Medical Insurance Imposed for Travellers to Cuba  - Updated

Review and comments updated April 14th.

The Cuban government has advised that effective May1, 2010, visitors entering Cuba will be required to buy health insurance, that is approved or recognized by the Cuban government.

As of April 13th, Cuba does not have a published list to recognized insurance providers, nor has any confirmation that Cuba will provide a list.

RBC Insurance Company of Canada, whose  Travel insurance products are available form Paragon Travel, have issued the following update based on the current information available from Cuba.

“ The latest information from Cuba indicates that travellers coming to the island should take out travel medical insurance at the home country of departure.  Upon demand after their arrival, travellers shall present an insurance policy, insurance certificate or travelling assistance card valid for travel medical insurance for their total duration of stay in Cuba.  Please be sure that your clients travel with their Confirmation of Coverage document and that they have it available upon their arrival in Cuba. This document identifies their effective date of coverage and departure date, the insurance product purchased and displays Assured Assistance Inc. as the emergency medical provider.” *

“RBC Insurance has extensive experience in working with Asistur, the Cuban government’s assistance agency, to assist and settle claims for your valued clients travelling to Cuba.*

*Extract from  RBC Insurance Company of Canada, Update of 14 April, 2010

Paragon Travel will update this page as we receive additional information, on how Cuba is going to implement their new Travel / Medical  insurance policy.

Paragon Travel’s,  Nick Lawley,  recommends that all  travellers to Cuba who will be arriving on or after May 01, 2010, purchase  Travel Insurance from one of the major Travel insurance providers such as RBC. We do not know how Cuba will implement this new policy, but we do know that tourism is one of Cuba’s major sources of foreign exchange, jobs for Cuba’s citizens  and represents hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment, and do not think that they will implement a policy that will negatively hurt their long term Tourism industry.

One thing is clear the days of taking a risk and travelling to Cuba without any travel medical insurance are over,  and we doubt that waiving a “gold”  credit card and saying I am covered will have any credibility with the Cubans either.

In the short term if you are concerned about travel to Cuba until this issue is resolved, you may wish to talk to your travel agent about booking your vacation in an alternative destination.

If you have any questions please call Nick Lawley at Paragon Travel.

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Original Post

The Cuban Government of Raul Castro have changed the rules for travel to Cuba, effective May 01, 2010, all visitors to Cuba are required to have travel medical insurance coverage that is valid in Cuba, and be able to provide documentation to prove that you do. If you do not or can not prove that you have insurance you will no longer be permitted to enter the country.

Note that the  Cuban Government is licensing companies to sell “insurance recognized in Cuba”, at the airport on arrival, I am sure that this will result in overpriced low coverage insurance being sold at the Cuban airports and the immigration officers being particularly vigilant at enforcing the rules as they see them.

Buy valid insurance before you depart for Cuba,  and bring all of  the documentation with you. Saying I am covered by my company will not suffice, you must have specific proof of insurance coverage valid in Cuba.

TICO, (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) requires that all registered travel agencies offer travel insurance to when they sell travel to Ontario consumers. Paragon Travel is proud to offer our clients, RBC travel insurance. In my opinion RBC Travel insurance is the Gold Standard for Travel insurance in Canada.

If you require Travel insurance or emergency out of country medical insurance for Cuba or other destinations please call or email us.

Nick Lawley, Paragon Travel, Toronto, ON

Nick@paragontravel.com 1 888 461 0231

“Cuba to Require Medical Insurance for Tourists

Thursday, 11/03/2010

The government of President Raul Castro stated that as of May 1 foreigners and Cubans living in other countries may enter Cuba only if they carry a travel insurance policy with medical coverage.

Foreigners with temporary residence in Cuba also should have a health insurance policy during their stay on the Caribbean island, according to an agreement of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers published Saturday in the Official Gazette.

Policies shall be issued by insurers recognized in Cuba and may also recruit at points of entry into the country, according to the rules.

Diplomats and representatives of international organizations accredited in the country are exempt from that provision, the statement said.

According to official figures, 2.4 million people, of whom nearly 300 thousand Cubans living abroad, visited Cuba in 2009.”

We believe that this new requirement will be  enforced from day one without exception.

(Travel Press)