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 Travel & Outdoors | October 2007 
Things To Do Before You Go
 Andrew McCredie - Vancouver Sun
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| | From basic Mexican tourista to deadly viral infections and from $100 overseas doctor fees to air-ambulance bills in the tens of thousands of dollars - that all travellers would do well to heed the Boy Scouts motto of "Be Prepared." |
Two important items no tourist should overlook are vaccinations and travel insurance
You lined up 12 months ago at the passport office; you've hired the kid next door to feed the cat; you've cancelled the newspaper; and you've somehow managed to clear the outstanding balance on your credit card.
Time to jump out of the West Coast rain and on to a sun-bound plane.
However, if you're like a large number of Canadian travellers, you've likely forgotten to pack the two most important, and possibly life-saving, things necessary for a safe and secure winter getaway.
Of course, as they could involve needles and actuary tables, it's little surprise many skip vaccinations and travel insurance.
Yet there are enough tales of travellers' misfortunes - from basic Mexican tourista to deadly viral infections and from $100 overseas doctor fees to air-ambulance bills in the tens of thousands of dollars - that all travellers would do well to heed the Boy Scouts motto of "Be Prepared."
At the very least, doing all you can do to protect your health and your finances will make you all the more ready to enjoy every aspect of your eagerly anticipated getaway.
Vaccinations
"What people don't realize is that Jamaica just had a breakout of malaria," Dr. Suni Boraston is saying over the phone from The Travel Clinic, one of a number of privately operated out-patient clinics in British Columbia that provide travellers immunization against preventable diseases. "And a little while ago it was the Dominican Republic."
The West Broadway office sees an average of 20,000 people a year, with vaccinations for malaria, influenza, and, increasingly, Dengue fever, the most prescribed medications.
Most of the prescriptions come in pill form; however, vaccinations for something like Japanese encephalitis and other more exotic and rare viruses require a program of shots.
As such, Boraston advises travellers look into vaccinations required and/or suggested for their destination about eight to six weeks before their departure date.
Private establishments such as The Travel Clinic sprung up throughout the 1990s in B.C. in response to increasing demands placed on the province's health care system. Today, your public health plan does not cover travel vaccinations.
Essentially, there are two types of appointments available at private clinics such as The Travel Clinic and Travel Medicine & Vaccinations Centres, with nine locations throughout B.C.
The first is a consultation with a travel doctor, who will review your health history and your travel itinerary, then recommend what vaccinations are necessary. The Travel Clinic charges $40 for this service.
The second appointment is a nurse-only appointment to receive a maximum of two vaccines. This is typically used for follow-up boosters or for protection against a specific interest. Cost is determined by the required vaccine, and Boraston says one of the more expensive prescriptions offered is for $5-a-day malaria pills.
The clinic also sells health-related travel supplies, such as water purifiers, mosquito netting, rehydration powder and the "SOS Kit," or Standby Overseas Supply kit for diarrhea.
The recent boom of eco-tourism forging into ever more exotic places has also seen an increasing number of vertical adventurers walk through the clinic's West Broadway door.
"More and more people are climbing and trekking on their trips," notes Boraston, "so we've been prescribing more and more altitude sickness medication."
And that's not just for extreme mountaineers, as altitude sickness claims dozens of lives every year in somewhat unlikely places. In March of this year, a 65-year old Quebec man died from altitude sickness while hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania as part of a CARE Canada charity ascent.
Between five and 15 people of the 30,000 or so who attempt to climb the Tanzania landmark each year die trying, with the majority killed by altitude sickness.
Had the man been taking a daily pill, he most likely would have been fine going up and coming down the 15,100 foot mountain.
Even with a fanny pack full of meds, there's no guarantee some other kind of injury - from a leg gashed by coral to an arm snapped by a zip line - won't put your holiday, and possibly your financial well-being, on hold.
Travel insurance
Just as travel vaccinations were a victim of the major reshuffling of what B.C. residents receive from their province in terms of free health care a decade or so ago, so too was travel insurance.
"The need for coverage has really increased, as BC Medical covered a lot more 10 to 15 years ago than it does today," notes BCAA travel insurance product manager Lorraine Bullock.
What you are covered for, she explains, is the cost of what similar treatment would be here at home.
So, for instance, if you were in the United States and required surgery that cost $10,000 under their private system and $1,000 here under the public plan, you would be on the hook for the $9,000 balance.
"And that's why in terms of a destination, the most expensive travel insurance is for U.S.-bound travellers," Bullock adds.
And with the strong Canadian dollar, Bullock and BCAA expect to see a record number of Canadian snowbirds stay longer and spend more money in the Lower 49 this winter.
Last year, according to the Conference Board of Canada, a record 694,000 snowbird trips were made, a number that has increased by 60 per cent between 2000 and today.
Most people who get travel insurance are primarily interested in hospital and medical expense coverage, explains Bullock, but there are a number of other aspects too.
These include: trip cancellation, trip interruption, accidental death or loss of limbs, air flight accidents, emergency return, baggage loss, damage or delay, medical follow-up in Canada and 24-hour medical travel assistance.
This last point is a pretty crucial one, Bullock notes, recalling an incident a number of years ago when a client who had travel insurance with the company she worked for back then called from a hospital in Mexico.
"There was a major language barrier down there, and he was calling to say they wanted to perform open-heart surgery on him immediately," she says.
"We had the hospital fax up all his records and results and had a doctor look at them."
The doctor got on the phone and told the man to decline the operation and get on a plane back home as soon as possible.
"It turned out he had a stomach ache."
TRAVEL CHECKLIST
Get a passport
Since January 2007, Canadians travelling to, from or via the U.S. by air are required to present a passport at U.S. Customs. The U.S. plans to implement similar requirements at land borders and seaports in the summer of 2008. Canadians can continue to use their birth certificates and drivers' licence to cross the Canada-U.S. border by land and sea until these new requirements come into effect.
Purchase travel medical insurance
Provincial health care coverage may not provide full coverage for medical emergencies in other parts of Canada, and foreign countries, and in fact, covers less than 10 per cent of hospital expenses in the U.S. Make sure your travel medical insurance provides coverage for hospital expenses, medical bills, prescription drugs, ambulances, air evacuation and emergency dental care.
Safeguard your health
No matter what your destination, check to see if there are required and/or recommended vaccinations. Also, check health organization websites for travel health advisories, including: www.cdc.gov/travel, www. healthservices.gov.bc.ca, www.phac-aspc.gc.ca, www.who.int and www.tripprep.com.
Safeguard your home
Ensure all doors and windows are secured. Arrange timers to turn lights - and possibly a TV or radio - on/off during the day and night and ask a neighbour to pick up mail, newspapers, shovel snow and report any signs of trouble. Finally, arrange someone to check that your heating is maintained; otherwise, your home insurance policy may limit coverage for loss or damage caused by frozen pipes.
Check your auto coverage
Consult with an insurance adviser to make necessary arrangements if the insurance on the vehicle you're driving expires while you're away. And, for any unlicensed vehicles you leave behind, consider purchasing a storage policy to cover fire, theft and vandalism.
If you're driving to your destination, make sure you have adequate limits of third-party liability coverage on your automobile or RV should you be found responsible for someone else's injury or damage to their property. Liability settlements can be huge, particularly in the U.S. It's also a good idea to insure your vehicle for collision, damage or theft while you're travelling.
Additional sources: BCAA |
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