Being a mentor to your student relative through the Student Success Portfolio process

8. With regard to medical information prior to traveling; while there is no proof required prior to enrolling in the plan, out of an abundance of caution, I would see my doctor prior to leaving and would have the person make a note in my file. It needs to say, yes I saw the person and there is no medical reason they cannot travel. If the doctor has concerns about you not traveling whether a note is on file or not and you travel anyway, your coverage may be limited.

Saving some money o n your coverage. The plan I am going to use for my example is:

93-day Base Plan / Age 65-75 family rate $1,658 per year / Monthly rate $138.16

Step 1 – Can I take advantage of any of the discounts? Remember I can only use one!

q Opt out of Trip Cancelation, Interruption and Delay Benefits 20% Discount

q $1,000 Deductible per claim 20% Discount

q $2,000 Deductible per claim 20% Discount

The credit card I used to book my travel has trip cancelation already built in or I am driving back and forth to my location and do not require this coverage or I just don’t want the coverage.

With 20% discount = $331.60 new / family rate $1,326.40 / Monthly $110.53 for 12 months

Step 2 – How long do I really need the travel coverage for? q This gets a little more complicated. I stay in Manitoba April, May, June, July, August and September. I don’t travel out of province and hang out with family here and at the cottage.

q I leave the country in mid-October and generally return mid-

March. How might this save me some cash?

q I can enroll in the plan for the first week of October and ask the plan to terminate March 31. This means I am paying for October to March which is 6 months and costs $663.20.

With 6 months saving = $663.20 new family rate $663.20 / Monthly $110.53 for 6 months

The good news is after my 20% saving and reducing the number of months I need insurance for, my cost is now $663.20 instead of $1,658. I can also travel as many times outside of Canada for up to 93 consecutive days per trip for the 6 months.

Yes, you can always opt out of your coverage in April, and reapply for coverage in October, or any other time after terminating your Prestige Travel.

For those who want to travel April to September, you will have to pay for the entire policy year which ends on March 31. There is no monthly saving you can access, besides adding a deductible option or removing the Trip Cancellation / Interruption coverage from your policy. If you need coverage from January to June, you will pay premiums for January, February and March, and then have the policy renew on April 1 for another policy year.

I hope the information has helped to clarify some of the issues around using Prestige Travel Insurance. If you have any questions, please send me an email at secretary@rtam.mb.ca.

of their successful activities and events, strengths and interests to be used when they apply for an award such as the RTAM Student Award, for their post secondary entrance requirements, for job applications and interviews and in any number of ways as they approach their high school Graduation.

On our RTAM website, the Student Success Portfolio tab has lots of information to support your mentoring process. Click on the Information tab. There are Monthly Discussion Starters which offer you suggested questions to keep your conversations directed to potential artifacts which your student may never have considered to be worthy of mentioning in the different applications they will complete. As a mentor talking with your student relative on a regular basis, you may develop an important trusted relationship with them as you discuss potential artifacts and ask the questions which will encourage them to think and ponder reflectively about all their activities, strengths and interests. These artifacts may be perfect to support the unusual questions on many different applications coming up in their future. Eldon Dueck, a retired educator from Hanover School Division, talks in his Resiliency workshops about the fact that every child needs to have at least one person who is irrationally crazy about them and who can support them in their time of need. The relationship you build with your student relative may just develop such that you are that person! As a senior who is no longer employed outside the home, we sometimes start to question our purpose in this world. Being a mentor to one of your relatives and supporting them to build their high school Student Success Portfolio to use effectively in their future applications may be just the answer, your new calling to provide you with your purpose!