The short answer
Health and dental insurance pays for care that provincial health plans generally leave to you, such as prescription drugs outside hospital, dental work, eye exams and glasses, and paramedical services like physiotherapy or massage therapy. Individual and family plans exist for people without an employer plan, including the self-employed, people leaving a job and early retirees. A licensed advisor compares plan designs, waiting periods and limits, and handles any health questions with you directly.
- Self-employed people, contractors and sole proprietors with no group plan
- People leaving a job, whose workplace benefits end with their last day
- Early retirees bridging the years before other coverage begins
- Families whose plan through a spouse is ending or changing
- People moving between provinces who want to know what changes
No broker in the network handles this yet. You can still prepare and save the request now. It is kept, and requests like it show us which brokers to find next.
Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Prescription drugs
Medications filled at a pharmacy rather than given in hospital. Provincial drug programs differ widely and many working-age people have limited public drug coverage, so an individual plan often starts here.
Dental care
Checkups and cleanings, fillings, and major work like crowns and dentures. Individual plans often pay basic care sooner and make you wait longer for major work.
Vision care
Eye exams, glasses and contact lenses, usually up to a set amount over a set number of years. Provincial coverage for eye exams varies by age and province.
Paramedical services
Visits to practitioners like physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists and psychologists, typically with a per-visit or yearly maximum.
Hospital and other extras
Upgrades such as a semi-private hospital room, ambulance costs, medical equipment and, on some plans, travel medical cover for trips outside the province.
Conversion plans
When group benefits end, the group plan may offer a conversion option you can apply for within a short window. Some do not ask health questions; ask the advisor what the booklet allows and the deadline.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- Who needs cover: yourself, a partner, children, and their ages
- Your province of residence and whether anyone is moving or recently moved
- The group plan booklet and the date the group cover ends, if you are leaving a job
- Any letter or notice about a conversion option and its deadline
- A list of the services you actually use, like dental cleanings, glasses or physiotherapy
- Whether anyone already has cover through a spouse, a school plan or a public program
- Upcoming dental or vision work you know about, such as orthodontics for a child
- A monthly budget you are comfortable setting aside for premiums
A broker will ask
- Who in the household needs cover, and what are their ages?
- Is there a group plan ending, and on what date?
- Did your group plan mention a conversion option, and has the window started?
- Which matters most: prescriptions, dental, vision or paramedical care?
- Is anyone covered under another plan, such as a spouse's or a public program?
- Are you self-employed, and do you keep business books an accountant reviews?
- Do you travel outside your province often enough to want travel medical included?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A graphic designer going freelance
A designer is leaving a studio to work for herself next month. Her workplace plan covered her prescriptions, dental cleanings and a yearly massage, and her group benefits stop on her last day of employment.
First steps. Find the group booklet and look for a conversion option and its deadline, then talk to a licensed advisor before the last day. Ask how a conversion plan compares to a new individual plan, and ask an accountant how premiums may be treated for a self-employed person.
A couple retiring at fifty-eight
A couple in Calgary is retiring several years before any public programs for seniors would apply. Both had benefits through their employers, and they want dental and prescription coverage that carries them to the age when other options open up.
First steps. List the services each of them uses and the date each group plan ends. Ask the advisor whether a retiree option exists through either employer, how individual plans compare, and how waiting periods affect the first year of dental work.
A family losing a spouse's plan
A family of four relied on one parent's workplace plan for dental and vision. That parent has accepted a contract role with no benefits, and one child is due to start orthodontic treatment within the year.
First steps. Gather the orthodontist's treatment estimate and the date current cover ends. Ask the advisor how individual plans treat orthodontics, which many limit or exclude, and whether waiting periods mean the treatment should be timed differently.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Conversion option
- The right to move from a group plan to an individual plan after leaving it, within a set deadline. Benefits often differ from the group plan.
- Waiting period
- The time after a plan starts before certain services, often major dental work, are paid. It differs by plan and by type of service.
- Annual maximum
- The most a plan pays for a type of service in a plan year, such as dental or physiotherapy. Costs above it are yours to pay.
- Paramedical services
- Care from practitioners outside the doctor and hospital system, such as physiotherapists, chiropractors and massage therapists, usually with limits on visits or yearly amounts.
- Coinsurance
- The share of an eligible cost a plan pays, with you paying the rest. Plans often set different shares for drugs, basic dental and major dental.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Missing the conversion window after a job ends, which can close sooner than people expect.
- Assuming an individual plan will pay for major dental work right away, without checking the waiting period.
- Comparing plans on the monthly cost without looking at yearly maximums for dental, drugs and paramedical care.
- Cancelling an existing plan before the new one is confirmed in writing.
- Expecting a new plan to cover dental work that was already planned or underway before it started.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles health and dental insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
What does provincial health care not cover?
Provincial plans cover medically necessary doctor and hospital services, but generally leave much of the rest to you. That often includes prescriptions filled at a pharmacy, dental care, glasses and contacts, and paramedical services like physiotherapy. Exactly what is covered differs by province and by age, and public programs change over time, so check your province's health ministry for current details.
How do self-employed people get health and dental insurance?
Without an employer plan, the usual route is an individual or family plan, arranged through a licensed advisor or directly with an insurer. Some professional associations and business groups also offer plans to members. Self-employed people sometimes ask whether premiums can be treated as a business expense; that is a tax question to raise with an accountant.
What is a conversion plan when I leave my job?
Many group plans let a departing employee move to an individual plan within a short period after group cover ends, sometimes without health questions. The benefits are usually different from the group plan and can be more limited. The booklet or human resources will have the deadline. Ask a licensed advisor to compare it with other individual plans before the window closes.
Are there waiting periods on individual dental plans?
Often, yes. Many individual plans cover basic dental care such as cleanings fairly soon, but pay for major work like crowns, bridges or dentures only after a waiting period, and some limit or exclude orthodontics. The length differs between plans. Ask the advisor to show you the waiting period for each type of service before you choose.
Will I have to answer health questions?
Some individual plans ask health questions and others do not, and the choice can affect what the plan covers. You do not need to share health details to prepare a request here. If an insurer needs that information, a licensed advisor will discuss it with you directly and privately, and only to the extent the application requires.
Is there a government dental program I might qualify for?
Canada has introduced a federal dental care program for some residents without private dental coverage, based on factors such as family income, and some provinces run their own programs for children, seniors or people on income support. Eligibility rules and what is paid are set by governments and change over time, so check the official sources first, then ask an advisor how a private plan fits alongside.
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General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.