travel insurance for a group

I am not familiar with insurance in Canada.

One idea is, if your group is part of some larger organization, contact their HQ. They may already have invented this wheel.

Another idea is to contact an independent agent, one who sells for multiple companies, and have him do the research for you. He should be motivated to find you a good deal with a good company in the hopes of earning repeat business and good word of mouth PR

Having everyone on one policy is great foresight

Or check with the HQ of whatever organization that arranges exchange programs for high-school students in uour area -- when my daughter spenr a year abroad with AFS (AFS-USA.org) they provided secondary insurance for all students as part of the program package.

I'm thinking that you should talk to an independent insurance broker. Since everyone on the trip is getting insurance, there should be a substantial discount. One of the reasons insurance rates are high is that generally, only people who think they may be likely to need to file a claim purchase travel insurance. But if everyone gets it, that means people won't be cherry picking policies. It is highly unlikely that everyone on the trip will have a reason to file a claim.

Senior Discovery Tours in Canada includes insurance in their tour prices, through Manulife. You might contact the SDT Toronto office for guidance and information.

I think you have some advice that could get you on the right track, some of the key points I think are:

• Definitely check into options associated with whatever organization is connected to this group. School, Church, Girl Scouts, Sports Teams, all have insurance options they use or have access to.
• Talk to an independent insurance agent. They do not always deal with trip insurance, but they may. While you are speaking with them, discuss a high Dollar Umbrella Liability policy for yourself (and other adults on the trip) God forbid that anything should happen to any of the girls, but you need more than just trip insurance.
• The two (or maybe 4) options you mentioned above are good, but as someone alluded to, I would not just sign everyone up individually. Get right to the policy issuer and explain that you offer a sale of 40 plus policies, you should be able to get a deeply discounted price. Given that most of the group is young, even more of a discount (No heart, Diabetes (maybe), Chronic disease, or Mobility issues associated with us geezers)

I would suggest going with a well recognized name, spend some time talking to them about if a need arises, what is the procedure, what permissions or documentation will you need as an unrelated adult to assure a girls gets treatment, evacuations, etc., will payment for local services be expected, maybe lots of other questions, basically have an emergency plan on paper, a checklist of sorts, to follow.

Terrific advice, all. Thank you so much, I will use all of it. The advice about documenting a risk management plan is also very helpful, I have thought about it but not done anything yet. Thanks everyone.

Is this insurance for a medical emergency, rather than a cancellation? Remember, when shopping, that many health policies only pay the difference between what your provincial health insurance already covers and the total bill. For a quick trip to a clinic or hospital, that may not be much. For an evacuation it will be a whopping bill. Private policies may differ on details. Mine, which I maintain all the time, will pay for a close relative to come to help retrieve me, replacement of missed flights and a number of other items including help with replacing a lost passport. But it is essential to retain all paperwork and communicate immediately with the policy issuer on serious issues. Some of the services may be handled by a contracted firm.

Given everything else you have to worry about, perhaps you can find a parent of one of your charges who is an insurance professional, and ask (or demand) advice.
I have had policies from ManuLife and Great-West Life, both major international companies based in Canada. I can see little difference, although fortunately have never needed their services.

My travel buddy and I are both currently fighting with AIG TravelGuard over our trip cancellation claims. While, I won't say don't use them, I will caution anyone to read the small contradictory print. We bought travel insurance thinking health, never imagined that the trip would be cancelled due to theft of funds by the travel agent.

Thanks, Southam. We are looking for all-inclusive travel insurance: out-of-country medical, trip cancellation/interruption/delay, baggage loss/delay. All the policies I've read have included the items you mention. How good they will be if we have claims is of course undetermined. I will ensure all parents know what is needed to claim for items other than medical. I have canvassed the parent community for help and got crickets...I do have help in other areas but no insurance experts have magically appeared.

Using this advice, I've made a few more phone calls and have a few more to do yet. I'm feeling a bit more confident, thanks all.

horsewoofie, I've been following your story with horror on the forum over the last few months. A showdown with the insurance company seemed an almost inevitable next step to this disaster. I'm glad it didn't completely ruin your trip, but what a huge mess. I am glad you have publicized the details, since it seems impossible to put that miscreant out of business in the Internet age.

We have determined that trip cancellation is almost useless in our situation and just taking it as an extra add-on to the policy we need. We'll certainly file claims if needed, but we're trying to avoid the necessity by dealing directly with our hotel/air/transportation suppliers as much as possible.

Thanks for the heads about AIG, we'll be careful. And I have read every last word more than once, and will again to summarize for the parents.