JF International Student Insurance in Canada: Elite Plus vs Standard

1JF's Two Student Plans

JF Insurance Agency Group Inc. offers two plans for international students studying in Canada: JF Elite Plus Student Insurance and JF Standard Student Insurance. Both are emergency medical plans. They pay for sudden illness or injury, such as a hospital stay, doctor visits or prescriptions. They do not pay for routine care or ongoing treatment.

Both plans are underwritten by Berkley Insurance Company (a Berkley Company) and administered by JF Insurance Agency Group Inc. Emergency assistance and claims are handled by Ontime Care Worldwide Inc.

Most benefits and limits are the same on both plans. The differences are about who can be covered, pre-existing conditions, and a few benefit amounts. This page sets them side by side, using JF's own policy wordings and brochures.

• JF Elite Plus: covers stable pre-existing conditions, and can cover a spouse, dependent children or a parent of the student.
• JF Standard: covers the student only, and excludes all pre-existing conditions.

2Who Can Buy JF Student Insurance

On both plans, the applicant must be at least 4 and not more than 69 years old. They must be in good health when they buy the policy and on the day they leave their home country. They must also know of no reason to see a doctor during the coverage period.

Who counts as a student

JF defines a student as someone who had to get a student visa or temporary visa status to study in Canada. The student must be enrolled in, and regularly attending, an accredited Canadian college, university or other educational institution. During the semester they must take at least 60% of the usual course load for their program.

Who else can be covered on Elite Plus

JF Elite Plus lists two classes of people who can buy it:

• Class 1: the student, a parent under age 59 who lives with the student in Canada, and the spouse or dependent child of the student.
• Class 2: a non-student affiliate of an accredited Canadian educational institution, such as faculty, staff, a scholar, researcher or administrator, or a participant in an educational, business or cultural exchange. Family cover is not available for Class 2.

A spouse means a legally married spouse, or a common-law partner you have lived with for at least 12 months in a row before applying. A dependent child is unmarried, lives with you, depends on you for support, and is 4 to 19 years old on the date of purchase. JF also notes that a student's parent and dependent child cannot be on the same policy.

JF Standard is for the student only

JF Standard covers students only. Its policy says family coverage is not available. If a spouse or child is coming to Canada with the student, see our guide to cover for spouses and children.

3Elite Plus vs Standard: Benefits Side by Side

These limits come from the two policy wordings. Benefit limits are per insured person, per 365 days.

From JF's Elite Plus and Standard Student Insurance policy wordings, Policy August 16, 2021 (Rev 09/2024). The policy wording sets the exact terms.

Both plans include a bedside benefit for a family member: travel to a $5,000 maximum, and meals and a hotel at $150 for each day to a $1,500 maximum, when Ontime Care approves it in advance. Both include a vehicle return benefit, to a $1,000 maximum, after a covered emergency.

4Pre-Existing Conditions

This is the biggest difference between the two plans.

• JF Elite Plus excludes a pre-existing condition only if it was not stable in the 90 days before the start date. A condition that was stable for those 90 days is not excluded.
• JF Standard excludes any pre-existing condition that existed before the start date, stable or not.

JF defines a pre-existing condition broadly. It is any condition, sickness or injury for which, at any time before the start date, you had symptoms, saw a doctor, had tests or treatment, were in hospital, were prescribed or took medication, or had surgery. A prescription written "as needed" counts.

What stable means

JF calls a condition stable when it is not getting worse, and there has been no change in its medication, use or dose, and no treatment prescribed, recommended or received. A new medicine, a stopped medicine, or a higher or lower dose is a change. Switching between brand-name and generic versions of the same drug and dose is not. Routine adjustments of maintenance medicines, such as insulin or asthma medicine, are not a change either.

Your medical history is reviewed after a claim is reported, not when you buy. So no one can promise in advance that a condition will be treated as stable.

5When Coverage Starts and Ends

Coverage starts on the latest of the date you buy and pay, the start date on your confirmation, or the time you arrive in Canada. If you buy before leaving home, coverage can start on the day you leave for your trip to Canada.

