The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) – whose member companies comprise 99% of the country’s life and health insurance business – has issued an advisory asking customers to limit their calls for travel medical assistance, unless their concerns are urgent.

CLHIA stated that its travel insurer members are receiving an “unprecedented” number of calls amid the COVID-19 outbreak. While the industry is working to respond to everyone as quickly as possible, the call volume is too much to handle for insurers whose capabilities have also been limited by the pandemic.

The association said that its members will prioritize calls from people from abroad who need to get home, or who need assistance with a health emergency. CLHIA has asked that customers who do not fall under either category stop contacting their travel insurers’ call centres at this difficult time.

For those looking to cancel their trip, CLHIA has advised that they should reach out to their travel vendor (i.e. airline, travel agency, etc.). Customers should only submit their claims to their travel insurer within seven to 14 days of their original departure date.

CLHIA has also suggested that customers should refer to their insurers’ websites since some have online claim portals and FAQs for assistance.