Kingfisher strongly recommends all booked guests to purchase travel insurance for their trip that includes cancellations and trip interruptions as well as medical expenses and evacuations in Canada.

Most insurance policies need to be booked within so many hours or days after your trip or tour booking. For policy options check with your local travel agent or book online through your bank or regular insurance provider. Due to different policy options per country you’re travelling from as well as the ever-evolving nature of insurance policies, the information below is compiled from the research we have recently done and we recommend guest to do their own research in addition to find the best policy for your personal situation.

What you are looking for in your insurance is the following

• Trip Cancellation and Interruption insurance: in case unforeseen events such as unexpected illness or injury prevent you from going on your trip. Or if you are required to interrupt your trip and return home pre-maturely. This also covers canceled or delayed flights, ferries or other types of transport that prevent you from going on your tour with us.
• Medical Travel insurance: in case you need to receive medical attention and/or evacuation during your trip. Due to the nature of our kayak tours, you want to ensure it includes wilderness activities and that it not only covers the cost of medical attention but also the cost of evacuation from a remote wilderness setting.

What you want to keep in mind is that events that are considered “known or foreseeable” are not covered by most travel insurance policies. This can include a known health concern that could eventually prevent you from travelling in the future. Also the current Coronavirus outbreak is now considered one of those “foreseeable events”. 

This has prompted insurance providers to add coverage for COVID-related cancellations to their policies. The insurance companies that we have found that offer the extra COVID Coverage are SafetyWing for travellers from Canada, Heymondo for travellers from the USA, Europe and other parts of the world, and Staysure for travellers from the UK. Likely, there are more options available through your local travel agent, so this list solely acts as a suggestion.

Another way to be insured in these uncertain times is to opt for the “Cancel for Any Reason” coverage (CFAR) as an optional upgrade to most travel insurance plans. CFAR allows you to cancel your trip, whatever your reason may be, and receive a partial refund—usually 50% or 75% of the value of your prepaid and non-refundable expenses, such as airline tickets, tour and hotel reservations. Events that are considered “known or foreseeable” will also be covered under this upgrade. The CFAR upgrade has to be purchased within days of making the initial trip deposit (this varies by provider so make sure to know when the exact cut-off is). The trip also has to be cancelled no later than 48 hours prior to departure, in order to qualify for refunds from your insurance company.