BestQuote Travel Insurance

What BestQuote Travel Insurance does

BestQuote Travel Insurance Agency is a privately held, Vancouver-based Canadian insurance broker founded in 2014 by Bob Hornal. The company operates an online quote-comparison platform that aggregates travel medical insurance policies from 14+ Canadian carriers — including Manulife, Allianz, TuGo, MSH International, GMS, Travel Guard, Travelance, Travel Shield (Starr), Destination Travel, 21st Century, RIMI, TruStone, Away Care, and JF Insurance Group — enabling side-by-side comparison of price, coverage, deductibles, and key features. Customers can purchase policies online with immediate email delivery and can also reach licensed insurance advisors by phone through regional offices in Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary plus a North America toll-free line.

The platform's core technology is a multi-insurer comparison engine with real-time pricing feeds from partner carriers; the most strategic proprietary component is BestQuote MedEC, an exclusive visitor-insurance policy developed in partnership with insurers that bundles three free Maple virtual-care consultations, an early-return refund, and a full visa-refusal refund. The platform carries a minimum of six and in some cases more than a dozen policies per coverage type, supported by an extensive SEO-driven blog library targeting Super Visa applicants, visitors to Canada, IEC working-holiday participants, Canadian outbound travelers, seniors and snowbirds, students, and expats/backpackers.

The business model is affiliate-referral brokerage: commissions are earned from insurance carriers on policies purchased through the platform, and by Canadian regulation the broker charges the customer the exact same premium as direct-from-insurer pricing, making BestQuote's advisory and comparison services effectively free to the consumer. Headcount is small (1-10 employees), no outside funding rounds are disclosed, and the company is independently owned with no parent or institutional investors identified in the source data.

Name

BestQuote Travel Insurance

Legal name

BestQuote Travel Insurance Agency

Website

https://bestquotetravelinsurance.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BestQuote Travel Insurance Agency is a Vancouver-based Canadian online insurance broker that aggregates and compares travel medical insurance policies from 14+ Canadian carriers for individual consumers, including Super Visa applicants, visitors to Canada, IEC working-holiday participants, and seniors/snowbirds, earning commissions on policies sold.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Insurance Brokerage

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210), Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Accident & Health Insurance (6321)

akta.pro primary industry

Underwriting, Pricing & Policy Administration (PAS) for Travel Insurance (THALALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Travel & Accident (Non-Life) Insurance (FSAJAMAN), Individual Supplemental Health (Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness, Accident) (FSAIAEAD)

Keywords

• Travel insurance broker
• Travel medical insurance
• Visitor insurance Canada
• Insurance comparison platform
• Super visa insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Insurance Brokerage Commissions: BestQuote operates as a licensed insurance broker, earning commissions from insurance companies for policies sold through their platform. By law, brokers charge the exact same premium as insurance companies directly.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BestQuote Travel Insurance is a Canadian licensed insurance broker that operates an online comparison platform aggregating travel medical insurance policies from 14+ Canadian insurers. The company helps individual travelers, visitors, students, expatriates, and super visa applicants compare coverage options, deductibles, and prices, then purchases a policy from the chosen underwriter on the customer's behalf. BestQuote also offers an exclusive proprietary policy, BestQuote MedEC, underwritten by Manulife.

Product overview

BestQuote Travel Insurance operates as an online travel insurance comparison platform and broker, aggregating policies from multiple Canadian insurance providers to enable consumers to compare prices, coverage, deductibles, and key features side-by-side. The platform offers instant price comparisons and online purchase capabilities across its portfolio of insurance categories including Super Visa Insurance, Visitors to Canada Insurance, IEC Insurance, Canadian Travellers Insurance, Expatriate and Backpacker Insurance, Senior & Snowbird Travel Insurance, Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance, and Student Travel Insurance. The company also offers its proprietary BestQuote MedEC policy exclusively through its platform. Customers can purchase policies online and receive policy documents immediately by email, with additional support available via phone advisors in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and toll-free.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Travel Insurance Comparison Platform Web-based platform that lets individual travelers compare travel medical and trip insurance policies from multiple Canadian insurers in one place and bind coverage online or via phone.
• Super Visa Insurance Medical insurance policies meeting IRCC requirements for parents and grandparents applying for a Canadian Super Visa, sourced from multiple Canadian underwriters.
• Visitors to Canada Insurance Emergency medical and hospitalization coverage for foreign nationals visiting Canada, available from multiple participating insurers via the comparison platform.
• IEC Working Holiday Insurance Coverage tailored for IEC working holiday visa participants, including emergency medical, repatriation, and liability options from partner insurers.
• Canadian Travellers Insurance Outbound travel medical coverage for Canadian residents, available as single-trip, multi-trip annual, and top-up variants from multiple underwriters.
• Expatriate Travel Insurance Long-duration travel medical insurance designed for expatriates and Canadians living abroad, sourced from partner insurers.
• Backpacker Travel Insurance Single-trip and multi-trip travel medical coverage aimed at backpackers and budget travelers, including adventure and extreme sports riders.
• Senior & Snowbird Travel Insurance Travel medical insurance tailored to Canadian snowbirds and seniors, with multi-trip annual plans and options such as Trip Cancellation/Interruption and Baggage.
• Student Travel Insurance Travel medical and study-interruption coverage for international students and Canadian students traveling for school.
• Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance Coverage that reimburses non-refundable trip costs when travel is cancelled or interrupted for covered reasons, available from multiple partner insurers.
• BestQuote MedEC Exclusive emergency medical coverage policy designed for BestQuote customers, with $5 million coverage, options for deductibles from $0 to $1,000, and minimum premium of $20. Underwritten by Manulife Financial.

