This follows Get a Turkey e-Visa in three minutes. 冰吨吨 spent a few days wandering Turkey over spring break, then had a toothache. Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance on a Canadian credit card reimbursed part of the dental bill. This post records that claim.
Which card? What coverage?
I hold an RBC Avion Visa Infinite. The full insurance terms are in the official PDF 🔗. The first section is out-of-country medical coverage: under 65, it covers 15 days outside the country.
Unlike the other insurance categories, you do not need to charge some or all of the trip (flights, hotels, car rental) to this card. Out-of-country medical coverage does not require spend on the card. Holding the card is enough.
What should you do in a medical emergency?
If you have a medical emergency, you must call us before you receive emergency treatment. Of course, if your medical condition prevents you from calling, we understand – you must call as soon as medically possible or, as an alternative, someone else may call on your behalf (relative, friend, nurse or doctor). If you do not call us or if you choose to seek care from a non-approved medical service provider, you will be responsible for a portion of your medical expenses as outlined under “Limitations of coverage”.
We can be contacted by calling:
1-800-533-2778 toll-free from the US & Canada or
905-816-2581 collect from anywhere in the world.
I called RBC’s insurer. They said they did not have a list of partner dental clinics, so I could walk into any clinic in Istanbul, and they did not give me a case number or reference number. They also said simple toothache coverage is capped at $200 CAD.
Timeline
March 15 – toothache; called the card’s insurer and was told any dentist was fine
March 17 – Monday morning, walked into the dentist closest to the hotel
March 31 – filed the claim from Canada
April 9 – email saying they reimbursed $200 CAD
April 15 – letter arrived with the cheque
The claim steps
Back in Canada I called again to claim this visit. The agent asked when I left Canada and when I saw the dentist, and whether I had a case/reference number. I said they had not given me one on the first call. That was not a problem.
Submission of claims can be made to:
RBC Insurance Company of Canada Claims
c/o Allianz Global Assistance
P.O. Box 277
Waterloo, ON N2J 4A4
1-800-464-3211
You must provide notice of your claim within thirty (30) days of the date the claim arises.
For Allianz, which handles RBC’s claims, you do not actually mail paper. The agent gave me a URL and I filled in the details there. RBC Allianz insurance claim link 🔗. The site is clear. You step through card details, travel dates, and the visit.
A dentist in Turkey
I only learned this by accident. Xiaohongshu is full of notes that dentists in Turkey are skilled and cheaper, and that plenty of students in Western Europe fly to Istanbul for dental work. I had a cracked tooth and it hurt badly, so I had a root canal. The clinic asked for €200. I talked them down to €180. A root canal in Canada would have cost far more.