Health insurance is required for all residents of British Columbia, including students. For this reason, all Royal Roads University students are required to have basic medical insurance while studying in Canada. Please view the Student Healthcare Policy for more information.

There are two types of medical insurance coverage: basic health insurance and extended health insurance. Basic health insurance is insurance that is equivalent to the government-provided Medical Services Plan (MSP). It covers most doctor and hospital services.

Extended health insurance builds upon basic health insurance to cover a wider range of medical services, such as dental and vision care. Because extended health insurance is in addition to basic medical insurance, you must always have basic health insurance in order to use extended health insurance.

Basic Health Insurance

The waiting period to receive British Columbia (BC) medical insurance (MSP) coverage is approximately three months. During the waiting period, you must have basic coverage from an alternate health insurance provider. RRU works with Guard Me International Insurance to provide mandatory basic health insurance for international students during the waiting period for MSP. New international students are required to purchase this insurance directly from Guard.me at https://guard.me/rru. You can learn more about the Guard.me insurance plan by listening to this recording.

If you will stay in BC for fewer than six months, you are not required to have MSP. However, you must still obtain basic health insurance for the duration of your stay. It is recommended that you set this up prior to your arrival in BC. You can purchase your insurance directly from Guard.me at https://guard.me/rru.

Guard.me International Insurance may contact Royal Roads University to verify your enrolment and eligibility for the guard.me@RRU insurance plan. By purchasing the guard.me@RRU insurance plan, you consent to Royal Roads University releasing information about your current enrolment status to guard.me International Insurance.

Extended Health Insurance

The Royal Roads Undergraduate Student Association (RRUSA) provides extended health and dental insurance for undergraduate students who are registered in on-campus full-time courses. You will be automatically enrolled when you begin your studies. The extended health care plan offers dental, vision, and prescription coverage, as well as travel benefits. The cost is collected as part of your ancillary fees.

Visit their website for more information on coverage and opt-out information.

For students who are not eligible for RRUSA extended health benefits, extended health insurance can be individually purchased through a range of providers. Please contact us for more information.

Please note the coverage offered by these extended plans does not replace basic health insurance coverage.