Insurance Explanation for outside of Ontario
In the province of Ontario, OHIP is the primary medical coverage under the Canada Health Act and responds whenever an Ontario resident presents himself/herself to the medical system. Some occurrences are not covered under OHIP and that is where the OSA insurance attempts to bridge the gap. Recognizing that the OSA promotes participation in sport, soccer in particular, and that such participation occurs in recreational time, the OSA's Accidental Death and Dismemberment Policy is intended as additional coverage to deal with common injuries that might result from participation in soccer. Often called Accident Insurance this coverage is supplemental to both OHIP and any personal family health coverage. There are of course limits, but when there in an injury as a result of playing soccer, in general this supplement will cover things like ambulance transport from the pitch to hospital when required, crutches, physiotherapy after treatment, emergency dental work and death resulting from participation in an OSA sanctioned event. All properly registered OSA players are covered when participating in sanctioned events including practices, games, tournaments and exhibitions.
More detail is available here.
It is most important to understand that when a player leaves the province of Ontario, the primary insurance (OHIP) in effect, disappears. In addition, this Accident Insurance is not health insurance; if a participant becomes ill, unrelated to participating in a game, (say gets the flu), when out of the province/country and needs a doctor, this insurance does not cover that. That is why we strongly advise all districts, clubs and teams to purchase proper travel insurance when leaving the province so that not only proper accident coverage is in effect but also health insurance if a doctor/hospital is needed. To repeat, health insurance is not part of the OSA coverage. Travel insurance covers many more items than just sport accident and it is relatively inexpensive averaging less than $3 per person per day and provides $5,000,000 of coverage.
In addition, while there is a reciprocal agreement amongst Canadian provinces through the Canada Health Act, the process of reimbursement is tedious and aggravating. And then there is the translation issue when dealing with Quebec.
Leonard Golberg
Executive Director, Pro Tem
The Ontario Soccer Association
7601 Martin Grove Road
Vaughan, ON L4L 9E4
t 905.264.9390
905.264.9390 x248
