Maternity cover on international health insurance starts only after a waiting period of 12 to 18 months, and only on some plans. Waiting periods and limits at Allianz Care, Cigna Global and Bupa Global, set against real hospital birth prices, checked October 2026.
The Short Answer
Buy maternity cover at least 12 months before you plan to conceive. Allianz Care and Cigna Global cover maternity on their mid-level plans after a 12-month wait (24 months with Cigna for treatment in the UK, Hong Kong or Singapore). IMG and Expatriate Group offer it only on their top plan, and Bupa Global only on its two top plans after 18 months. Travel insurance does not cover routine maternity. Check the limit too: a mid-level routine maternity limit of about US$7,000 covers a caesarean birth package in Ho Chi Minh City or Mexico City, but not at a leading hospital in Hong Kong or London.
What a Maternity Waiting Period Means
A waiting period is the time you must hold maternity cover before you can claim for pregnancy and birth. It starts on the day your maternity cover starts, not the day you buy any policy.
Example: your policy with maternity starts on 1 January 2027 and has a 12-month waiting period. Maternity claims are only possible from 1 January 2028. Insurers word this differently: some look at when the pregnancy began, others at when the treatment happens, so check the definition in your policy.
Adding maternity to an existing policy later normally starts a new waiting period. If a family is likely in the next few years, choose maternity cover from the start.
Waiting period, usually 12 months (18 at Bupa Global)
Maternity costs covered
- Month 0: Your policy starts. Choose maternity cover now, because adding it later starts the wait again.
- Month 12: Most plans now cover a pregnancy. One that began earlier stays excluded.
Illustration of a 12-month wait. Check your own plan's terms.
What Maternity Cover Includes
Cigna Global describes maternity cover as including prenatal and postnatal check-ups, complications during pregnancy and delivery, childbirth, and newborn care. In practice most plans split it into two parts:
Routine maternity: antenatal check-ups and scans, the birth itself (natural or caesarean) and the hospital stay, and postnatal check-ups. This is paid up to the routine maternity limit, for example US$7,000 on Cigna Global Gold.
Complications: problems with the pregnancy or birth that need extra treatment. Most insurers pay these on top of the routine limit, with their own cap: Cigna Global pays up to US$14,000 a year on Gold, and Allianz Care pays complications of childbirth up to US$13,500 on Care Enhanced.
Newborn care: treatment for your baby after the birth. Cigna Global covers newborn care and congenital conditions on all its policies, up to US$156,000 on Platinum.
Fertility treatment such as IVF is a separate benefit if a plan offers it at all, so check before you assume it is included.
What the Main Insurers Offer
Allianz Care: maternity on Care Enhanced and Care Signature after 12 months. Routine maternity is covered up to US$6,750 and US$13,500 per pregnancy. Complications of pregnancy are covered, and complications of childbirth, including a medically necessary caesarean, up to US$13,500 and US$20,250.
Cigna Global: maternity on Gold and Platinum after 12 months, or 24 months for treatment in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. Routine maternity is covered up to US$7,000 and US$14,000 a year, complications up to US$14,000 and US$28,000. Antenatal check-ups and scans are only covered if you add the International Outpatient module.
Bupa Global: maternity only on its Elite and Ultimate plans, after 18 months.
IMG Global Medical Insurance: maternity only on Platinum, after 10 or 24 months depending on underwriting. It pays up to US$50,000 over your lifetime after a separate US$2,500 maternity deductible, and newborn care up to US$250,000 in the first 31 days.
Expatriate Group: maternity only on the Select plan, after 12 months: up to €/£/$7,500 per pregnancy, complications of pregnancy at 100% and newborn care up to €/£/$25,000. Its Primary and Primary+ plans cover pregnancy complications only, up to €/£/$5,000.
IPH Emerald: the Deluxe level pays up to US$/£5,000 for routine maternity and childbirth complications combined, after 12 months. Group plans can add a maternity package of 5,000, 10,000 or 15,000 per pregnancy.
