Super visa insurance covers a pre-existing condition only if it has been stable for the insurer’s stability period before the effective date. In October 2026 that period was 90 days at Secure Travel to age 69, 90 to 365 days at TuGo depending on age, and 180 days at Manulife, GMS, Allianz (from 60) and 21st Century Enhanced. An unstable condition is excluded. A false answer on the questionnaire can void the policy entirely.
IRCC does not care whether the condition is covered. Its rule is $100,000 of emergency coverage per applicant for one year from entry, and every plan on this page meets it. The question is what the insurer pays when a 68-year-old with a known heart condition is admitted. That is the difference between a $96,311 bill and a $0 bill.
What is a pre-existing condition, and what does stable mean?
A pre-existing condition is any medical condition, symptom or injury that existed before the policy’s effective date, diagnosed or not. Stable means that for the whole stability period there was no new diagnosis, no new or changed medication, no new or worsening symptoms, no hospitalization, and no test or specialist referral pending.
| Event in the stability period | Stable at most insurers? |
|---|---|
| Same prescription renewed at the same dose | Yes |
| Dose increased | No |
| Dose decreased | No, at most insurers; check wording |
| New medication added for the same condition | No |
| Medication stopped by the doctor | No |
| New symptom investigated, result pending | No |
| Routine check-up with no change | Yes |
| Specialist referral made | No |
| Hospital admission or emergency visit | No |
Insurers assess stability from the medical records at claim time, not from the questionnaire alone. A condition can be stable even if it is serious. A well-controlled heart condition on the same medication for a year is stable. A mild condition whose medication changed last month is not.
What are the stability periods by insurer and age?
Secure Travel requires 90 days to age 69 and 180 days from 70 to 84. TuGo requires 90 days to 59, 120 days from 60 to 69, 180 days from 70 to 85 and 365 days from 86. Destination requires 90, 120 and 180 days for the same bands to 79. Allianz requires 90 days under 60 and 180 days from 60 to 89. Manulife, GMS and 21st Century Enhanced require 180 days at every age.
| Insurer (underwriter) | Under 60 | 60 to 69 | 70 to 79 | 80 to 85 | 86 and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secure Travel/RIMI (iA Financial Group; claims by MSH) | 90 days | 90 days | 180 days | 180 days to 84 | Not covered (plan to 90) |
| TuGo (iA Financial Group) | 90 days | 120 days | 180 days | 180 days | 365 days |
| Destination (Zurich, Canadian Branch) | 90 days | 120 days | 180 days | Pre-existing excluded 80+ | Pre-existing excluded |
| Allianz (CUMIS General Insurance) | 90 days | 180 days | 180 days | 180 days | 180 days to 89 |
| Manulife CoverMe Plan B (Manufacturers Life) | 180 days | 180 days | 180 days | 180 days to 85 | Not sold |
| GMS (Group Medical Services) | 180 days; no questions under 55 | 180 days | 180 days to 79 | Not sold | Not sold |
| 21st Century Enhanced (Manulife) | 180 days | 180 days | 180 days | 180 days to 85 | Not sold (Basic: any age, no pre-existing cover) |
| Travelance Premier (Old Republic) | Stable conditions covered; period per policy wording | Same | Same | Same to 85 | Not sold |
Stability periods seen October 2026, from insurer policy wordings and the PolicyAdvisor summaries — verify in the policy document at purchase. Travelance’s published summaries did not state a day count; the policy wording governs.
The practical reading: for a parent aged 60 to 69 whose medication changed within the last six months, only Secure Travel (90 days) and TuGo or Destination (120 days) may still cover the condition. For a parent 70 or older, every insurer needs 180 days.
What does the medical questionnaire ask?
Most plans ask between five and fifteen yes-or-no questions covering heart conditions, lung conditions, cancer, diabetes treated with insulin, kidney disease, neurological conditions, recent hospitalizations and current medications. Some ask whether a doctor has advised against travel. Each yes answer either raises the premium, triggers an exclusion or declines the application.
Answer every question with the parent’s current prescription list, the date each medication started or last changed, and the most recent doctor’s letter in hand. The THIA Bill of Rights gives the buyer the right to a copy of the medical answers before the policy starts; use it to check.
GMS asks no medical questions under age 55. Manulife Plan A and 21st Century Basic ask none at any age but exclude all pre-existing conditions. A plan with no questions is not a plan with no underwriting. It is a plan where underwriting happens at claim time.
What does misrepresentation do to the policy?
