24-Hours Emergency Assistance

Canada/U.S.: 1-800-936-6226

Outside Canada and the U.S.: 519-742-3556. If calling collect, please note you must use a landline.

IMPORTANT: If you are travelling and in need of medical treatment, please contact OTIP Travel Assistance (CanAssistance) before seeking treatment if possible.

When travelling Out-of-Province/Out-of-Country, medical emergency is defined as:

• A sudden, unexpected injury or a new medical condition which occurs while you or your eligible dependent(s) (e.g. spouse/child) are travelling outside of their province of residence, or
• A previously diagnosed medical or chronic condition that is medically stable (see the question below for our definition of medically stable) at the time of departure.
• A medical emergency ends when the attending physician feels that, based on the medical evidence, a patient is stable enough to return to their home province or territory.

In the 90 days before your departure, you or your eligible dependant has not:

• has not been any new treatment prescribed or recommended, or change(s) to existing treatment (including stoppage in treatment), and
• had an increase or worsening of the medical condition, and
• had any new test results showing your condition or illness has worsened.
• had any new, more frequent, or more severe symptoms, and
• been admitted to or treated at a hospital for the medical condition or illness,. or referral to a specialist, and
• been any tests, investigation or treatment recommended, but not yet complete, nor any outstanding test results, and
• planned, or have any pending treatment, and
• changed treatments or medications (including an increase, decrease, or stoppage to prescribed dosage), unless decrease in dosage was because your condition or illness improved.

Note: All conditions above must be met during the 90-day period before departure to be considered medically stable.

Consider extra coverage if you want to increase the number of days out-of-province/out-of-country over the 100-day limit.

Get comprehensive protection for as long as you need it with top-up coverage from Allianz Global Assistance. For more information, call Allianz at 1-866-520-8823 or 519-742-9013.

In the event of an illness or medical emergency, you or your covered family members must call OTIP Travel Assistance as soon as possible. RTIP members have access to 24-hour emergency assistance while travelling. Emergency travel numbers can be found here.

A pre-existing condition refers to any medical condition that exists prior to the date of the covered person’s departure. Emergency travel insurance excludes treatment of a pre-existing condition that was not medically stable (see above for medically stable definition) for the 90-day period before the covered person’s departure.

If you are medically stable when travelling and experience a medical emergency, you will be covered as per the terms of your RTIP contract. We recommend you discuss your medical conditions with your physician before travelling to ensure you’re considered stable.

Please note: We cannot guarantee coverage as claims are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

If it is medically impossible for the covered person to call prior to obtaining emergency treatment, it is important to have someone (family member, caregiver, friend, etc.) call OTIP Travel Assistance on the covered person’s behalf within 48 hours and alert them of the treatment. If possible, please ensure the individual calling has your RTIP ID handy.

Travel Advisory Level One and Two:

• Coverage is not affected for these travel advisory levels. We do recommend closely monitoring government-imposed restrictions or advisories before departure and while travelling.

Travel Advisory Level Three and Four:

• If the advisory is issued prior to departure, the plan member has the opportunity to use their trip cancellation coverage to receive reimbursement.
• If an advisory is issued while the member is travelling, coverage will not be affected; however, we recommend that the plan member utilizes their trip interruption coverage to return home immediately, as per the government website instructions.
• If the member decides to travel during a Level Three or Four advisory, there may be no assistance or coverage.
• If you book a trip to a location with a Level 3 (or higher) travel advisory, you cannot claim trip cancellation or trip interruption.

Before travelling, we recommend that members:

• Follow the advice of the Government of Canada and local government when booking trips and travelling.
• Read your RTIP contract for full coverage details to understand your benefits. Visit otip.com and click the Log In button at the top of the webpage, then select RTIP (for retired members) from the drop-down menu to log in and view your contract.

If you or a covered dependant are placed in a medical quarantine or government-imposed lockdown while travelling, but are not having a medical emergency, your policy does not provide any coverage for trip interruption costs (e.g. accommodations, food or transportation). This is because the plan is intended to protect you if you have a medical emergency. 

Subject to the terms of your contract, if you or a covered family member experiences a medical emergency while travelling  and are quarantined/locked down, you may be eligible for coverage under your emergency Out-of-province/Out-of-Canada benefit. In addition, Trip Interruption coverage (part of your Emergency Travel Assistance plan) may cover your costs for food, accommodations and return transportation home (e.g., if you miss your originally scheduled flight). This is also subject to the terms of your policy.