VUMI Global Flex VIP: routine maternity on Superior, Ultra and Total after 12 months, subject to underwriting: up to US$12,500, US$15,000 and US$20,000. Maternity and birth complications are paid at 100% of usual and customary charges on every Global Flex plan, and newborn cover runs from US$100,000 to US$150,000. IVF is on Total only, up to US$10,000 over your lifetime after a 24-month wait.
Maternity Plans Compared
The table sets out what each insurer's maternity cover includes, taken from their own plan documents. The links to each document are listed under Sources at the end of this article.
For more on Allianz Care, Cigna Global and Bupa Global, see Allianz Care vs Cigna Global (on IPMIcompare), Cigna Global vs Bupa Global (on IPMIcompare) and Allianz Care vs Bupa Global (on IPMIcompare).
Care Enhanced and Care Signature
- Waiting period
- 12 months
- Routine maternity limit
- US$6,750 / US$13,500 per pregnancy
- Antenatal care and scans
- Included
- Caesarean
- Medically necessary paid as a complication
- Complications
- Pregnancy: covered. Childbirth: up to US$13,500 / US$20,250
- Postnatal care
- Mother's care up to 6 weeks
- Newborn care
- Routine checks inside the limit
- Add your baby within
- 4 weeks
- Fertility treatment
- Signature only, up to US$9,450
Gold and Platinum
- Waiting period
- 12 months (24 in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore)
- Routine maternity limit
- US$7,000 / US$14,000 a year
- Antenatal care and scans
- Only with the Outpatient module
- Caesarean
- Medically necessary only
- Complications
- Up to US$14,000 / US$28,000 a year
- Postnatal care
- Care immediately after birth
- Newborn care
- Up to US$75,000 / US$156,000, first 90 days
- Add your baby within
- 30 days
- Fertility treatment
- Platinum + Outpatient, US$10,000 lifetime
Global Medical, Platinum only
- Waiting period
- 10 or 24 months, set at underwriting
- Routine maternity limit
- US$50,000 lifetime, after a US$2,500 maternity deductible
- Antenatal care and scans
- Included
- Caesarean
- Covered as delivery
- Complications
- Inside the US$50,000 lifetime limit
- Postnatal care
- Included
- Newborn care
- Up to US$250,000, first 31 days
- Fertility treatment
- Excluded
Select plan only
- Waiting period
- 12 months
- Routine maternity limit
- €/£/$7,500 per pregnancy
- Antenatal care and scans
- Up to 3 prenatal examinations
- Caesarean
- Elective and emergency
- Complications
- Pregnancy complications 100%
- Postnatal care
- Nursing after a home birth, 5 days
- Newborn care
- Up to €/£/$25,000, first 30 days
- Add your baby within
- 14 days
- Fertility treatment
- Excluded
Emerald Deluxe
- Waiting period
- 12 months
- Routine maternity limit
- US$/£5,000, shared with childbirth complications
- Complications
- Pregnancy: up to the policy limit. Childbirth: inside the 5,000
- Newborn care
- Up to US$/£4,000, first 14 days
- Fertility treatment
- Investigations only, up to 3,500
Global Flex VIP Superior, Ultra and Total
- Waiting period
- 12 months, subject to underwriting
- Routine maternity limit
- US$12,500 / US$15,000 / US$20,000
- Complications
- Maternity and birth complications 100% of usual charges, on every Global Flex plan
- Newborn care
- US$100,000 / US$125,000 / US$150,000
- Fertility treatment
- Total only, US$10,000 lifetime, 25% coinsurance, 24-month wait
Where two or three figures are shown, they run from the lower plan to the top plan. From each insurer's own documents, checked 3 October 2026. Always check the policy wording.
What a Birth Costs in Popular Expat Cities
These are published caesarean birth packages from private hospitals, converted to pounds, from our cost guides. Packages usually exclude complications and extra nights.
