World Travel Assistance Taking your Group Benefits on the road World Travel Assistance When travelling across Canada or to another country, you could face an unexpected medical emergency. ManuAssist is designed to make your business or pleasure travel worry-free. Your group benefits plan already provides coverage for emergency medical treatment for you and your covered dependents while travelling outside your province. ManuAssist enhances this coverage by providing on-the-spot help in getting you through a medical or other travel emergency. ManuAssist services Medical emergency assistance 24-hour access to services in most languages referral to local medical care monitoring of medical care payment of medical bills medical transportation return home of dependent children visit by family member trip interruption/delay convalescence after hospital discharge identification of deceased return of deceased meals and accommodation vehicle return Group Benefits Non-medical assistance pre-trip assistance replacing lost documents and tickets referral to legal assistance telephone interpretation service emergency message service Please consult your benefit booklet for details on any limitations that may apply.
Medical emergency assistance In the event of a medical emergency, it is extremely important that you contact ManuAssist either prior to or as soon as possible after being admitted to hospital. ManuAssist will guarantee your eligibility for coverage to the hospital. A medical emergency is a sudden or unexpected injury which occurs, or an unforeseen illness which begins, while a covered person is travelling outside their normal province of residence and requires immediate medical attention. Such medical emergency no longer exists when, in the opinion of the attending physician, the covered person is able to return to their province of residence. Around-the-clock access Assistance in almost any language, through a toll-free/call-collect telephone hotline and fax line, is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Information on local medical care ManuAssist will refer you to a local physician, dentist, pharmacist, or appropriate medical facility. Monitoring of your medical care Medical care and services will be monitored by medical staff who will maintain contact as frequently as necessary with you, your attending physician, your personal physician and your family. Claims payment service If medical expenses are in excess of $200: ManuAssist arranges for the payment of medical expenses, provided ManuAssist is contacted before the expense is incurred. You will be asked to sign an authorization form, allowing ManuAssist to coordinate payment of the claim on your behalf through your provincial government health insurance plan and Manulife Financial Group Benefits. So, you don t have to worry about payment for eligible emergency medical services in excess of $200. If required, ManuAssist will forward an advance deposit to the hospital before medical services are rendered. If payments made on your behalf are subsequently determined to be for ineligible services or amounts, Manulife Financial Group Benefits reserves the right to recover the overpayment from you. If you did not contact ManuAssist first, you are responsible for paying the expense and submitting the claim for reimbursement to your provincial government health insurance plan and Manulife Financial Group Benefits. If medical expenses are $200 or less: You are responsible for paying the expense and submitting the claim for reimbursement to your provincial government health insurance plan and Manulife Financial Group Benefits. Details for claim submission are outlined in your benefit booklet. Transportation & related services Medical transportation Medical transportation arrangements will be made to transfer you to and from the nearest medical facility or to a medical facility in your province of residence. Expenses incurred for the medical transportation will be paid by Manulife Financial. If medically necessary, round-trip transportation for a medical attendant to accompany and care for you will also be arranged and paid by Manulife Financial. Return home of dependent children If dependent children are left unattended due to the hospitalization of a covered person, transportation will be arranged to return them to their normal place of residence. The extra costs over and above any allowance available under prepaid travel arrangements will be paid. If necessary, round-trip transportation for a qualified escort to accompany the children will be arranged and paid.
Visit by a family member ManuAssist can help if, while travelling alone, you or one of your covered dependents become hospitalized and are expected to remain in the hospital for more than seven days. Expenses, incurred for round-trip economy transportation, will be paid for one member of the immediate family to visit. The visit must be approved in advance by Manulife Financial Group Benefits. Return of deceased If a covered person should die while travelling, all necessary authorizations will be obtained and arrangements made to transport the deceased back to the province of residence. The costs of preparation and transportation of the body are eligible, up to a maximum of $5000 (Canadian funds). Expenses related to the burial are not eligible. Trip interruption/delay If, while travelling, a trip is interrupted or delayed due to an illness or injury of a covered person, one-way economy transportation will be arranged so that each covered person (and a travelling companion, if applicable) may rejoin the trip or return home. The extra cost over and above any allowance available under prepaid travel arrangements will be paid. If the choice is made to rejoin the trip, further expenses incurred related directly or indirectly to the same illness or injury will not be paid. A travelling companion is any one person travelling with the covered person, and whose fare for transportation and accommodation was pre-paid at the same time as the covered person s fare. Convalescence after hospital discharge If you are unable to travel for medical reasons following hospital discharge, expenses incurred for meals and accommodations after the scheduled date of departure will be paid (subject to the maximum shown under meals and accommodation). Identification of deceased If a covered person dies while travelling alone, round-trip economy transportation will be arranged and paid for one member of the immediate family, if necessary, to identify the deceased prior to release of the body. Meals and accommodation Reimbursement will be made for the cost of accommodation and meals, subject to a maximum payment of $2000 (Canadian funds) for each medical emergency, in the following situations: return home of dependent children visit by a family member trip interruption/delay convalescence after hospital discharge identification of the deceased Vehicle return If you are unable to operate your own vehicle or a rented vehicle due to illness, injury or death, arrangement and payment up to a maximum of $1000 (Canadian funds) will be made for a commercial agency to return the vehicle to your place of residence, or to the nearest appropriate rental agency. Non-medical assistance Around-the-clock access in most languages is also available for the following: Pre-trip assistance Up-to-date information is provided for passport, visa, vaccination and inoculation requirements for your travel destination.
