Travel insurance guidance
IACE Travel points you to Manulife travel insurance through a dedicated partner link. Japanese hospitals bill visitors in full. Before you leave, check once what your own coverage actually contains.
Japanese healthcare is excellent. Paying for it is on the traveller
Japanese hospitals are high quality and treat patients carefully. But a visitor without Japanese public health coverage is expected, as a rule, to pay the whole cost out of pocket.
- When payment is due Before discharge Do not count on being billed later
- Provincial health plan Only a small share The gap against what you actually paid abroad is yours
- Typhoon season Jul–Oct Cancellations and service suspensions can force itinerary changes
A provincial health plan on its own is not enough
This is widely misunderstood, so we will put it plainly. Provincial plans such as OHIP in Ontario or MSP in British Columbia pay only a limited amount for medical care outside the province or the country, based roughly on what the same treatment would cost inside the province. The difference against what a Japanese hospital actually bills you is, as a rule, yours to cover. Whether you need coverage and how much depends on your own circumstances, so please check your province’s rules and the policy wording before you buy.
Why we point to Manulife travel insurance
The following is based on Manulife’s own product information. Whether something applies, the size of any discount, and the conditions all depend on the plan and on underwriting, so please read the product pages and the policy wording.
- 50% off the premium for travel within Canada If your whole trip stays inside Canada and you buy the Single Trip All-Inclusive or Emergency Medical plan, the premium is discounted by 50%. It does not apply to a trip to Japan, but it is a discount you can use for domestic business trips and holidays.
- Travelling-companion and family coverage options You can apply together with the people you are travelling with, or build coverage around a family, and that may save more. How it is treated changes with group makeup and ages, so check it on the quote screen.
- Flexible optional riders Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) and a Government Travel Advisory rider can be added at your option. Whether they can be attached, the extra premium, and the share reimbursed all depend on the conditions.
- Choose a deductible to lower the premium On plans that let you set a deductible, taking a higher deductible brings the premium down. Weigh that against the larger amount you would pay yourself in a claim, and pick a level you can live with.
Full product details are published on our partner Manulife’s site. Manulife underwrites the policy and decides what is covered. IACE does not determine eligibility or whether a claim is paid.
Opens our partner Manulife’s site. Quotes and applications are completed entirely there.
How coverage works
Falling ill or getting hurt away from home is hard enough without worrying about the bill on top of it. Trip cancellation, interruption, delay, lost baggage, a medical emergency. Any of them can happen.
- Hospital, physician, and emergency costs Hospital and physician charges, and paramedic and ambulance costs, may be covered. The limits and the range of treatment included depend on the plan and the conditions.
- Repatriation in a medical emergency The cost of returning home when a physician determines it is necessary in a medical emergency may be covered. Transport normally has to be arranged by the insurer in advance.
- Lost baggage Loss of or damage to checked baggage may be covered. Per-item limits, how valuables are treated, and the documentation required are set out in the policy wording.
- Trip cancellation and interruption Costs from cancelling before departure or interrupting a trip in progress may be covered. The eligible reasons are listed in the policy wording, and coverage regardless of reason depends on attaching the CFAR rider.
- Travel delay Extra accommodation and meal costs caused by a flight delay may be covered. How many hours of delay it takes to qualify depends on the plan.
- Loss from an accident in flight or while travelling Coverage is available for loss caused by an accident during a flight or during your trip. Check the policy wording for the exact scope and the conditions of payment.
What is listed here is what may be covered, not what is guaranteed
We avoid stating anything as certain on this page. Whether something is actually covered depends on the plan you choose, your age, your health, where you travel, and the circumstances of the incident. Always read the conditions and the policy wording on Manulife’s product pages, and judge for yourself whether the plan fits your itinerary.
What to check if you are heading to Japan
Most readers of this site live in Canada or the United States and are on their way to Japan. Here are the four points specific to a trip to Japan.
