Visitors insurance and pregnancy in Canada: what is covered, what is not, and what a birth costs
Most visitor plans do not pay for childbirth, and none we reviewed covers the newborn from birth. Some pay for an unexpected complication earlier in pregnancy.
A daughter-in-law visiting for the summer, or a sister coming for a wedding, may be pregnant or may become pregnant during the stay. Visitors to Canada insurance is emergency medical insurance, and every wording on this page limits pregnancy in some way. The differences are in the details: whether the pregnancy began before the policy, how close the due date is, and whether the plan has any maternity benefit at all.
In short
Visitors insurance is not maternity insurance. Destination, JF, TruStone and GMS exclude pregnancy, childbirth and their complications altogether. RIMI, Manulife and TravCare exclude routine prenatal care and anything to do with the pregnancy in the 9 weeks before or after the due date, so only an unexpected complication earlier in pregnancy can be considered. TuGo ($6,000) and MSH Discover Canada ($5,000) have maternity benefits, but only if the pregnancy began after the policy started. The newborn is a separate patient and is not covered by the mother's policy. Non-resident hospital rates run from about $3,750 to $4,005 a day on a ward in Ontario, before doctors' fees.
Three ways visitor plans treat pregnancy
Every plan we reviewed falls into one of these groups.
Fully excluded
Destination, JF, TruStone and GMS: no cover for pregnancy, delivery, miscarriage or complications, at any stage.
Excluded near the due date
RIMI, Manulife and TravCare (Base, Extended): routine care and anything from 9 weeks before to 9 weeks after the due date are excluded.
A small maternity benefit
TuGo ($6,000) and MSH Discover Canada ($5,000), only for a pregnancy that began after the policy started.
Pregnancy and newborn rules by insurer
From the policy wordings linked below and the insurer pages on this site, reviewed October 2026. Allianz and 21st Century also list pregnancy and childbirth expenses among their exclusions; check their wordings for the detail.
| Insurer | Pregnancy and childbirth | Newborn |
|---|---|---|
| Destination: Canada | Excludes any loss from pregnancy, delivery, abortion, miscarriage or their complications. | A child born during the trip is excluded. |
| JF Visitor to Canada | Excludes pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth and related complications. | Not covered by the mother's policy. |
| TruStone Health | Excludes childbirth, miscarriage, termination, routine prenatal care and any complication related to pregnancy or childbirth. | Birth defects excluded for children under 2. |
| GMS | Excludes pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, childbirth and complications of any of these. | Eligible only 48 hours after leaving hospital, once added and paid for. |
| Secure Travel (RIMI) | Excludes routine prenatal care, and pregnancy, childbirth or complications in the 9 weeks before or after the expected delivery date. | Eligibility starts at 15 days of age. |
| Manulife (Enhanced) | Excludes a pregnancy that began before the effective date, routine prenatal and postnatal care, and pregnancy, delivery or complications from 9 weeks before to 9 weeks after the due date. | A child born during the coverage period, and children under 30 days, are excluded. |
| TravCare (Base, Extended) | Excludes routine prenatal care, and pregnancy, miscarriage or childbirth within 9 weeks of the due date. Comprehensive Care (under 70) adds a maternity benefit. | See the policy wording. |
| TuGo | Maternity benefit up to $6,000 for prenatal care, delivery or complications within the 9 weeks before the due date, only if the pregnancy began after the effective date. Otherwise pregnancy in the 9 weeks before or after the due date is excluded. | The benefit does not cover the newborn. Newborns can be added from 15 days of age, with extra premium. |
| MSH Discover Canada | Maternity benefit up to $5,000 when the pregnancy begins after the effective date. Routine prenatal care and pregnancies that began before coverage are not covered. | See the policy wording. |
The 9-week window checker
Enter the expected delivery date and the visit dates. You'll see the excluded window and which group of plans could respond to a complication on each part of the visit.
A planning aid from the wordings above. Coverage is decided by the policy you buy.
What a birth costs a visitor in Canada
Provincial health plans don't cover visitors, so hospitals charge their own non-resident rates. Doctors, anesthetists and midwives bill separately on top of the hospital.
WRHN Grand River Hospital in Kitchener asks non-insured patients for a $10,000 labour and childbirth deposit, and says mother and baby are separate patients billed separately. Costs go up with a longer stay or if the baby needs the neonatal unit.
For example, suppose a visitor has a caesarean and spends four days on a ward at Queensway Carleton Hospital. The room alone at $4,005 a day is $16,020, before the delivery charges, the baby's care and every doctor's bill.
If you expect a visitor to give birth here, speak to the hospital's billing office early. Ask for the deposit, the package price if there is one, and the doctors' fees in writing.
