, the first annual decline since 2016 excluding pandemic years, alongside political tensions between Canada and the United States. April 2026 was the first month since December 2024 where Canadian return trips from the US showed a year-over-year increase, at just 1.4% — a sign the decline may be bottoming out, but no strong reversal yet.

For the travel insurance market, the shift away from US travel matters. 41% of Canadian travel insurance policies are tied to trips involving the United States, where the cost of medical care is the highest in the world and the coverage gap between provincial health and actual hospital bills is the largest. The $620,000 cardiac emergency bill cited by Greatway Financial is not hyperbole — it is a documented 2024 case. When Canadians travel somewhere other than the US, the coverage stakes are still real but the cost exposure is somewhat lower. If the US travel decline persists into 2026 and beyond, it could shift the composition of claims and eventually premiums — though broader travel recovery, the continued dismantling of provincial health coverage abroad, and the growth of emerging market travel all point toward sustained insurance market growth regardless of where Canadians travel.

Travel Insurance Claims Data in Canada 2026

CLAIMS BY TYPE — CANADA 2025 (frequency and share)
=====================================================

Cancellation     ██████████████████████░░░░░░░░░  38% of claims  | Freq: 2.1% of policies
Medical Expenses ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░  36% of claims  | Freq: 3.8% of policies (HIGHEST)
Baggage          ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  21% of claims  | Freq: 1.3% of policies
Repatriation     ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   5% of claims  | Freq: 0.2% of policies (RAREST)

AVERAGE CLAIM AMOUNT BY TYPE — CANADA 2025
============================================
Repatriation     ████████████████████████████████  CAD $12,000 ← highest avg
Medical Expenses ████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  CAD  $2,900
Cancellation     █████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  CAD  $1,250
Baggage          ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  CAD    $480

Source: HelloSafe Travel Insurance Barometer 2026 (August 2025); Greatway Financial Substack, June 2025; TD Insurance press release, June 19, 2025; Statistics Canada

The claims data reveals a pattern that surprises most people who have not needed to use travel insurance before. Medical expense claims are the most frequent by policy rate — 3.8% of all policies trigger one, which is higher than cancellation, baggage, or anything else. But cancellation claims make up 38% of all claims filed by volume, simply because cancellations generate a claim far more often at the individual level when you look across all policy types and destinations. The 36% share for medical claims and the CAD $2,900 average are both significantly above European benchmarks — driven almost entirely by the volume of Canadian travel to the United States, where healthcare costs make even a two-hour emergency room visit a four-figure bill before any treatment has been administered.

Repatriation is rare but catastrophic when it happens. At 0.2% frequency and a CAD $12,000 average, it represents only 5% of claims volume but is the coverage most people have never thought about until they genuinely need it. A medical repatriation from southeast Asia, South America, or even the Caribbean can cost significantly more than $12,000 when specialized air ambulance transport is required — the $12,000 figure represents the average across all repatriations, which includes many relatively short-haul returns. The real-world figures make the abstract averages concrete: $620,000 for a cardiac emergency in Florida, $52.53 reimbursed by RAMQ on a $262 doctor visit, $700+ for an ambulance ride within Canada that OHIP will not touch. These are not marketing examples. They are documented cases from 2024 and 2025.

Provincial Health Coverage Gaps Driving Travel Insurance Demand in Canada 2026

PROVINCIAL HEALTH ABROAD — COVERAGE COMPARISON 2025
=====================================================

Province       Out-of-Country Emergency Coverage Status
Ontario (OHIP) ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ZERO — eliminated Jan 1, 2020
BC (MSP)       ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Partial — reimburses at BC rates only
Quebec (RAMQ)  ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Partial — reimburses at QC rates only
Other provinces █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Similar patterns — minimal real-world value

ESTIMATED COST COMPARISON (Medical Emergency in Florida, US):
==============================================================
Actual bill          ████████████████████████████████  $620,000 USD (cardiac, documented 2024)
OHIP reimbursement   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  $0 (eliminated)
BC MSP (physician)   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  BC rates (~fraction of actual cost)
RAMQ (physician ex)  ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  $52.53 on a $262 USD bill (real 2024 ex)

