Life insurance before baby arrives: a BC guide

Ask around a prenatal class in Burnaby and you'll hear the same plan: "We'll sort out life insurance once the baby's here." It's an understandable instinct. Nothing feels urgent until the person you're protecting actually exists. But life insurance isn't a same day purchase. It's an application, then underwriting, then a policy that only takes effect once it's issued and the first premium is paid. Starting all of that during the newborn fog, on broken sleep and between appointments, is how the file ends up sitting on the kitchen counter for a year.

The correction is unglamorous but useful. The paperwork is the reason to start early, not the coverage need.

The weeks before the due date are the easy weeks

You still have evenings. You can book a paramedical appointment without arranging childcare. You can read a policy summary without someone crying in the next room. Coverage is also assessed on your age and health at the time you apply, and those are the two things most likely to shift while you wait.

There's a scale reason too. Statistics Canada counted 365,737 live births in Canada in 2024, up 3.7 per cent from the 352,644 reported for 2023. In the same release, mothers aged 35 and older accounted for 27.1 per cent of all live births, compared with 16.1 per cent in 2000. Canadian parents are starting later on average, and age is one of the inputs every insurer prices on. Waiting is never free.

What the industry actually pays out

It's fair to ask whether any of this money ever arrives. Canada's life and health insurers paid $18.6 billion in life insurance benefits in 2024, part of a record $143.3 billion in total benefits and retirement payments, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. That's an industry wide figure, not a promise about any one claim, but it does tell you the machinery works at scale.

Your group plan at work is a floor, not a plan

Most expecting parents I meet in Vancouver and New Westminster already have some coverage through an employer. That's a real asset and worth counting. It's also worth reading. Group life is usually tied to your job, often set as a multiple of salary, and it typically ends when the employment does. If you switch employers, get laid off, or go on an extended leave, check your benefits booklet rather than assuming the coverage travels with you.

Pull the booklet out before the baby comes and write down two things: the amount, and what happens to it if you leave.

The BC detail that catches new parents off guard

This is the part that's genuinely specific to British Columbia, and it's where good intentions go sideways.

Under BC's Insurance Act, naming a beneficiary does something powerful. Section 65 says that if a beneficiary is designated, the insurance money "is not part of the estate of the insured and is not subject to the claims of the creditors of the insured." The money goes to the person you named, outside the estate.

Why that matters in dollars: BC charges probate fees on the value of an estate. Under the Probate Fee Act, no fee is payable if the estate doesn't exceed $25,000. Above that, it's $6 for every $1,000 or part of $1,000 by which the estate exceeds $25,000 but is not more than $50,000, and $14 for every $1,000 or part of $1,000 above $50,000. Insurance money paid to a named beneficiary sits outside that calculation.

Now the trap. Plenty of new parents instinctively name the baby as beneficiary. Section 88 of the Insurance Act sets out what happens when insurance money is payable to a minor. The insurer must, within 30 days of receiving the required evidence, pay the money in trust for the minor to a trustee appointed for that money by the insured "in a contract or by a declaration," or, if no trustee has been appointed, to the Public Guardian and Trustee.

Read that again. If you name your child and appoint no trustee, a government office administers the funds until your child turns 19, and then hands the balance to a 19 year old. That may not be what you pictured. The alternatives are to name your spouse or partner as beneficiary, to appoint a trustee in the policy or by declaration, or to set up a trust in your will. This is exactly the point where a BC estate lawyer earns their fee, and it's a conversation to have alongside naming a guardian.

What to decide before the due date

• Who depends on the income, and for how long. A mortgage in Metro Vancouver, childcare, and the years until the child finishes school are usually the three big drivers.
• Both parents, not just the higher earner. A stay at home parent's work has a replacement cost. Price that out honestly.
• Term length. Match it to the obligation you're covering, whether that's the mortgage amortization or the years until the youngest child is independent.
• Beneficiary and trustee. Decide both together, not just the first one.
• Your will and guardianship. Insurance without a will leaves half the plan unwritten.
• What happens if you change jobs. If most of your coverage is group coverage, an individual policy is what stays put.

If the insurance company itself fails

It's a fair worry when you're pinning your family's plan to a contract that could run 25 years. Assuris is the industry funded organization that steps in when a member life insurer becomes insolvent. For term life, Assuris states that if your company fails, "you will retain up to $1,000,000 or 90% of your death benefit, whichever is higher" (Assuris). That's a backstop with defined limits, not a blanket guarantee, so it's worth reading the terms for the specific product you're considering.

You can also verify the person advising you. The Insurance Council of BC publishes a licensee directory covering all currently licensed insurance agents, agencies, adjusters and firms in the province, including licence status and class. It takes about a minute to check.

What this doesn't tell you

Honest limits on everything above:

• No prices appear here on purpose. What you'd pay depends on age, health, smoking status, coverage amount, term length and the insurer's own underwriting. Anyone quoting you a number without those details is guessing.
• The statistics get revised. Statistics Canada's 2023 release originally reported 351,477 live births for 2023. The 2024 release restates that year as 352,644. Small revisions are normal, and it's a reminder that current year figures are provisional.
• Industry payout totals say nothing about your claim. The CLHIA figure covers all insurers and all policies. Individual claims turn on the contract wording, the application you signed, and the accuracy of your disclosures.
• The legislation quoted here is technical. Sections 65 and 88 are summarized, not reproduced in full, and how they apply to a particular designation is a legal question. Get advice from a BC lawyer before relying on any of it.
• Tax treatment is its own subject. Death benefits, policies with cash value, and how coverage interacts with an RRSP, TFSA or RESP strategy all deserve a conversation with a tax professional.
• Timing isn't a rule. For some families, waiting is genuinely the right call, usually because cash flow is tight or a health matter is being resolved. That's a decision to make deliberately rather than by default.

This article summarizes published rules and research for general information, is current as of the date shown above, and is not personalized financial, tax or legal advice.

Sources

• Statistics Canada. *The Daily: Births, 2024*. Released September 24, 2025. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250924/dq250924c-eng.htm
• Statistics Canada. *The Daily: Births and stillbirths, 2023*. Released September 25, 2024. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240925/dq240925c-eng.htm
• Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. *Claims in Canada rising: $143.3 billion paid to help keep Canadians healthy and financially secure*. 2025. https://www.clhia.ca/en-CA/media-and-publications/news-releases/2025/Claims-in-Canada-rising-143-billion-paid-to-help-keep-Canadians-healthy-and-financially-secure
• Province of British Columbia. *Insurance Act*, RSBC 2012, c. 1, sections 65 and 88. BC Laws. https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/12001_03
• Province of British Columbia. *Probate Fee Act*, SBC 1999, c. 4. BC Laws. https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/99004_01
• Assuris. *Term Life: How am I protected?* https://assuris.ca/how-am-i-protected/assuris-protection/life-insurance/individual/term-life/
• Insurance Council of British Columbia. *Insurance Licensee Directory*. https://www.insurancecouncilofbc.com/licensee-directory/

If you're expecting and want a second set of eyes on this before the due date, Milo Sarmiento is an independent licensed broker in Burnaby who compares offers from Canadian insurers rather than working for one of them. He'll walk through your group coverage, your beneficiary and trustee wording, and what a sensible amount looks like for your family, in English or Tagalog. Book a free, no pressure call and bring your benefits booklet.