• With a 365-day policy, coverage can start up to 90 days before your first class and continue up to 90 days after your studies end.
• With a policy of at least 183 days, coverage can start up to 30 days before your first class and continue up to 30 days after your studies end.
• On Elite Plus, these early-start and after-study periods do not apply to Class 2.

Coverage ends when you stop being a student, among other events. If you are in hospital on the expiry date, coverage continues until discharge, up to one year. A delay caused by a late flight, a traffic accident or a medical reason can extend coverage by up to 72 hours, if you tell Ontime Care.

Benefits that need a minimum coverage length

Some benefits apply only if you bought enough days: 180 days for vaccination and TB testing, 183 days for physiotherapy and similar care, and 365 days for acupuncture, the annual physical and the eye exam.

You can ask to extend your policy before it expires. JF can extend it if no claim was made, your health has not changed and you are still eligible.

6Travelling Home or Outside Canada

Both plans cover you in Canada and on trips outside Canada, as long as at least 51% of your coverage period is spent in Canada. Coverage ends on the date you go over 49% of your coverage period outside Canada.

You can visit your home country, but coverage is suspended while you are there. Expenses there are not covered and the premium is not refunded for that time. The one exception is a trip home to take part in a school-organized sporting or extra-curricular event.

For trips to another country, the plans do not cover a loss linked to a Government of Canada warning to avoid all travel or non-essential travel, if the warning was issued before you left. Check the Government of Canada travel advice and advisories before you go.

7Ontime Care, Direct Billing and Claims

Ontime Care is JF's emergency assistance company. It answers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You must call it before getting treatment, or as soon as you reasonably can.

• Calling from Canada or the US: 1-866-209-5804
• From anywhere, call collect: +1-905-707-9555

If no one tells Ontime Care, JF pays only 70% of eligible expenses, up to $150,000. Ontime Care must also approve surgery, invasive procedures and tests such as MRI, CAT scans, ultrasounds and biopsies in advance.

Ontime Care helps you find a hospital or clinic, connects you to an interpreter, and, whenever possible, asks the hospital or clinic to bill Ontime Care directly.

How to make a claim

Send a completed claim form, which Ontime Care provides, with original itemized bills, proof of payment and original prescription receipts to Ontime Care Worldwide Inc., P.O. Box 82029, 420 Hwy 7 E, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3K2. Put your policy number on everything.

Give written notice within 30 days, and proof of claim within 90 days. Both plans are second payor plans, so other coverage you have pays first. Claims are paid in Canadian dollars.

8Refunds and Cancellation

The refund rules are the same on both plans.

From JF's Elite Plus and Standard policy wordings.

A refund of the unused part is considered only if no claim was made, and a $40 administrative fee applies. Ask in writing through your broker, with proof of your return date such as an airline ticket or an immigration stamp. No refund is issued if the amount would be less than $10.

9Main Exclusions

These are some of the main exclusions on both plans. The policy wording lists every one.

• Pre-existing conditions: any on Standard, and those not stable for 90 days on Elite Plus
• Any expense in your home country, except a school-organized sporting or extra-curricular event
• Non-emergency, elective or cosmetic care, and regular care of a chronic condition
• Drugs needed to keep a chronic condition stable, except in an emergency
• Pregnancy and childbirth, except the maternity benefit for an insured student
• Mental health conditions, except the mental health benefits listed in the policy
• Suicide, attempted suicide or self-inflicted injury, and losses linked to alcohol or drug misuse
• Professional sports, motorized racing, and activities such as skydiving, hang-gliding and rock climbing
• Care that could wait until you return to your home country

10Which JF Plan Suits Whom

JF's documents point to clear differences. Here is how they line up with different situations:

• A student with a health history: only Elite Plus can cover a pre-existing condition, and only if it was stable for 90 days.
• A student coming with a spouse, children or a parent: only Elite Plus offers family members. Standard covers the student only.
• A faculty member, researcher or exchange participant: Elite Plus has a Class 2 for non-student affiliates. Standard is for students only.
• A healthy student studying alone: Standard has the same $5,000,000 maximum and most of the same benefits, with lower limits for maternity, mental health hospital care and the eye exam.

Some schools and provinces have their own rules for student health cover. Our UHIP vs private insurance guide explains the Ontario case, and our province-by-province guide covers the rest of Canada.

11Frequently Asked Questions