IEC Insurance with Winter Sports Coverage for your Working Holiday in Canada

Standard IEC working-holiday insurance often excludes skiing and snowboarding, so if you're heading to a Canadian ski town you need a plan with winter-sports cover. The BestQuote MedEC policy has optional winter-sports coverage to add to your IEC-compliant policy which already includes emergency medical, hospitalisation and repatriation coverage. On top of that, the BestQuote MedEC policy can be bought for your full 2-year stay at once, so you're covered across multiple seasons without re-buying.

Most Canada IEC participants who come for the snow are heading to resorts like Whistler Blackcomb, Banff/Lake Louise, Sun Peaks, Big White, or Revelstoke often to work a season or two. A collision on a groomed run or a bad fall on the hill can mean a serious, expensive injury, and without winter-sports cover your emergency-medical claim can be denied. This page explains exactly what the endorsement does and doesn't cover, so there are no surprises.

Not automatically. Many travel and working-holiday policies treat skiing and snowboarding as a higher-risk activity and exclude it unless you add winter-sports cover. To be covered for a ski or snowboard injury on a Canada working holiday, choose an IEC plan that explicitly includes winter sports - like the BestQuote MedEC with winter-sports option.

The MedEC Winter Sports Extension Endorsement is required to cover skiing and snowboarding if you're 18–40 at the time of purchase which is every IEC working-holiday maker. With the endorsement added, you're covered for:

• Recreational skiing and snowboarding on monitored, in-bounds resort terrain;

• Recreational ice hockey / shinny, snowshoeing, and tobogganing (or similar activities).

What the endorsement does not cover: know this before you buy:

• Terrain parks, jumps, half-pipe, and stunts (including ski or snowboard jumping and aerials);

• Backcountry / off-piste defined as any area, inside or outside a resort's boundaries, that isn't monitored or patrolled by resort authorities;

• Racing, speed contests, or competitive events;

• Professional (paid or prize-money) skiing or snowboarding;

• Motorized snow sports, and organized-league ice hockey.

In plain terms: MedEC covers recreational, in-bounds resort riding. If you plan to ride the park, drop into the backcountry, race, or go heli cat-skiing, those are excluded so know that going in, and talk to us about whether a different plan fits before you buy. (This is exactly the coverage most working-holiday skiers and boarders need, at a fraction of the price of the Australian snow packages.)

• One policy for two years. Buy your full 730-day permit's cover once sp no re-buying between the seasons the way one-year Australian policies force. Ideal if you're doing back-to-back seasons.

• IEC-compliant medical. Emergency medical, hospitalisation and repatriation as IRCC requires - the mandatory base coverage, with winter sports on top.

• Maple virtual care: 3 prepaid online doctor visits a year for the non-emergency stuff (a chesty cough in the staff dorm, a prescription refill) while you wait for a provincial health card.

• GHIP refund: 25% of remaining premium back once you land a resort job and enrol in provincial health.

• Side trips home up to 35 days without voiding cover so you can go home for a quick visit and, keep your policy.

For age 18–35, a 1-year BestQuote MedEC policy with winter-sports cover is about CAD $868.70; two years is about CAD $1,739.78 ($100,000 coverage, $0 deductible). Adding winter sports to a standard IEC plan is a modest uplift over the base premium, and it's far cheaper than most Australian- or NZ-issued snow policies for Canada.

(Prices are indicative - age, deductible, coverage amount and trip length change them. Get your exact price in the quote tool.)

Get an instant live price for IEC insurance with winter sports - start your quote.

• Working-holiday skiers/snowboarders on an IEC visa (Australians, New Zealanders, Brits, Irish, and more) heading to a Canadian resort.

• Multi-season workers who want one 2-year policy instead of extending each year.

• Anyone whose current/quoted IEC plan excludes winter sports and needs to add it to be safe on the mountain.

It's not the right fit if you'll be riding terrain parks, backcountry/off-piste, racing, or heli/cat-skiing — those aren't covered by the endorsement. Call us and we'll help you find a plan that covers what you actually ride.

1. Start a quote and select IEC Visa Insurance; enter your dates and date of birth.

2. Add the winter-sports option when prompted.

3. Compare the plans that appear, check the winter-sports scope in the policy wording, and buy online - documents emailed immediately for the border.

Not sure whether your plan covers the terrain you'll ride? Call us at 1-888-888-0510 and we'll confirm before you buy.