Where/ how to buy Travel Insurance without a credit card (GTA/ Markham area)

[axelz]

I will be taking a one month trip to Sangklaburi, Thailand Jan 14, and I am still looking for a place where I can purchase travel insurance without a credit card (i.e.; somewhere fairly close by that I can get to by bus/ bike etc, and then pay for my insurance plan with cash.)

I had to use a travel agency to purchase my flight tickets for the same reason. But the place I used (Flight Centre) offers RBC travel insurance as their only available option, and it’s about $100- $150 more expensive on average, than similar packages offered by a number of other companies that come up when I do my search through the travel insurance search engine; http://www.squaremouth.com/travel-insurance/index.pl

(search results included; AIG, USI, Travel Safe, CSA, Global Alert Admin – with prices ranging from $61 -$129 for 1 month packages that offer zero deductibles etc)

So I was just wondering if anyone here from Toronto/ GTA (specifically the Markham area ) has been in this same “no credit card” situation before when having to buy travel insurance? And if so, where did you end up going (any insurance places around the Markham/ Unionville area that come to mind?) and/or what did you end up doing in order to find and pay for your travel insurance? (If anyone has any other simple solutions not involving credit card usage– please let me know.)

If I have to, I’ll just eat the extra $100-$150 from going with RBC through Flight Centre – but I wanted to give this a shot first.

And while I have this topic open, I may as well ask a few more insurance related questions I’ve had on my mind:


1. Upon calling whichever company I end up going with - in the event of trying to make a claim over the phone if I find myself in an emergency - how, without a credit card number to give them, does this work? (Is not having a credit card even going to be an issue at all? Or can anyone make a claim over the phone as long as they have my name and/or policy number or whatever they provide people with for proof of purchase/ coverage?)

2. Although I’m scheduled to be gone for only one month – there is a high probability that I will want/ try to stay another month or so longer.
So my question is;
Is it better (does it work out cheaper) to buy 2 months worth of travel insurance coverage from the onset instead of just one months worth – but then having to phone them and arrange to pay the extension fees once I’m in need of the 2nd month of coverage?

(For example; when I get a quote for a 1 month trip – it comes out to $84 for one of the plans I’m interested in. But when I get a quote for 2 months worth of coverage from that same company/ plan – it comes out to $229.00 (almost two thirds more for some reason?.) So would the 1 month extension costs be relatively similar in total to that 2 month upfront cost? Or is it usually cheaper/ more expensive to pay for the longer period of stay from the beginning vs extending your coverage mid trip?

3. And if I do decide to purchase two months worth of coverage upfront- but then end up returning home after the first month -as originally scheduled- can I be refunded for the remaining unused one month worth of coverage when I get back (or is this something that is never a possibility no matter the company?)

Thanks (sorry about the post length)

[Pete_Coach]

I am not sure what your problem or question is but, you can pay cash anywhere. You seem to have most things covered. It would also seem to me that you can get anywhere in the GTA with the help of a bike/bus/taxi.
The "travel" insurance is for medical? Trip insurance? Baggage loss? Flight cancellation? The more comprehensive, the more expensive it is. Also, there maybe additional charges for certain countries and localities. You need to tell them exactly where you are going.
If medical, it may cost more the longer you stay, exposure to whatever is more likely the longer you stay, hence higher price (IMHO).
CAA also has insurance. Seems you have lots of prices already. You just need to pick one now.

[Jay1234]

To the OP, it would be a good idea to have a credit card. What happens if there is a problem or something happens back here and you need to get out of Thailand quick. You probably wouldn't be able to purchase an emergency flight ticket without a credit card.

Also you mention possibly returning 1 month later then scheduled. You should really check your tickets, most tickets sold through agents like Flight Centre will be non refundable/no exchange ticket. THis means that possibly once you have left that no changes are permitted at all, and if there are changes permitted there will be a fee. That fee will need to be paid to the airline directly, and they may only accept a credit card.

I don't think I would ever travel so far without a CC.

[axelz]

Thank you for the replies so far guys. And yes, I understand that there will be change/ date transfer fees involved with extending date on my return ticket (usually around $100)- and that a credit card "might" be necessary to do this.

For that I was thinking of possibly having my brother call the airline and then paying the change fees with his credit card.

Now, the reason I haven't asked him to purchase my insurance for me with his credit card - is simply that I figured this would cause too many issues with names/ application delays / other identification problems etc etc. But I may try this as a second last resort (last resort being to just get the RBC insurance from Flight Centre, like I said.)


I know there are multiple insurance brokers all over the place around here and everywhere, and that many of them offer travel insurance packages.
But my main hope/ intention with this topic here was to see if anyone could tell me of a place where (in the Markham area, ideally) I could buy one of those plans (which all include medical, cancellation/ interruption, baggage etc) I found through the online search engine (such as AIG, CSA and the other companies I listed above.)

Basically - does anyone know where I can go that deals with AIG insurance and will allow me to pay for an AIG travel insurance plan in cash?

[rangermcfadden]

This isn't in Markham, but maybe you could buy Bon Voyage (https://secure.travelcuts.com/Insurance/Qualify.asp) insurance from Travel Cuts downtown.

As always, check to make sure that you buy everything in the proper order.

[fortunekitty500]

I shopped around and found Manulife to be the cheapest, esp. if you include trip delay/cancel, lost bags, etc.

Have you bought your ticket yet? Note that a lot of companies will only issue the insurance within 48-72hrs of a ticket purchase. So if you bought your ticket weeks ago, you're probably out of luck.