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1
Medical costs are paid in full, on the spot
Japanese medical institutions normally ask a visitor without public health coverage to settle before discharge, or on the day of the visit. Some hospitals can bill an insurer directly (cashless), but whether they do varies hospital by hospital. Plan on paying yourself first, keeping the receipt and the medical certificate, and claiming after you get home.
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2
From July to October, typhoons can force itinerary changes
In this window an approaching typhoon can cancel flights and trigger planned shinkansen suspensions. A single day shifting means rebooking hotels and reserved seats. Before you buy, check how far travel interruption and trip cancellation coverage reaches.
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3
Declaring a pre-existing condition
If you have an ongoing condition, whether treatment related to it is covered turns on what you declare when you apply and on the stability period conditions. The next section covers this in more detail.
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4
Buy before you leave. You cannot buy once you land in Japan
Travel insurance has to be in force before you depart Canada. You cannot buy it after departure, or after you fall ill. Take care of it before you leave, along with your flights.
How to plan around typhoon season is covered in our guide to Japan in September, and general trip preparation in the complete first trip to Japan guide.
How it differs from credit card insurance
Plenty of people assume their card has them covered. Sometimes card coverage is enough. These five points are worth confirming in your own cardholder agreement.
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1
What is the coverage limit
Emergency medical coverage attached to a card has a cap. A hospital stay or a repatriation can run past that cap. Look up the actual number on your card.
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2
How are pre-existing conditions treated
Some card policies exclude treatment related to an ongoing condition. Check whether there is an exclusion, and whether a stability period is specified.
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3
Is there an age limit
Some card policies shorten the covered number of days past a certain age, or drop coverage entirely. If your family spans a wide age range, check each person separately.
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4
Do you have to call first
Some policies make contacting the insurer before treatment a condition of payment. Write down the emergency phone number before you leave.
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5
Do you have to pay for the trip with that card
Coverage is sometimes valid only if the flights or the full trip cost were charged to that card. Splitting payment across other methods can put you outside it.
You can also check first, then fill only the gaps
Once you know your card’s limits and conditions, you can buy emergency medical coverage separately, or add cancellation coverage only. Which plan suits you is easiest to work out by entering your conditions on Manulife’s quote screen.
Declaring a pre-existing condition, and what a stability period means
This is where misunderstandings about claims most often start.
Most travel insurance policies contain a clause about pre-existing conditions. At the centre of it sits the stability period. It asks whether the condition was stable for a set period counting back from the application date or the departure date, and the length of that period varies by product and by age.
- What counts as stable Generally it means no new symptoms, no change in tests or treatment, and no change in the type or dose of medication. The precise definition is set out in each product’s policy wording.
- A change in medication is easy to overlook Some products treat a change of dose as a change, even for the same drug. If your prescription changed in the months before departure, check the date.
- Declare honestly and accurately Answer the health questions on the application accurately. A declaration that does not match the facts is a common reason coverage fails at the claim stage. If you are unsure, ask Manulife.
- Talking to your doctor is an option too Judging the state of a condition and whether you are fit to travel is a medical matter. IACE makes neither medical judgements nor underwriting decisions. Talk to your own physician and to Manulife.
Student plans (three of them)
If you are leaving home to study, there are dedicated student plans. All three carry emergency medical coverage of up to two million Canadian dollars.
| Plan | Who it is for | Emergency medical | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| For Canadian students studying outside their province | Canadian residents studying full time outside their province or territory of residence | Up to CA$2,000,000 | Health and eye exams / tuition reimbursement if you cannot attend / optional riders available |
| For international students studying in Canada | People living outside Canada who study full time in Canada | Up to CA$2,000,000 | Health and eye exams / tuition reimbursement |
| For Canadian students studying abroad | Canadian residents studying full time outside Canada | Up to CA$2,000,000 | Health and eye exams / tuition reimbursement / optional riders available |
- Emergency medical CA$2,000,000 The shared limit across all three plans. Conditions depend on the plan
- May be covered Health and eye exams Frequency and scope follow the policy wording
- May be covered Tuition reimbursement If you cannot attend. Eligible reasons follow the policy wording
If you are heading to Japan on a working holiday or a language programme, the right plan depends on your purpose and the length of your stay. If you are unsure, ask us through contact. Manulife underwrites the policy.