Quantifiable outcome

• Price differences between cheapest and most expensive insurer for same age/profile: 30-50% or more
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Manulife Financial Travel InsurancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Canadian insurance provider whose policies are available through BestQuote's comparison platform. Includes plans like Manulife Plan A (no pre-ex) and Manulife Plan B (stable pre-existing conditions).
• Allianz Global AssistancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal assistance provider with travel insurance products available through BestQuote. Known for complex international cases but higher cost for stable pre-ex coverage.
• TuGocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTravel insurance provider with 21 available add-ons for visitors to Canada coverage. Monthly payment options available.
• MSH InternationalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational group insurer offering Discover Canada Essential and Discover Canada plans. Known for solid coverage for long-term stays and international service support.
• GMS Insurance (Group Medical Services)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSaskatchewan-based insurer with solid reputation for pre-existing condition claims handling, available through BestQuote.
• Travel Guard CanadacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTravel insurance provider with 21 available add-ons. Monthly payment available for eligible plans.
• TravelancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInsurer offering Travelance Essential and Travelance Premier plans. Dedicated monthly payment plan available with strong refund policy.
• Travel Shield (Starr Insurance Companies)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStarr Insurance Companies product available through BestQuote. Competitive pricing with medical questionnaire required for some profiles.
• Destination TravelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEstablished Canadian insurer offering Destination Canada plans. Monthly payment available.
• 21st Century Travel InsurancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvider offering Basic and Standard plans. Monthly payment available. Competitive at lower age brackets.
• RIMI Insurance Solutions Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInsurer offering RIMI Secure Travel with flexible deductible options and monthly payment availability.
• TruStone HealthcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvider of Hospital Medical Care (HMC) plans with 90/180/365-day stability periods depending on condition. Medical screening required for some profiles.
• Away Care Inc. (TrueNorth Visitors Plan)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvider offering TrueNorth Visitors Plan, competitively priced for older age brackets.
• JF Insurance Group (Royal Visitors Plan)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBudget-friendly insurer option for no pre-existing conditions applicants and those requiring pre-ex coverage at lower age brackets.
• Lloyd'sminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal insurance marketplace whose products are available through BestQuote's partner network.
• Trustone HealthminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHealth insurance provider available through BestQuote's comparison platform.
• Maple Virtual CarecoreTechnology or IntegrationExclusive to BestQuote MedEC policy: 3 free prepaid Maple virtual care consultations included with policy. Provides policyholders access to virtual doctor consultations while travelling.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Insurdinary: Canadian insurance comparison and brokerage service across multiple product lines including travel, competing with BestQuote's aggregation and lead-generation model.
• HelloSafe Canada: Online comparison platform for insurance and financial products in Canada, including travel insurance quotes, overlapping BestQuote's comparison and content-led acquisition approach.

Direct peers

• Squaremouth: Travel insurance comparison engine ranking policies from many providers side-by-side, mirroring BestQuote's core quote-comparison offering in an adjacent geography.
• Milestone Insurance: Canadian brokerage specializing in Super Visa and visitor-to-Canada insurance, directly targeting the same IRCC-compliance-driven niche as BestQuote's core segments.
• InsureMyTrip: Online travel insurance comparison marketplace aggregating multiple carriers for consumers; same aggregator business model as BestQuote, primarily serving the US market.
• Snowbird Advisor Insurance: Canadian travel/medical insurance brokerage focused on snowbirds and seniors travelling abroad, directly overlapping BestQuote's senior/snowbird and Canadian-traveller segments and broker model.
• TravelInsurance.ca: Canadian online travel insurance comparison and brokerage platform quoting multiple insurers, competing directly with BestQuote's aggregation and D2C purchase model in the same territory.

Regional players

• RATESDOTCA: Large Canadian insurance and rate comparison marketplace (formerly Kanetix) including travel insurance; overlaps BestQuote's comparison model but across broader lines and with far greater scale.
• Surex: Canadian digital insurance brokerage offering multi-carrier comparison and advisor support, similar broker-plus-advice model to BestQuote across Canadian personal lines.
• InsuranceHotline.com: Canadian insurance comparison site covering multiple lines including travel; comparable comparison/lead model competing for the same Canadian consumers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bestquotetravel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/select-first-financial-services-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BestQuote Travel Insurance