Canada's travel advisories: when they can affect your insurance in Mexico

November 10, 2026. Canadians are slowly crossing the border again. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian residents made 1.9 million return trips from the United States by car and by air in September 2026, up 6.8% from a year earlier and the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year growth. Even so, car trips were still 31.1% below September 2024, and air trips 18.7%. Return trips by air from countries other than the U.S. totalled 1.0 million, up 3.2%.

In a CTV News report published on November 8 by BNN Bloomberg, Stephen Fine of SnowbirdAdvisor.ca said that most snowbirds still go to the U.S. and that Mexico can offer lower daily living costs. If you're spending this winter here, there's one detail of your insurance worth checking before you leave: travel advisories.

A fact few people know

Only 28% of people surveyed in Canada know that a change in a destination's risk level can affect their travel insurance; 56% didn't know and 16% weren't sure, according to a survey commissioned by Global Affairs Canada and cited by money.ca. The Government of Canada itself warns that a level 3 or 4 advisory, meaning avoid non-essential travel or avoid all travel, may affect the products and coverage insurers offer, and that insurers could refuse to pay medical or cancellation claims for travellers who booked after the advisory or went despite it. That warning refers to levels 3 and 4; even so, check what your policy says. It also reminds travellers that provincial and territorial health plans rarely cover medical costs outside Canada.

What Canada says about Mexico

On its Mexico travel advice page, updated on October 19, 2026, Canada asks travellers to exercise a high degree of caution across the country, the second of its four levels, due to high levels of criminal activity and kidnapping, and it has no area at the highest level, avoid all travel. Level 3, avoid non-essential travel, applies to ten states with exceptions (Chiapas, Chihuahua, Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas; exceptions include Morelia, Monterrey and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo when reached by air) and to parts of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nayarit and Morelos. In Jalisco, that area is the 50-kilometre strip along the Michoacán border, with Mazamitla and the Lake Chapala area excluded. The full list is on the official page.

Yucatán, Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur, home to Mérida, Cancún and Los Cabos, are not on that list of level 3 areas, which doesn't mean there is no risk: check the details for your destination. The same page recommends travel insurance that covers medical evacuation and hospital stays, because most provincial and territorial health programs offer very limited coverage abroad.

If the advisory changes mid-trip

According to money.ca, only the two highest levels count as official advisories, and the level shown at the top of the advisory tells you whether a blanket policy exclusion is likely to apply. If the advisory changes while you're already travelling, each insurer handles it differently: according to the same outlet, one policy covers you for 10 days after the advisory, another keeps coverage until the policy expires and another advises returning home as soon as possible. That's why it pays to read your policy's travel advisory clause before you leave, not once you're already here.

If you spend months in Mexico

If you live in Mexico or spend the whole season here, you can buy Mexican major medical insurance or international health insurance. Their coverages and exclusions are set out in their own policy terms, which are worth reading like any contract. According to Condusef, Mexico's financial consumer protection agency, as cited by Uno TV, depending on the policy the insurer can pay the hospital directly or reimburse what you paid. For short stays, travel insurance is still a good option.

Before you fly south

1. Look up your city, not just the country. On travel.gc.ca, check the level for the state and city where you'll live.
2. Read the travel advisory clause. Ask your insurer what happens if the advisory changes during your stay.
3. Confirm hospital stays and evacuation. That's what the Government of Canada recommends for travel to Mexico.
4. If you're staying for months, compare. Get a quote for health insurance bought in Mexico.

Your insurance in Mexico with 1SEGUROS

At 1SEGUROS, based in Mérida with more than 30 years of experience, we compare national and international health insurance and travel insurance from several insurers, and we go over coverages, deductibles and exclusions with you before you sign. We serve you in Spanish or English. Message us on WhatsApp at +52 999 316 7145.