Hong Kong: £10,448 to £15,586 (Matilda International Hospital, 4 nights). Hong Kong guide
London: £10,215 to £10,410 (The Portland Hospital). UK guide
Netherlands: £7,257 (OLVG). Netherlands guide
Portugal: £5,722 (Hospital CUF Descobertas). Portugal guide
Singapore: £4,127 (Mount Elizabeth, single room, 3 days). Singapore guide
Bangkok: £3,043 to £5,166 (Samitivej Sukhumvit, 4 to 6 nights). Thailand guide
Dubai: £3,704 to £3,807 (Emirates Specialty Hospital). UAE guide
Ho Chi Minh City: £1,599 to £4,885 (FV Thomson Maternity, 4 nights). Vietnam guide
Mexico City: £1,492 to £3,376 (Hospital Galenia and Médica Sur, 2 nights). Mexico guide
If you plan to give birth in Hong Kong, London or another expensive city, a top-tier plan such as Allianz Care Signature or Cigna Global Platinum, with a routine limit of around US$14,000, is the safer choice.
Travel Insurance and Pregnancy
Travel medical plans are not built for maternity. IMG Patriot and Genki Traveler exclude it, and SafetyWing Essential excludes it apart from specified complications in the first 26 weeks. If you are living abroad and planning a family, you need international health insurance. See IMG vs Genki vs SafetyWing.
Before You Buy
Check the limit against your hospital. Find the birth package price at the hospital you would use and choose a limit above it, with room for extra nights.
Check the waiting period for your country. Cigna's is doubled in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Ask how to add your baby. Insurers set their own rules and deadlines for adding a newborn, and some need it done within weeks of the birth.
You can get a quote from HealthiNomad and compare maternity cover from 14 insurers side by side.
Checked 3 October 2026 against each insurer's own published documents and the hospital price lists in our cost guides (prices taken September 2026). This is general information, not personal advice.
Sources
- Allianz Care Table of Benefits, valid from 1 November 2025
- Allianz Care Benefit Guide (DOC-Care-IBG-EN-1125)
- Cigna Global Health Options sales brochure, 02/2026
- Cigna Global: plans in detail
- Cigna Global: maternity healthcare as an expat
- IMG Global Medical Insurance brochure
- IMG Global Medical Insurance Platinum certificate of insurance
- Expatriate Group policy wording, v.20260716
- Expatriate Group: international maternity insurance
- IPH Emerald Plan Overview, individual (USD), v1.10 2024
- IPH Emerald Plan Overview, group (USD), v1.10 2024
- VUMI Global Flex VIP Total: table of benefits
- VUMI Global Flex VIP Ultra: table of benefits
- VUMI Global Flex VIP Superior: table of benefits
Common questions
How long is the maternity waiting period on international health insurance?
Usually 12 months. Allianz Care and Cigna Global use 12 months, though Cigna's is 24 months for treatment in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. Bupa Global's is 18 months.
What does a maternity waiting period mean?
It is the time you must hold maternity cover before you can claim for pregnancy and birth, usually 12 months from the day your maternity cover starts. Claims for a pregnancy inside that period are not paid as routine maternity.
What does maternity cover include?
Usually antenatal and postnatal check-ups and scans, the birth and hospital stay up to the routine maternity limit, cover for complications, and newborn care. Fertility treatment is normally separate.
Can I get health insurance if I am already pregnant?
Most insurers treat an existing pregnancy as a pre-existing condition and will not cover it, and many will not accept the application at all. Maternity cover needs to be in place well before you conceive.
Which plans include maternity?
Allianz Care on Care Enhanced and Care Signature, Cigna Global on Gold and Platinum, IMG on Global Medical Platinum, Expatriate Group on Select, IPH on Emerald Deluxe, and Bupa Global on Elite and Ultimate only.
How much maternity cover do I need?
Enough for the birth package at the hospital you would use, plus extra nights. A caesarean package ranges from about £1,500 in Mexico City to over £10,000 in Hong Kong or London, so the right limit depends heavily on where you live.
Does travel insurance cover pregnancy?
Not routine maternity. IMG Patriot and Genki Traveler exclude it, and SafetyWing Essential covers only specified complications in the first 26 weeks.