Many Canadian credit cards include insurance at no extra charge: travel medical cover, trip cancellation, purchase protection, an extended warranty, rental car coverage and more. What’s covered, the limits and the conditions differ from card to card and are set out in the card’s certificate of insurance, which the issuer publishes. This page explains each type of coverage, how cover tends to differ by card tier, the exclusions that most often catch people, and how claims work. It’s one of our credit card basics guides, alongside the guides to interest and fees.
This is different from credit card balance insurance, an optional product that covers payments on your balance and is charged as a premium; credit card fees covers that charge.
The types of coverage
| Coverage | What it does | Usually found on |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase protection | Covers new purchases against theft or damage for a set period after purchase | Many cards, including some no-fee cards |
| Extended warranty | Adds time to the manufacturer’s warranty on eligible items | Many cards |
| Travel emergency medical | Pays for emergency medical care while travelling outside your province, up to a limit and for trips up to a set number of days | Travel and premium cards |
| Trip cancellation and interruption | Reimburses non-refundable travel costs if you can’t go, or have to come home early, for a covered reason | Mid-tier and premium cards |
| Flight and baggage delay | Pays for meals, a hotel or essentials after a delay of a set length | Mid-tier and premium cards |
| Lost or stolen baggage | Pays toward replacing luggage and contents | Mostly premium cards |
| Rental car collision and loss damage | Covers damage to or theft of a rental vehicle when you decline the rental company’s waiver | Many cards |
| Mobile device insurance | Covers a phone bought on the card against loss, theft or damage | A few cards |
Each certificate sets the dollar limits, the length of cover and who’s covered (often the cardholder, a spouse and dependent children). Comparing those limits card by card is what our credit cards with travel insurance does.
How cover differs by card tier
No-fee cards usually include little beyond purchase protection and an extended warranty, if anything. Mid-tier travel and rewards cards with an annual fee often add travel medical, trip cancellation and rental car coverage. Premium cards tend to raise the limits, lengthen the trips covered and add delay and baggage cover. The annual fee is part of the comparison: is a premium card worth it weighs the extras against the fee, and the credit card comparison lists each card’s fee.
The exclusions that matter most
- Pre-existing medical conditions. Travel medical cover usually excludes a condition that wasn’t stable for a set period before the trip, as the certificate defines “stable”. This is a frequent reason claims are refused.
- Age. Some cards reduce or remove travel medical cover above a certain age.
- Trip length. Cover stops after the number of days the certificate sets; a longer trip may need separate insurance for the whole trip, not just the extra days.
- How the trip was paid for. Trip cancellation and some other travel cover usually apply only when the trip was charged to the card (or paid with its points).
- Vehicle type and rental length for rental car cover: certain vehicles and long rentals are commonly excluded, and the cover is for the vehicle, not for liability to other people.
- Activities and circumstances such as high-risk sports, travel against a government advisory, or incidents involving alcohol or drugs.
Whether separate cover makes sense, given what the card includes, is covered in is travel insurance worth it, and standalone policies are compared in travel insurance in Canada.
Using the coverage
- Read the certificate before relying on it, especially for a trip: the limits, the trip length and the conditions.
- Pay with the card that carries the cover, as the certificate requires.
- Call the assistance number on the card or certificate as soon as something happens; travel medical cover often requires you to contact the insurer before treatment where possible.
- Keep receipts and documents: proof of purchase, medical records, a police report for theft.
- Claim within the deadline the certificate sets.
Purchase protection and extended warranty claims usually need the original receipt and the card statement showing the purchase. A problem with the merchant rather than the item, such as goods never delivered, is handled through the card’s dispute process instead; see how to dispute a credit card charge.