canaussie.com

Hey Sarah,

What we did was to get four months of travel insurance through a provider, then switch over to the local health insurance - MSP in BC, and there is something similar in each state. This is because it is mandatory for anyone living in the country to be on these programs, and they are typically cheaper than most of the travel insurance plans out there.

There's a bit more discussion on this here as well:
http://canaussie.com/component/option,c … ask,topic/

I've never heard of anyone having proof of travel insurance checked when entering the country, so wouldn't sweat it too much provided you make sure you are covered.

Will you be staying in the one spot, or moving about (province to province)?

It was never not stated as a requirement, they just never asked for it. Even still, 4 months of coverage should be fine to get you through customs, as they have no idea what sort of arrangements you're making from then on.

Just looked at the link, and it's interesting what they say - they do make it sound like you need coverage for the whole period, but I've never heard of anyone getting pulled up on this. It also doesn't make sense in conjunction with the state/national ruling that any resident of Canada must apply for the government based health insurance.

It's a bit of a quandry, and again I'm sure you'll be fine with 4 months of coverage, if they ask for it at all...

Good luck Sarah, let us know how you go!

No official place to verify, just experience - Myself and a few others I know have been able to enter the country and start their work permit with only 4 months of insurance. Some have actually had to state that they're going on the local insurance, but others just pass on through.

If you wanted to be safe, it could be worth looking in to seeing if you can cancel a 2 year policy after you get the local insurance?

Just an update on what happened when I came into Canada - I came through Vancouver International and didn't get asked about insurance at all. I only had to show my passport and letter of introduction, answer some questions and they printed out my visa. And I had no problems getting on to the government health insurance plan. So quite an easy process after all the initial confusion.

Good one! How did it stack up in your calculations vs the other providers?

A little bit from that also helps pay for the running of CanAussie... thanks!

That's a great story Les! Goodonya! If you went for the World Nomads one then they're good too as you can extend whenever you want, from wherever you want.

Out of curiosity, where was the quote for $2k from? Jeeez that's expensive!

Edit: Hope you don't mind, but I just used the first part of your post in a link at the bottom of articles elsewhere on the site - I want to make sure others don't miss out on the same savings!