The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) has confirmed owner-operators who hold travel health insurance policies on an individual basis will not lose coverage when entering the U.S.

The federal government’s ‘Avoid non-essential travel’ advisory will not apply to commercial truckers. This follows an announcement that company-supplied out-of-country medical coverage will cover truckers who become infected by Covid-19 while in the U.S.

“The situation has been less clear for truckers holding individual insurance as the insurers generally do not classify individual travel health policies by employment category,” CLHIA announced today in a release.

“As a solution, insurers will be asking those with individual coverage to identify themselves as a cross-border commercial trucker at time of claim. Those purchasing new policies will similarly be asked to identify their trade at time of purchase.”

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) says it worked with CLHIA to clarify the rules.

“CTA applauds CLHIA for working diligently with our members in closing the loop for owner-operators and bringing peace of mind to the nation’s drivers, regardless of whether they are company drivers or independent, who are all working hard picking up and delivering the vital supplies Canadians need to fight and resist Covid-19,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski. “Drivers now know their insurers are behind them every step of the way at a time their services are more critical than ever.”