A material misstatement on the questionnaire lets the insurer void the policy from the effective date and deny all claims. That is the whole policy, not only claims related to the undisclosed condition. Most policies apply this to innocent errors as well as deliberate ones. The premium may or may not be refunded.
The reasoning is that the insurer priced the risk on the answers given. If the answers were wrong, the contract was never properly formed. The parent is then uninsured for the entire stay, and the IRCC requirement of valid insurance is unmet in substance, even if the certificate still exists.
What happened in the $96,311 Hamilton case?
In January 2024 an 88-year-old woman from India, in Ontario on a super visa, was admitted to Hamilton General Hospital with respiratory failure and spent almost three weeks there, including time on a ventilator. The bill was $96,311. Her family had bought a basic plan with no medical questionnaire. The insurer reviewed her records at claim time, found congestive heart failure, and denied the claim as a pre-existing condition.
The family said they had no knowledge of a heart condition and that the diagnosis did not match three years of prescription history. After CP24 reported the story in April 2025, the insurer reversed the denial and paid in full. It also said applicants should disclose their health history accurately and consult their doctor if unsure.
Three lessons follow. A no-questionnaire plan moves the underwriting to the worst possible moment. A condition the family does not know about can still be in the records. And an appeal, with press attention, is not a strategy. Buy a plan with a questionnaire, answer it from the file, and keep the answers.
What is TuGo’s 7-day unstable condition rider?
TuGo offers an optional rider that reduces the stability period for one named condition to 7 days, available to age 79. It is the only way among the 8 insurers we compare to insure a condition whose medication changed last month. The rider costs extra and requires the condition to be declared and accepted.
Use it when a parent’s doctor adjusted a dose within the last 90 to 180 days and the trip cannot wait. Without the rider, that condition is excluded at every insurer until the full stability period has run. With it, the condition is covered after 7 stable days. Everything else on the policy keeps TuGo’s standard stability clause.
Why does GMS ask no questions under 55?
GMS covers stable pre-existing conditions for applicants under 55 without a questionnaire, applying its 180-day stability clause at claim time. From 55 to 79 it asks questions. For a 52-year-old parent this removes the misrepresentation risk, because there are no answers to get wrong. The stability clause still applies.
Only 28 per cent of super visa applicants are under 56, so this helps a minority. For that group, GMS at $1,602 a year at age 55 (October 2026, $100,000, $0 deductible) is worth a look. Its $5,000 repatriation cap is the trade-off.
What should you document before you buy?
Collect the parent’s prescription list with start dates and last dose change, the most recent consultation letter for each condition, any test results from the last year, and the date of any hospital visit. Photograph them. Keep the completed questionnaire. Store all of it where the host in Canada can reach it at 2 a.m.
The condition pages explain what each insurer asks for the common diagnoses: diabetes, hypertension, heart conditions, cancer and dementia. The claims page covers what happens when the insurer asks for the records.
Questions people ask
What counts as a pre-existing condition for super visa insurance?
Any illness, injury or symptom that existed before the policy's effective date, whether or not it was diagnosed. That includes conditions controlled by medication, such as hypertension or diabetes. Insurers look at the medical records at claim time, so an undiagnosed but documented symptom can count.
What does stable mean?
No new diagnosis, no new treatment or medication, no change in dose or frequency, no new or worsening symptoms, no hospitalization and no tests pending or recommended, for the whole stability period before the effective date. A dose reduction counts as a change at most insurers. Routine renewals of the same prescription do not.
Which super visa insurer has the shortest stability period?
Secure Travel at 90 days to age 69 and Destination at 90 days to 59. TuGo and Allianz are also 90 days for younger applicants. TuGo offers an optional rider that reduces the period to 7 days for one condition, to age 79. Manulife, GMS and 21st Century Enhanced require 180 days at every age.
Can I get super visa insurance if my parent's condition is unstable?
Yes, but the condition will be excluded, or you can buy TuGo's 7-day unstable rider for applicants to age 79. The policy still meets IRCC's rule because the $100,000 of emergency coverage applies to everything else. Disclose the condition fully; do not buy a no-questionnaire plan to avoid declaring it.
What happens if the medical questionnaire is answered wrongly?
The insurer can void the policy from the start and deny every claim, not only the one related to the error. Most policies also allow the insurer to reduce or deny claims for any misrepresentation, innocent or not. Answer with the parent's prescription list and doctor's letter in hand, not from memory.
Does GMS really ask no medical questions?
Under age 55, GMS asks no medical questions and covers stable pre-existing conditions subject to its 180-day stability clause. From 55 to 79, GMS asks questions. No-questionnaire does not mean no exclusion; the stability clause is still applied at claim time from the medical records.
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