Lost or stolen document and ticket replacement In the event of theft or loss, ManuAssist will assist you in contacting local authorities to help replace travel documents or tickets. Legal referral When required, ManuAssist will provide referral to a local legal advisor, as well as assistance in obtaining a cash advance from funds available through personal credit cards, family, or friends. Telephone interpretation service ManuAssist will provide telephone interpretation services in most major languages. Emergency message service A telephone/message service will be provided for emergency messages to/from family, friends, or business associates, left by/for you or your covered dependents while travelling. Messages will be held for 15 days. A world of added benefits ManuAssist provides the following enhancements to the Out-of- Province/Out-of-Canada Coverage as described in your benefit booklet. waiver of the deductible and co-insurance for all eligible emergency expenses. hospital coverage for an unlimited number of days, in the event of an emergency. Covered expenses may be subject to a lifetime maximum. Please see your benefit booklet for details. Limitations ManuAssist is administered through World Access Inc., an international medical assistance organization. Should a medical emergency occur while you are travelling, World Access professionals will immediately help by providing these services. Neither World Access nor Manulife Financial Group Benefits will be liable in any manner whatsoever, if conditions, events or factors beyond their control delay, interfere, or prevent the provision of any services. Neither World Access nor Manulife Financial Group Benefits is responsible for the availability, quality, or results of any medical treatment received by you or your covered dependents, or the failure to obtain medical treatment or emergency assistance services for any reason. ManuAssist is provided to you and your dependents while travelling outside your province of residence for specified periods of time, according to the plan selected by your plan sponsor. Please see your benefit booklet for details on the length of time that coverage is provided. Service problems If you are not satisfied with the service you receive from ManuAssist, please ask your contact at ManuAssist to have a Manulife Financial Group Benefits representative phone you directly. Before you leave For complete peace of mind, we recommend that you add these items to your pre-travel checklist: 1 Obtain ManuAssist pre-trip assistance with passport, visa, vaccination and inoculation requirements for your travel destination.
2 Prepare those travelling with you. This way, your travelling companion will be able to take the first steps quickly, should a medical emergency arise and you or your covered dependents become unable to call for assistance. 3 Review ManuAssist coverage as well as the Out-of- Province/Out-of-Canada Coverage described in your benefit booklet. By doing so, you ll be familiar with your coverage if an emergency happens while you are away from home. 4 Call ManuAssist before you leave to make sure that assistance is available in the country you are visiting. ManuAssist may not be available in countries of political unrest. At time of printing, these include: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Croatia, Gambia, Iraq, Liberia, Montserrat, Montenegro, Nigeria, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Yugoslavia. 5 If travelling outside North America, call 1-800-561-8868 to find out if the country you are visiting has a Canada Direct line, which connects you directly to a Canadian operator should you need ManuAssist services when travelling. 6 Keep your ManuAssist card with you. It is designed to go where you go and easily fits into a wallet, money belt or purse. The ManuAssist card provides the information needed to use ManuAssist services. When you travel, take this brochure with you for easy reference to ManuAssist services. If a medical emergency occurs when you are travelling: 1 Call the number listed on your ManuAssist card before, or as soon as possible after, receiving treatment or being admitted to hospital. If you are unable to make the call yourself, a travelling companion, attending physician or hospital administrator may place the call for you. ManuAssist will guarantee your eligibility for coverage to the hospital. 2 A Medical Assistance Coordinator will answer, and ask how he or she can help. If you need service in a language other than English, just ask. 3 You ll then be asked to give the details of the emergency and the assistance you need. 4 The Medical Assistance Coordinator will also ask for the patient s: ManuAssist number* plan number* name, member name* and certificate number* provincial health insurance number location (city, country, address, phone number.) *This information is included on your ManuAssist card, your wallet id, or your benefit booklet. ManuAssist 24-hour Emergency Hotline In Canada and the United States Phone 1-800-265-9977 Fax 1-800-583-4827 In other countries use operator to CALL COLLECT (519) 741-8450 All provisions applicable as outlined in your benefit booklet apply under all circumstances, unless otherwise specified. Ce document est aussi disponible en français sur demande. GL4003F ManuAssist World Travel Assistance Registered trademark of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company 1999. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the publisher s copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. Manulife Financial (Manulife Financial Corporation, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries) is a leading provider of financial protection products and investment management services to individuals, families, businesses and groups in selected international markets. Canadian-based Manulife Financial operates in 15 countries and territories worldwide, with more than 28,000 employees and agents. Funds under management by the Company and its subsidiaries were in excess of Cdn$105 billion as of September 30, 1999. Manulife Financial Corporation trades under the ticker symbol MFC on the TSE, NYSE and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company GL4003E (1299)