24-Hours Emergency Assistance

Canada/U.S.: 1-800-936-6226

Outside Canada and the U.S.: 519-742-3556. If calling collect, please note you must use a landline.

IMPORTANT: If you are travelling and in need of medical treatment, please contact OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) before seeking treatment if possible. 

You must provide your OTIP ID and your Provincial Health Plan number. You can find your OTIP ID on your OTIP identification Card or RTIP plan member site.

How does OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) help?  OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) provides multilingual communication to providers and/or medical facilities to ensure you receive the appropriate treatment. Your dedicated multilingual assistance specialist will also confirm to the provider that you have the required OTIP travel coverage (subject to the exclusions and limits of your RTIP Contract), confirm reasonable services fees, and provide updates to your family and personal physician, when applicable.

Travel claims are coordinated directly with the provider by OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance).  OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance)  must be notified before obtaining emergency Treatment in order for OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) to  confirm coverage, reasonable services fees, and provide pre-approval of treatment. 

If it is medically impossible for the Covered Person to call prior to obtaining emergency Treatment, OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) requires either the Covered Person or someone on behalf of the Covered Person to call OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) within 48 hours of commencement of Treatment. 

If it is medically impossible for the covered person to call prior to obtaining emergency treatment, it is important to have someone (family member, caregiver, friend, etc.) call OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) on the covered person’s behalf within 48 hours and alert them of the treatment. If possible, please ensure the individual calling has your OTIP ID handy.

You can find your OTIP ID on your OTIP identification Card or RTIP plan member site.

If you need to pay up front, be sure to ask for an itemized bill from the service provider and detailed physician’s notes including an assessment of your medical condition. Travel claims must be received by OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) no later than 12 months from the date the eligible expense was incurred, or within 90 days for terminated benefit plans.

All travel-related claims must be submitted through OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance), not through the RTIP plan member site. If you have incurred out of pocket expenses, please submit your claims to OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) in one of two ways:

• Online at https://canassistance.com/en/policyholder/claims
• By mail. Please contact OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) at 1-800-936-6226 to obtain a claim form and detailed claim submission instructions. 

Note: Make sure you tell OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) about all the travel coverage you have when submitting claims. Claims must be submitted together with supporting original receipts to OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance).

If you have questions regarding certain benefits before you travel, OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) can help. The pre-travel inquiries team is ready to provide the following optional services:

• Information on the destination: Global Affairs Canada warnings, vaccines, visas, general questions on currency and rates, time zone differences, international dialing codes, provider references, embassies, etc.
• Information on benefits, exclusions, and confirmations of coverage: Confirmation of your coverage and verify specific exclusions that may apply. OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) can also provide, upon request, a confirmation of coverage letter, which includes: your first and last name, travel dates, insurer’s name, RTIP ID number, people covered under the plan, and amount of coverage ($). The confirmation also provides instructions on how to reach us abroad.
• Evaluation of known medical conditions prior to departure and medical review (medical questionnaire):  OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) can establish over the phone if your known medical condition is eligible for coverage during an upcoming trip and, if need be, recommend that your treating physician complete a medical questionnaire prior to departure (limitations apply).

When travelling Out-of-Province/Out-of-Country, a medical emergency is defined as an acute, unexpected or unforeseen sickness or injury that requires immediate, non-discretionary medical attention.

A Medical Condition is considered Stable when all of the following statements are true during the 90-day period immediately preceding the date of departure:

• There has not been any new Treatment prescribed or recommended, or change(s) to existing Treatment (including stoppage in Treatment).
• The Medical Condition has not become worse.
• There has not been any new, more frequent, or more severe symptoms.
• There has been no Hospitalization or referral to a specialist.
• There have not been any tests, investigation or Treatment recommended, but not yet complete, nor any outstanding test results.
• There is no planned or pending Treatment.
• There has not been any change to an existing prescribed Drug (including an increase, decrease, or stoppage to prescribed dosage) or recommendation or starting of a new prescription Drug.

The following are not considered changes to existing prescribed Drug Treatment:

• Routine dosage adjustments of Coumadin, Warfarin, or insulin, as long as these medications have not been newly prescribed or stopped;
• A change from a brand name to a generic equivalent product as long as the dosage is the same – including a transition from a Biologic to a Biosimilar Drug product;
• A decrease in the dosage of a medication due to the improvement of a condition.

Note: All conditions above must be met during the 90-day period before departure to be considered medically stable.

You or your dependant may have trip cancellation/interruption coverage in the cases of:

• A Medical Emergency of the Covered Person or, if the Covered Person has already departed on the trip, a Medical Emergency of the Covered Person or Travelling Companion;
• A Medical Emergency or death of a Covered Person or a member of the Covered Person’s immediate or Extended Family;
• The death of a Covered Person’s Travelling Companion or of a member of the Immediate or Extended Family of the Travelling Companion;
• A travel advisory issued by the Government of Canada after the purchase of the travel tickets, recommending that Canadians avoid non-essential travel to that destination;
• If the Covered Person has not yet departed on the trip, a call for jury duty, a subpoena to appear as a witness or a required appearance to be a defendant in a civil suit, during the period of the trip;
• If the Covered Person has already departed on the trip, damage to the Covered Person’s principal residence by a disaster making it uninhabitable; or
• If the Covered Person has already departed on the trip, a natural disaster at the place of destination.