Source: Ontario Ministry of Health / OHIP; HealthQuotes.ca (July 2025); Greatway Financial Substack (June 2025); CoverInsight.com (July 2025); TD Insurance / Harris Poll Canada (June 2025); HelloSafe Travel Insurance Barometer 2026; expatinsurance.com (April 2026)

Ontario’s decision to eliminate out-of-country emergency coverage on January 1, 2020 was notable partly for its timing — just months before a global pandemic sent Canadians scrambling for any coverage they could find — and partly for how quietly it happened. The former maximum reimbursement for intensive care abroad was $400 CAD per day. An ICU in the United States runs $3,000 to $10,000 USD per day or more. The province’s own stated reason for eliminating the program was that its rates “covered only a small fraction of real foreign medical costs” and that most traveling Ontarians had already purchased private insurance. The second claim was optimistic in 2020 and remains optimistic in 2026, given that 44% of Canadians surveyed in May 2025 still believe their provincial plan protects them abroad.

British Columbia and Quebec offer nominal reimbursements that follow the same logic: they apply domestic fee rates to foreign medical bills, which in practice means they cover a small fraction of what US and European healthcare actually costs. The $52.53 Quebec reimbursement on a $262 doctor visit is not an edge case or an administrative error — it is how the system works by design. The gap between what provincial plans pay and what foreign medical care costs is exactly the coverage gap that the travel insurance industry exists to fill. The CAD $5 million standard medical ceiling in most Canadian travel policies is set at that level specifically because US medical costs can reach into the seven figures for complex cardiac, neurological, or trauma cases. For Canadians still relying on their provincial health card as their primary protection abroad, this is not a minor coverage gap — it is the difference between a manageable situation and financial ruin.

Travel Insurance Market Segments and Digital Trends in Canada 2026

POLICY TYPE MIX — CANADA 2024
================================

Single-trip policies     ████████████████████████████████  Largest revenue segment
Annual multi-trip        ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  Growing fastest (expected)
Cancellation coverage    ████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Fastest CAGR in type segment

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL MIX — CANADA 2025
=========================================

Online (direct + comparison)  ████████████████████████████████████  67%
Packaged (OTA/airline/agency) ████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░  54% of all policies

(Note: packaged includes both online + offline; categories reflect different data cuts)

CANADA ONLINE PURCHASE RATE vs. GLOBAL PEERS (2025)
=====================================================
Canada          ████████████████████████████░░░░  67%
Australia       ████████████████████████████░░░░  61%
France          ████████████████████████████░░░░  62%
United States   █████████████████████████░░░░░░░  59%
Global Average  █████████████████████████░░░░░░░  58%

Source: HelloSafe Travel Insurance Barometer 2026 (August 2025); Grand View Research (September 2025); Deep Market Insights (November 2025); IMARC Group 2026 Market Forecast; Technavio (March 2026); NextMSC (April 2026)

Canada’s 67% online purchase rate puts it ahead of every major market tracked by HelloSafe’s 2026 barometer — ahead of France at 62%, Australia at 61%, and the United States at 59%. The global average sits at 58%. This is not a minor distinction. It reflects how dramatically Canadian consumers have shifted to comparison-first purchasing behavior for insurance products that were historically bought through travel agents, bank tellers, or the checkbox on an airline booking page. The comparison site ecosystem — particularly HelloSafe, Rates.ca, and SoumissionsAssurances.ca in the Quebec market — has made side-by-side policy comparison a standard part of trip planning in a way that most other markets have not yet replicated.

The packaged insurance model — the checkbox on an Air Canada booking, the Expedia add-on, the bundled protection offered at a cruise terminal — still captures 54% of all policies by channel, up roughly ten points from 2019. The fact that both packaged and direct digital channels are growing simultaneously tells you something about where the uninsured market is being pulled from: travelers who used to book a trip and never think about insurance are increasingly being prompted into coverage at the point of booking, even if they are not actively seeking it. The “climate risk” and all-cause cancellation innovations entering the market reflect an insurance industry responding to the reality that travelers post-2020 want protection against a broader range of disruptions than the traditional covered-perils list provided. Whether the pricing of these new products accurately reflects the elevated climate-related cancellation risk that southern Europe, the Caribbean, and Pacific destinations now carry is a question that insurers, regulators, and policyholders will be working through for the rest of the decade.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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