Despite having travel insurance, Ontario man hit with $147K bill after being hospitalized in Mexico

If you purchase travel insurance ahead of a trip outside Canada, there are cases where it can be denied if a company feels you were sick before you left.

Despite having travel medical insurance, an Ontario man who was hospitalized for over a week while on vacation in Mexico ended up with a $147,502 medical bill.

In April 2024, Bahoz Ali, of Oshawa, travelled to Mexico with his girlfriend. Before travelling overseas, he purchased the Global Youth All-Inclusive travel policy.

“Months before we planned it, it was me and my significant other and we booked the trip. We did pay for travel insurance as per usual,” said Ali.

A week before they took their flight to Cancun, Ali said he felt like he had the flu and visited a walk-in clinic.

“I went to see a medical physician, and they confirmed it was a run-of-the-mill sickness and I should be perfectly fine to go on the trip,” Ali said.

However, two days after Ali got to the resort, he began feeling unwell. He later suffered multiple seizures, requiring urgent care and shortly after, he slipped into a coma.

“At that point, my brain goes numb, and I don’t remember much of anything afterwards,” Ali told CTV News.

He received treatment in Mexico for eight days, but it wasn’t clear exactly what his health issue was. It was agreed he would be flown back to Canada by air ambulance.

He received ongoing treatment upon returning to Canada, and all his bills were paid. However, a year later, he was told that his claim had been denied and that he would have to repay $147,502.

“There is no way to expect a typical household to pay over $147,000,” said Ali’s brother, Hano.

Why the claim was denied

An investigation into the claim found that Ali had gone into a walk-in clinic before his trip. According to Manulife’s Global Youth All-Inclusive policy, policyholders must be stable for 90 days before leaving.

When CTV News reached out to Manulife on Ali’s behalf, a spokesperson said in a statement, “Manulife can confirm that medical records indicate that prior to travel, Mr. Ali was experiencing symptoms and had sought medical care related to a pre‑existing condition. Under the policy, this condition fell within the three-month stability period prior to departure. Since the condition was known at the time of travel based on the prior medical care, this affected how coverage was applied.”

“This situation underscores the importance of understanding travel insurance coverage, as policies contain specific terms, conditions, and exclusions. Manulife encourages travellers to carefully review their policy and share relevant medical information in advance, including if there are any changes since the time of purchase. Our insurance support teams are also available to answer questions to help policy holders have a clear understanding of their coverage.”

According to Manulife’s decision, the claim does not qualify for coverage and payment in the amount of $147,502 due to Global Excel Management.

‘This is really sad’

Martin Firestone, president of travel insurance company Travel Secure Inc., told CTV News this is an unfortunate situation.

“This is really sad because it is a lot of money,” said Firestone.

The family has since appealed twice, unsuccessfully.

“Doctors here say it had nothing to do with the flu or any of the symptoms he represented, but the insurance company is saying we believe there is a connection between the two. That’s the problem,” Firestone said.

As for Ali’s father, he says he is grateful to his friends and family and how supportive the community has been, but feels everyone should know that even if you have travel health insurance, your bills may not be covered.

“All Canadians, when they go to travel, I don’t feel they are safe because when they need them, they may find an excuse not to pay,” said Rahim Ali.

With files from Farah Chandani