Please note:OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) (CanAssistance) may request proof of non-refundable travel arrangements (i.e., unused tickets, receipts/coupons for transport, etc.), a Physician's statement, and/or documentary evidence of emergency which has caused the cancellation/interruption.

You can purchase extra coverage if you want to increase the number of days out-of-province/out-of-country over the 100-day limit. For more information, call Allianz at 1-866-520-8823 or 519-742-9013.

To purchase extra coverage, you need:

• a valid health card/Provincial Health Plan card number (ID),
• to be a resident of Canada who maintains a permanent place of residence in Canada, and
• to be present in a province or territory for a minimum period of 153 days within 12 months.

In the event of an illness or medical emergency, you or your covered family members must call OTIP Travel Assistance as soon as possible. RTIP members have access to 24-hour emergency assistance while travelling. Emergency travel numbers can be found here.

A pre-existing condition refers to any medical condition that exists prior to the date of the covered person’s departure. Emergency travel insurance excludes treatment of a pre-existing condition that was not medically stable (see above for medically stable definition) for the 90-day period before the covered person’s departure.

If you are medically stable when travelling and experience a medical emergency, you will be covered as per the terms of your RTIP contract. We recommend you discuss your medical conditions with your physician before travelling to ensure you’re considered stable.

Please note: We cannot guarantee coverage as claims are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. However, we can offer pre-trip assistance. OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) can establish over the phone if your known medical condition is eligible for coverage during an upcoming trip and, if need be, recommend that your treating physician complete a medical questionnaire prior to departure.

Travel Advisory Level One and Two:

• Coverage is not affected for these travel advisory levels. We do recommend closely monitoring government-imposed restrictions or advisories before departure and while travelling.

Travel Advisory Level Three and Four:

• If the advisory is issued prior to departure, the plan member has the opportunity to use their trip cancellation coverage to receive reimbursement.
• If an advisory is issued while the member is travelling, coverage will not be affected; however, we recommend that the plan member utilizes their trip interruption coverage to return home immediately, as per the government website instructions.
• If the member decides to travel during a Level Three or Four advisory, there may be no assistance or coverage.
• If you book a trip to a location with a Level 3 (or higher) travel advisory, you cannot claim trip cancellation or trip interruption.

Before travelling, we recommend that members:

• Follow the advice of the Government of Canada and local government when booking trips and travelling.
• Read your RTIP contract for full coverage details to understand your benefits. Visit otip.com and click the Log In button at the top of the webpage, then select RTIP (for retired members) from the drop-down menu to log in and view your contract.
• If you have further questions, you can call OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) at 1-800-936-6226 for information on the destination, benefits, exclusions, and confirmations of coverage.

If you or a covered dependant are placed in a medical quarantine or government-imposed lockdown while travelling, but are not having a medical emergency, your policy does not provide any coverage for trip interruption costs (e.g. accommodations, food or transportation). This is because the plan is intended to protect you if you have a medical emergency.

Subject to the terms of your contract, if you or a covered family member experiences a medical emergency while travelling  and are quarantined/locked down, you may be eligible for coverage under your emergency Out-of-province/Out-of-Canada benefit. In addition, Trip Interruption coverage (part of your Emergency Travel Assistance plan) may cover your costs for food, accommodations and return transportation home (e.g., if you miss your originally scheduled flight). This is also subject to the terms of your policy. 

Eligible travel benefits are limited to 100 days per trip. The 100-day limit will reset once the Covered Person(s) returns to their province or territory of residence for a minimum of 24 hours. You must also maintain Canadian residency requirements, which include:

• Having a valid health card/Provincial Health Plan card number (ID),
• Be a resident of Canada who maintains a permanent place of residence in Canada, and
• Be present in a province or territory for at least 153 days within 12 months.

Coverage begins on the date of departure from the Covered Person’s province/territory of residence. Coverage ends the earlier of the date the Covered Person returns home, or the date the Covered Person reaches the maximum number of days permitted for each trip. Exceptions for hospitalizations and emergencies apply, please refer to your RTIP contract for more information on the 100-day limit.

Third-party liability coverage can protect you in cases where you may be held legally liable (or responsible) for injuries or damage to someone else's property in a collision. It is important that if you’re driving outside of Canada, you have enough liability coverage to cover potential lawsuits due to an accident as lawsuit rewards in the U.S tend to be higher than Canada.

For current OTIP insurance policyholders: Before leaving Canada, contact our Broker Service team at 1-800-267-6847 to ensure you have the right level of coverage for your trip.
Looking for Auto Insurance? Call us at 1-833-536-2184 to speak with an OTIP Broker or get a fast online quote!

Most insurance companies will insure your Canadian car in the U.S. for up to six months, but this period can vary depending on your insurer’s limits and your specific policy.

For current OTIP insurance policyholders: It’s important to contact our Broker Service team at 1-800-267-6847 to ensure you understand your policy’s restrictions and period of coverage outside of Canada.
Looking for Auto Insurance? Call us at 1-833-536-2184 to speak with an OTIP Broker or get a fast online quote!