People misinformed about travel insurance: RBC study

A new study is showing that many people think they do not need travel insurance. Almost one-quarter (23%) of those surveyed said that they believed they would be covered if they required emergency medical treatment in another country even without purchasing insurance.The poll, conducted by Ipsos-Reid and RBC Insurance, shows that people think their provincial health insurance covers far more than it actually does. In fact, such plans offer limited coverage, and this varies greatly between provinces, RBC says. "Most people think about getting travel insurance for vacations to Europe or the Caribbean, but not for a weekend or day trip to the U.S.," notes David Redekop, principal research associate for the Conference Board of Canada. The board conducted an earlier study which showed that 45% of travelers to the U.S. for personal reasons did not buy travel insurance.In the RBC study, 57% of seniors over age 55 bought travel insurance when going to the U.S. But only 36% of those aged 18-34 did so. Women (45%) are more likely to purchase travel insurance than men (35%).