Published non-resident rates
- Queensway Carleton, Ottawa
- $4,005 a day ward; $1,242 emergency visit (April 1, 2026)
- Cambridge Memorial
- $3,750 a day ward; $5,750 ICU (2026-27)
- WRHN Grand River, Kitchener
- $10,000 childbirth deposit
- BC Women's, Vancouver
- $18,105 a day neonatal ICU (November 1, 2025)
The newborn is not covered
This is the part families most often miss. A baby born in Canada is a new patient with a new bill, and the mother's visitor policy does not pay it. Destination and Manulife exclude a child born during the trip in so many words. Most plans only accept a child from 15 days of age, and GMS only 48 hours after the baby leaves hospital. A premature baby in intensive care in the first two weeks has no visitor plan to claim on.
Provincial coverage is not automatic either. In Ontario, a child born in Canada may qualify for OHIP only if the residency rules are met, including 153 days in Ontario in a 12-month period; a child here temporarily is not eligible.
For a family member moving to Canada permanently, the rules are different again. See insurance for new immigrants.
Questions about pregnancy and visitors insurance
Does visitors insurance cover pregnancy in Canada?
Not for a normal pregnancy or delivery. Several plans exclude pregnancy completely, and the rest exclude it near the due date or when it began before the policy.
The policy still covers accidents and illnesses that have nothing to do with the pregnancy, subject to its other terms.
What about a complication, such as bleeding at 12 weeks?
On RIMI, Manulife and TravCare's Base and Extended plans, an unexpected complication well before the last 9 weeks may be considered as an emergency. On Destination, JF, TruStone and GMS it is excluded.
Manulife also excludes a pregnancy that began before the effective date, which is the usual case for a visitor who arrives pregnant. Call the assistance line first; the claim depends on the wording.
What is the 9-week rule?
Several wordings exclude anything to do with the pregnancy from 9 weeks before the expected delivery date to 9 weeks after it.
For a due date of December 1, that window runs from about September 29 to February 2. Use the checker for your dates.
Is there any visitor plan with a maternity benefit?
TuGo has a $6,000 maternity benefit and MSH Discover Canada a $5,000 one, and TravCare Comprehensive Care has one too.
TuGo and MSH pay only if the pregnancy began after the policy's effective date, so they rarely help a visitor who is already pregnant when she arrives.
Is the newborn covered by the mother's visitors insurance?
No. The baby is a separate patient, and the wordings we reviewed either exclude a child born during the trip or don't cover the newborn under the mother's policy.
Most plans can cover a child only from 15 days of age (TuGo, RIMI, Destination), and GMS from 48 hours after the baby leaves hospital. Nothing covers the first days, when care for a premature baby costs the most.
How much does giving birth in Canada cost a visitor?
Hospitals set their own non-resident rates, and doctors bill separately. One Ontario hospital asks non-insured patients for a $10,000 labour and childbirth deposit.
Queensway Carleton Hospital charges non-residents $4,005 a day on a ward from April 1, 2026; Cambridge Memorial lists $3,750 a day for 2026-27. BC Women's Hospital lists $18,105 a day for neonatal intensive care. Ask the hospital for an estimate in writing.
Will a baby born in Canada get provincial health coverage?
Not automatically. In Ontario a child born in Canada can qualify for OHIP only if they meet the residency rules, including 153 days in Ontario in a 12-month period.
A child who is only staying in Ontario temporarily is not eligible. Other provinces have their own rules.
Does Super Visa insurance cover pregnancy?
Super Visa insurance uses the same visitor plans, with the same pregnancy exclusions.
Super Visa applicants are parents and grandparents, so this comes up less often, but the rules are identical.
Written by Pankaj Bhatia, CHS, PFA
Insure In Canada Inc. · Licensed in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
Pankaj has sold visitors insurance for 11 years. When a visitor is pregnant he reads the pregnancy clauses of each wording with the family before they buy, so nobody is surprised by a hospital bill.
Sources and related pages
- TuGo Visitors to Canada wording: maternity benefit and exclusions
- Destination: Canada visitor wording (09/2026), exclusions 13 and 14
- Secure Travel (RIMI) wording, exclusion 15
- Manulife Visitors to Canada Enhanced wording
- GMS Immigrants and Visitors wording
- TruStone Visitors to Canada wording
- Queensway Carleton Hospital: fees for non-residents (April 1, 2026)
- WRHN Grand River Hospital: childbirth fees for non-insured patients
- BC Women's Hospital patient rate list (November 1, 2025)
- Settlement.org: pregnant without OHIP
General information, not medical or legal advice. Pregnancy clauses differ between plans and can change; the policy wording governs. Hospital rates are as published by each hospital on the dates shown; doctors bill separately.