Health Insurance for Canadians

Hello, new to THS as a HO and wondering how health insurace works for out of province/country sitters. I am located in Canada. Do HO’s request proof of health insurance from the sitter that covers the period of the sit?
Sitters… your thoughts on providing this documentation?
Thanks all!
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We (also Canadian) have never been asked to provide any documentation like this and would question it if we were. Is there a reason that you think an HO would need to ask or know about this?

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I find your question interesting. As a sitter living in Canada, I have travelled many other countries for sits. I have health insurance through my employment retirement benefits, and pay extra for out-of-province coverage. My coverage is for a maximum of 90 days at any one time. I can, however, return home for a day and the 90 day restarts. My coverage covers all medical situations, include COVID.

Up until recently, I have never discussed this with a homeowner. In my opinion, health insurance coverage is a personal responsibility. However, in booking a sit in Mexico (which was cancelled because of COVID) in my video chat I did assure them that I had sufficient coverage, should anything happen to me. They didn’t ask, but for some reason I wanted to address it. Yet another instance where the pandemic changed my approach, I suppose.

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Hi, I won’t let family visit me from England unless they have travel health insurance. If a sitter has a medical emergency who pays for their treatment? Depending on the situation it can run into thousands of dollors. We were visiting family in Quebec many years ago and had to obtain medical assistance for my young son. We had to pay up front and then claim back from our provisional health plan (OHIP). We never travel to the States (even for a day trip as we live very close to the border) without travel insurance. Kind of a deal breaker for me… I would be willing to pay for the insurance for peace of mind or just keep to sitters that live in my province if this is an issue for sitters that live elsewhere…

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In Canada, the inter-provincial validity of another province’s coverage is complex. Not surprising. I have had medical care - emergency centre visit with x-ray - in British Columbia and it was covered directly by Ontario coverage. I do understand that this is not always the case though.

You may find that the idea of funding travel insurance for someone from another country would be cost prohibitive, especially for sitters in their senior years.

I can appreciate your concern for the expense that someone might incur if they are not insured in Ontario, but I think the cost will nevertheless fall on the sitter’s shoulders, not yours. Sitters take responsibility for their own health and medical costs, at least that’s my understanding. If someone chooses to travel without insurance, they are still directly responsible for any expenses.

Every homeowner has the right to stipulate anything (legal) in their listing. Given this is a concern for you, you should address it in your listing. If someone needs to provide proof of medical coverage or else it’s a dealbreaker for you, then state that. Sitters can then decide whether your listing is a good fit for them. I don’t think you should ever consider being liable for the medical costs of a sitter.

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I’ve never been asked but wouldn’t have a problem if a home owner asked me about it. That being said, I don’t see why it would ever be a potential cost for the home owner if a sitter didn’t have health insurance. The medical system wouldn’t have any right to charge the home owner, at least certainly not in Canada.

As for medical insurance, I live in BC and we have a World Elite Mastercard with a bonus 31 day travel medical insurance, trip interruption and cancellation insurance. If we didn’t have that, we would definitely purchase travel insurance before we went on a trip. Our insurance covers pandemics but it is not valid if the Canadian govt has put a travel advisory on the country we are travelling to.

My husband and I are in the process of selling everything and becoming full time housesitters! We are so excited!!
One of the things I am having a hard time finding is good heath insurance, my husband will be 70 at the end of the month.
Any fellow Albertans - or even Canadians - have suggestions for the company they use?
We will be sitting throughout Canada and also around the world.
Thanks in advance.

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Hello @glenycehughes and welcome to our community. Congrats on your decision to become fulltime housesitters. You’ll love this new phase of your life and the changes it brings.

You raised a very good question, one that has been discussed here in the forum before. I moved your question to this thread as there is quite a bit of discussion about Canadian health care here. I hope you find this discussion helpful.

Again, welcome to our community.

Hello @glenycehughes and welcome to the Community Forum and of course congratulations on your decision to become full time house sitters! :clap:t2::smiley:

As @Karen_E has already steered you in the right direction regarding your question I would just like to say I hope you enjoy perusing and joining in on discussions in the Forum.

If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask, we are all more than happy to help. :blush:

Apart from Canada where else in the world are you hoping to sit? :earth_americas:

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