Celebrating 40 Years
Our Humble Beginnings
21st Century Travel Insurance was founded in 1979, somewhat by happenstance. One of the 3 original founding partners, all of whom were professional insurance brokers, purchased a trip to the United States and was sold a “Travel Insurance” policy by his travel agent – a policy which even he, a seasoned insurance agent & former underwriter, had difficulty understanding. With their combined insurance experience, the partners felt there had to be a more consumer-friendly approach and with that 21st Century Travel Insurance was born. They developed a comprehensive travel insurance program for the Canadian consumer and hit the road to promote it through Ontario’s travel agency network. One of the founding partners recalls they were completely “green in the travel agency industry” but their ingenuity and hard work soon began to gain traction. In 1984, a few short years later, the government of Canada would begin to require that individuals applying for specific entry visas would need to purchase “medical insurance” protection for their visit. Since these individuals were not eligible for Canada’s provincial health plans, our Visitor to Canada Insurance Plan was developed and launched - again through travel agencies since they were most often involved in the sale of the corresponding airline tickets.
Expanding into Visitors
In 2012, with the advent of Canada’s “Super-Visa” family-reunification program and its required medical insurance, our company was again well-positioned to capitalize on another tremendous opportunity. Our growing prominence in the Visitor to Canada market rapidly accelerated when we introduced Canada’s first premium payment installment plan for Super-Visa clients. 21st Century’s Visitor to Canada Insurance Plan is now one of the most widely recognized and respected health insurance plans in Canada.
40 years later, we are incredibly proud of our standing and reputation within the insurance industry, and in the eyes of Canadian & international consumers as well. From those very humble beginnings, today several thousand insurance professionals are partnered with 21st Century, selling Visitor to Canada Medical Insurance to citizens from countries all over the globe, and travel insurance products to Canadians travelling around the world. We like to say we operate “globally” from our head office in Cobourg, Ontario Canada.
40 Years in the Making
1979
1980's
1991
1990's
2000's
2012
2010's
2019 & Beyond
21st Century Travel Insurance is founded.
Protecting Canadians
In 1991, Ontario’s provincial government of the time passed widespread reductions in eligible benefits provided to Ontario residents when travelling outside of Canada. Again 21st Century was quick to respond to this new-found need, particularly within the “snowbird” marketplace, launching the “Medicare International” Travel Insurance program. Since the new legislation now affected so many Ontario consumers, insurance regulators began to permit not only travel agents to sell “travel” insurance but also insurance brokers and financial advisors. Every other Canadian province soon adopted the same legislation and 21st Century Travel Insurance products went nation-wide.
