Do you need travel insurance for Europe?

Europe feels familiar and safe to most Ontario travellers, with excellent hospitals across the continent. That can create a false sense of security about coverage, because good care is not free care when you are a visitor.

Is travel insurance mandatory for Europe?

For most Ontario travellers, no. Canadians can visit the Schengen Area, which covers most of Western and Central Europe, visa-free for short stays, and there is no blanket insurance requirement for visa-exempt tourists. (A new ETIAS travel authorization is expected to apply to visa-exempt visitors in the future, but that is a pre-travel authorization, not an insurance mandate.) The one clear exception is travellers who do need a Schengen visa: they must show proof of at least €30,000 in medical coverage. If you are travelling on a Canadian passport for tourism, that visa rule generally will not apply to you.

Why OHIP won’t help

Ontario eliminated most out-of-country medical coverage in 2020, and OHIP never paid foreign hospitals directly or at foreign rates. In Europe, assume OHIP pays little or nothing and nothing up front. It is also a common misconception that you can simply use a European country’s public health system. Those systems are for residents and, through reciprocal arrangements, certain other Europeans; as a Canadian tourist you are treated as a private patient and billed accordingly.

Risks worth insuring against

Europe is low-risk in many ways, but emergencies still occur:

• Everyday accidents. Falls, fractures and sudden illness can happen on any trip and lead to hospital stays billed at full private rates.
• Active travel. Skiing in the Alps, cycling tours and hiking all carry injury risk.
• Long, multi-country itineraries. Rail trips across several countries mean you may need care somewhere you don’t speak the language.
• Trip disruptions. Strikes, weather and missed connections are common enough that trip interruption coverage is worth considering.

What to look for in a policy

Start with emergency medical coverage: a high emergency medical limit, coverage for hospital care and emergency transport, and real 24/7 assistance that can coordinate care across time zones and languages. Our Emergency Medical plans (single-trip or multi-trip annual, worldwide) include around-the-clock assistance in many languages, which is genuinely useful on a multi-country European trip.

If you plan to ski or do other sports, check how the plan treats them and consider an optional Sports & Activities add-on. For eligibility, there is no age limit, travellers under 60 generally answer no medical questions, and those 60 and over complete a medical questionnaire that sets the premium rather than deciding eligibility.

Beyond emergency medical

Emergency medical is the priority for Europe, but a complete policy can do more. Depending on what you add, travel insurance can also cover trip cancellation and interruption if you have to call off or cut short the trip, lost or delayed baggage, rental car damage, and accidental death and dismemberment. TripCovered also bundles services that help before a claim ever happens: telemedicine access (through 1.800MD / Maple) so you can speak to a doctor without finding a local clinic, and MyFlyt flight-delay support, which is handy given how often European connections and rail links are disrupted. If something does go wrong, claims are handled directly through our underwriting partner, which has insured travellers since 1964 and offers 24/7 assistance in multiple languages. You don’t need every piece, but it’s worth knowing the full toolkit exists when you build your plan.

The bottom line

You can tour Europe without travel insurance as a short-stay Canadian tourist, but doing so means carrying the full cost of any emergency yourself, at private rates, with no provincial backstop. Most Ontario travellers decide coverage is worth it. When you’re ready, compare your options and get a quote based on your trip length, age and coverage needs.