BirdTalk Dear Bird Talk, We are snowbirds who spent the winters in California. We have tracked our days in the U.S. very carefully and every year, we file Form 8840. It has recently come to our attention that there are two rules in place for Canadians visiting the U.S. One rule relates to the IRS and permits visits for up to 182 days within a calendar year under the substantial presence test. The second rule concerns us, as we were not aware of the U.S. immigration rules. This rule permits visits to the U.S. for up to 182 days during any rolling 12-month period. This rule greatly concerns us, as a 12-month rolling period can definitely put us offside, as we could exceed 182 days. If we are abiding by the IRS rules and are filing Form 8840 every year, is there a chance we could be in trouble under the U.S. immigration laws if our days in the U.S. for a particular 12-month period (not a calendar year) exceed 182 days? Maureen Crowshaw Calgary, AB Ed.: The simple answer is “yes.” The IRS wants to tax you if you stay for longer than six months, but the immigration people really want to control you. The rolling 12-month period is sacrosanct and can be administered quite aggressively. The border guards have computers that are getting better every day and they know more than you think. I would do everything I could to abide by this rule and be very careful if you decide to go to the U.S. a month earlier this year. That is usually how people get into trouble; and never lie, of course. Dear Bird Talk, I have two issues with travel insurance. Firstly, although I continue to pay premiums for out-of-country insurance, the insurer will not cover any travel to Florida if I fall ill to coronavirus, because the Canadian Travel Service is advising against non-essential travel to the U.S. The insurance companies are collecting huge dollars in premiums, with minimal claims risk. Is CSA lobbying insurers to refund a portion of premiums, similar to what the auto insurers are doing? Secondly, as one looks to potential travel this fall/winter, it would appear that no Canadian will be able to acquire any travel insurance that will include coronavirus until the Canada Travel Advisory changes the current advisory. I assume that the CSA-sponsored insurance also does not include coronavirus coverage? For many snowbirds, the availability of out-of-country travel insurance (that includes coronavirus coverage) will be the principal factor in terms of whether one dares to set foot in the U.S. John Nichols Peterborough, ON Ed.: I have to address that one comment about insurers having “minimal claims risk.” Last year, one of the insurers lost $55 million dollars on their travel insurance business. Also, we at Medipac settled more than $35 million dollars in medical claims. So there is, actually, lots of risk. As to refunds like the auto insurers, there is no change in risk for travel insurers. In fact, travel insurers have had dramatically increased risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Medipac did refund millions of dollars when many snowbirds thought that they were being forced to come home and we refunded the unused portion of their premium. The CSA-sponsored insurance actually does cover COVID-19. Medipac remains committed to paying claims, including COVID-19 claims, for this winter’s travel season. This is the case, even though the Canadian government may still have COVID-19 travel advisories issued. This is a “read the fine print” travel insurance year, as several companies are saying that they will cover you for COVID-19 claims. This is not exactly correct. Some of these policies have not updated their travel advisory clauses and will only cover you if the government removes the COVID-19 travel advisories. Another question which you may want to ask yourself or your other insurer is “Will any claim be paid during a COVID-19 advisory not to travel?” Dear Bird Talk, Mr. Quigley says that Medipac will cover policyholders for COVID-19 this winter and is encouraging us to purchase coverage through their Early Bird program. However, the Canadian government currently has a travel advisory to most countries in the world and there is no saying when that will be removed. My current Medipac coverage specifically states that the policy won’t cover claims incurred in a country where there is a travel advisory. Is Medipac modifying their policy so that we can travel to Florida even if there is still a travel advisory in effect to the U.S. this winter? Wendy Flewelling Innisfil, ON Ed.: When the COVID-19 travel advisory was first published, we sent a note to all of our clients stating that Medipac would be covering all COVID-19 claims while they were away. Our Early Bird plan does include coverage for COVID-19, in spite of the travel advisory clause, and the surrounding materials confirmed that. Our main season policy has been rewritten so that it is now very clear. Dear Bird Talk, The U.S. Congress has formally approached Canada to open our borders as quickly as possible. This could be the right time for CSA to request that our government include the “extended stay provision” for Canadians, that has been stalled in Congress for many years. This change could be politically beneficial for both governments. Hopefully, this request is currently underway. Thank you and keep up the good work of keeping Canadians informed. Barry Johnson Tappen, BC Ed.: We have been after them like a dog with a bone. We will see what the upcoming election brings – hopefully, a lot more common sense. 10 | www.snowbirds.org
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