Opens our partner Manulife’s site. Check eligibility and premiums there.
How to apply
Quoting and applying are completed entirely on our partner Manulife’s site. Start from the IACE dedicated link.
Settle the itinerary
Gather your departure and return dates, your destinations, and the dates of birth of everyone travelling. If the dates could still move, keep that in mind.
Check the coverage you already have
Work out what your provincial plan, your employer group plan, and your credit card each cover and how far. Use the checklist in the previous section.
Get a quote on Manulife’s site
Enter your details from the dedicated link and the premium appears on the spot. You can compare by changing the plan, the deductible, and the riders.
Answer the health questions
Depending on your age and the plan there are health questions. Declare pre-existing conditions accurately. This is what a later claim turns on.
Complete the purchase before departure
Buy before you leave. Carry the policy and the emergency phone number to Japan both printed and on your phone.
Opens our partner Manulife’s site. Quotes and applications are completed entirely there. IACE adds no markup to the premium.
Frequently asked questions
Is travel insurance required to go to Japan?
For a short stay in Japan, travel insurance is not normally required as a condition of entry. That said, a visitor without public health coverage pays medical costs in full as a rule. Treat the entry requirement and whether you actually need it as two separate questions.
I have a provincial health plan. Is that not enough?
What a provincial plan pays toward medical costs abroad is a limited amount, benchmarked against what the same treatment would cost inside the province. The difference against what a Japanese medical institution actually bills is, as a rule, yours. The amounts are calculated differently by province, so check your own province’s explanation.
Can I buy it after I arrive in Japan?
No. Travel insurance has to be in force before you depart Canada. Applications after departure, or after you fall ill, cannot be accepted.
I have an ongoing medical condition. Can I still buy coverage?
Whether you can buy it, and whether treatment related to that condition is covered, is determined by what you declare when you apply and by the stability period conditions. Manulife makes that decision, so answer the questions on the quote screen accurately, or contact Manulife directly. IACE does not determine eligibility.
If a typhoon cancels my flight, am I covered?
A cancellation or an interrupted itinerary may be covered where the plan includes trip cancellation or travel interruption coverage and the situation matches a reason listed in the policy wording. Eligible reasons and required documentation vary by product, so read the wording before you buy.
What is Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR)?
It is an optional rider under which part of the cost of cancelling a trip may come back even when the reason is not one of those listed in the policy wording. As with the Government Travel Advisory rider, whether it can be attached, the extra premium, the share reimbursed, and the filing deadline all depend on the conditions. See Manulife’s product pages for the detail.
When does the 50% discount for travel within Canada apply?
The premium is discounted by 50% when the whole trip stays inside Canada and you buy the Single Trip All-Inclusive or Emergency Medical plan. It does not apply to a trip to Japan. The full eligibility conditions are the ones set out on Manulife’s product pages.
Can IACE Travel handle the insurance paperwork or a claim for me?
No. Quotes, applications, and claims are all handled on Manulife’s site and through their service desk. Our role, as part of arranging your travel, is to point you to this dedicated link. For questions about what coverage means or whether a claim is paid, contact Manulife.
Questions about the travel arrangements themselves are collected on our FAQ page.
Sort out your coverage before departure, along with your itinerary
Put insurance on the checklist next to flights, rail, and hotels. You buy the policy itself on Manulife’s site, but we are here for the itinerary itself and for working the dates around typhoon season.
- Quotes and applications are completed on Manulife’s site
- IACE adds no markup to the premium
- Itinerary advice is free. A consultant replies the next business day
Opens our partner Manulife’s site. Coverage, premiums, and eligibility are all governed by the conditions and the policy wording set out there.