Top Canadian Credit Cards Offering Insurance Perks

Credit cards come with many perks, such as annual cash-back points and protection against unauthorized usage. Some credit cards take the rewards system even further and provide certain types of insurance coverage as well. So, the next time you are stranded at an airport or crash a rented car, your credit card can step in and cover the damages.

Be aware that the insurance perks offered with credit cards do not amount to an actual insurance policy. Credit cards mostly offer forms of supplemental insurance, where the card may offer waivers or partially repay a bill in case of a setback. Though it’s unwise to rely on a credit card to have your back during an emergency, their insurance perks are highly useful in everyday unexpected situations. One such card is: https://www.creditcardsforbadcredit.ca/refresh-financial-innovative-financial-products/

There are a number of credit cards in Canada offering travel, rental car collision, trip cancellation, accidental theft and other types of secondary insurance coverage. The exact coverage varies from card to card. Insurance perks are generally automatically included in a credit card’s policy. Customers cannot additionally purchase insurance perks for a credit card, instead, customers should choose a credit card that already includes the desired supplemental insurance coverage.

Here is a list of the best credit cards in Canada that offer various insurance perks: https://www.creditcardsforbadcredit.ca/credit-cards-for-bad-credit-canada/

Desjardins Visa Odyssey Gold

This is possibly the best credit card in Canada for travel insurance. The Desjardins Visa Odyssey Gold offers “comprehensive travel coverage” for up to 60 days consecutively. Adults and children travelling overseas can get emergency medical coverage, including evacuation and dental care, up to $5,000,000. The length of coverage depends on the age of the cardholder. In addition, there’s trip cancellation insurance, where a cardholder can receive at most $2,500 if a vacation is suddenly cancelled, and baggage theft insurance, where cardholders can receive up to $1,000 per stolen luggage item. If the baggage is late, the cardholder can receive up to $500.

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

This American Express card exclusively offered to Canadians by Scotiabank comes with many travel and car rental insurance perks. Cardholders who travel out of province or territory are automatically provided emergency medical coverage up to $1,000,000. Overseas travellers whose trips are cancelled or interrupted can cover up to 75 percent of the costs with the card with no additional fees. Insurance for delayed flights and lost baggage is also included. In addition, there’s burglary coverage for cardholders whose personal items might be stolen at a hotel or a motel in Canada or U.S. Plus, cardholders who might crash or otherwise damage a rental car can charge the full costs to Scotiabank Gold American Express card.

CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite

CIBC Aventura credit cards are known for their lucrative rewards programs. However, this card offers excellent travel insurance coverage as well. All cardholders are automatically approved for emergency medical travel, flight delay, lost or delayed baggage and trip cancellation insurance coverage. There’s a limited coverage offered for rental car crashes, damages or theft. Up to half a million dollars of accidental insurance for common carriers is included as well. In addition, the card comes with extended purchase protection insurance to safeguard consumers against unauthorized purchases during travel.

Citizens Bank Shared Interest Gold Card

Possibly one of the most affordable credit cards on this list, it comes with up to $500, 000 worth of travel accident insurance coverage for holders. In addition, rental car collision and price protection insurance coverage is included as well.

Once again, the above cards only provide secondary insurance, which does not amount to the coverage offered by a full insurance policy. Also, credit card insurance options often contain many exclusionary clauses. Canadian consumers are strongly advised to completely read and understand the terms and conditions of a credit card insurance policy before purchasing.

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Canadian Oil Sands and Pipeline Projects

Canada’s oil sands are a major source of energy for the country and possibly, for the world. It is estimated that Canada produces up to 172 billion barrels of oil. Of this number calculated, it is predicted that at least 166 billion of those barrels will have been contributed by oil sands. Currently, Canada has the largest deposits of oils sands in the world in Athabasca in Alberta.

What are Oil Sands?

gas-pipesAn oil sand is composed of sand, water, clay (and sometimes other minerals), and bitumen. Bitumen is an incredibly viscous and thick oil that cannot flow or be propelled unless it is diluted or heated. A small portion of the manufactured bitumen is present about 70 metres below the surface. Most of the deposits, however, are found much deeper than that.

Most of the oil sands can be retrieved through in-situ production. This is when the viscosity of the bitumen is reduced to allow the deposits deep within the earth to flow to the surface. The two methods are cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). The most commonly used technique is SAGD which uses two horizontal wells drilled into the deposits. High pressure steam is pumped into one, forcing melted bitumen to flow into the other. It is then pumped out.

Only about 20 percent of the bitumen is retrieved through the use of mining. Once the bitumen has been recovered, it must be treated. Only then, can it be utilized by the refineries. The bitumen is capable of producing gasoline and diesel.

The Pipeline Projects

The pipelines are a means of transporting the bitumen from its source in Alberta to various other parts of the country. The existing pipelines include Enbridge system, Trans Mountain Pipeline, and Spectra Energy system.

The Enbridge system has a complex line of pipelines extending from Edmonton and Hardisty to Montreal and even spreading to the Gulf Coast of the United States. The Trans Mountain Pipeline is responsible for carrying the crude oil from Edmonton, passing over the Rocky Mountains before supplying certain regions of British Columbia and Washington State. Spectra Energy is tasked with transporting the liquid oil from Hardisty all the way to Wyoming and even Illinois.

These pipelines are continuously attempting to expand and create new systems. Some of the most prominent and recent ones have been:

The Keystone XL Pipeline Project: this proposal includes a pipeline that is 1,897 km in length and 36 inches in diameter. It begins in Hardisty, Alberta and ends in Steele City Nebraska. This project has been temporarily halted due to a denial by President Obama. TransCanada has been attempting to overturn this decision.

Northern Gateway Pipeline Project: this pipeline routes begins at Bruderheim in Alberta and crosses over British Columbia to reach the port of Kitimat. It is estimated to cover a distance of 1,177 km. Combined, the pipeline will be responsible for carrying 525,000 barrels of oil each day.

Energy East Pipeline Project: this 4,600 kilometre pipeline will be carrying about 1.1 million barrels of oil every day. Its route begins at Alberta and Saskatchewan and ends in the eastern part of the country in New Brunswick and Saint John.

Trans Mountain Expansion: this pipeline aims to escalate the amount of oil that is currently been carried from Alberta to Vancouver in British Columbia. This plan also includes transporting crude oil to Asian regions with the help of tanker ships.

Canada is attempting to considerably expand the pipelines that they currently have in place. A variety of companies are devising different strategies to increase the amount of crude oil that is transported across the country as well as into the United States.

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