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Starting your Family
We strive to get your family insured in the simplest way possible, without leaving you to worry over the details. Starting a family can lead to costs you may not have considered, so it’s always a good idea to have a plan prepared for the future. Organising a quality maternity insurance plan in a timely fashion will leave you a little more breathing space and give the help you are going to need.
We have seen the cost of Maternity cover steadily rising around the world in recent years, partly because of increasing demand but also due to more assisted pregnancies and women choosing to have children later in life. Leading private hospitals in countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and China are charging up to about USD 20,000 for basic maternity care today. Unfortunately, this figure doesn’t include the potential costs of complications that can arise during pregnancy, and procedures have become increasingly expensive.
If pertinent, the need for emergency evacuation is a very serious issue to cover. Women living in remote locations where health care standards are insufficient need to consider the possibility and potential for emergency evacuation when it comes to their pregnancy. More emergency evacuations from remote countries are a result of pregnancy complications than any other cause.
Choosing a Maternity Insurance Plan
We always recommend that you set aside a 12 month period to set up and prepare before starting a family. This tends to be the standard waiting time (or waiting period) that needs to pass before insurers will cover the expenses related to your pregnancy. This period of time may vary but even with the shortest period available, you will not be able to apply if already pregnant.
You will need to consider the time it takes to select the right insurance company and plan before the underwriting can take place. Please also remember that it usually takes a few weeks to activate an insurance plan.If pregnancy is confirmed within the waiting period*, it is likely that prenatal procedures and costs will not be covered. Delivery and postnatal (assuming they are scheduled and take place after the waiting period) will then be covered by the insurance.
*If you conceive after 4 months and delivery is scheduled for 9 months later, this will fall outside the waiting period of 12 months (as 4+9 = 13).
Finding the best insurance early will naturally be most the effective and useful way to use a Maternity policy. If you can organise the insurance cover 12 months prior to confirming pregnancy, both prenatal postnatal procedures as well as the actual delivery will be fully covered.
In terms of Division of Costs, we tend to see the process broken down into the following:
Prenatal = 15% Delivery = 75% Postnatal = 10%
Because the prenatal phase makes up a fairly substantial part of the overall costs, we urge our clients to get the best out of the policies we are offering and to purchase plans correctly.
Maternity plans can seem complicated, and wrapping your head around the details can be frustrating when already under pressure. We recommended really getting to know the ins and outs of the plan you eventually pick; a full understanding of the details may be essential in an emergency.
There are nineteen categories we choose to analyse when it comes to selecting the best maternity plan for you:
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Overall maternity coverage in USD
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Maternity per pregnancy or per policy year
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Maternity waiting period
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Maternity waiting period to conception or delivery
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Complications of pregnancy cover
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Complications of delivery cover
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Waiting period of complications or pregnancy and delivery
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Pre-Post natal treatment
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Home delivery coverage
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IVF/Fertility treatment cove
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IVF/Fertility treatment waiting period
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Medically assisted pregnancies
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Elective C-sections
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Emergency/Medically required c-sections
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Newborn coverage
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Congenital abnormalities
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Newborn underwriting
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Second child c-section
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Multiple births from IVF/Fertility treatment
We find that couples trying to start a family generally succeed within the first 24 months. Having a maternity plan already in effect during this 2 year period will see you through multiple claims that would otherwise been very costly. Finding the right the insurance premiums to work for you is a crucial step in ensuring your overall health insurance plan is a smart investment.
A quality maternity plan will allow you to choose your own doctor (obstetrician) in a hospital you are happy with. Make sure to check that your plan allows for direct billing after treatment at the hospital, as it eliminates the need to pay out of pocket first and claim later. It allows you to simply show a card and the payment will be settled directly with the insurer.
If plans for the future involve relocating to another country or if there is a large possibility of that happening frequently, it will be important to look for maternity coverage that includes a policy that allows you to continue the plan worldwide .
If you are living or plan to be living somewhere which may require you to be transported elsewhere due to a medical emergency related to the pregnancy, we recommend finding a health plan that incorporates evacuation cover as a precaution.
Your Newborn
We regularly see that the biggest expenses involved in maternity care are generated from the medical treatment that some newborns require. Planning for the worst case scenario can be uncomfortable, but it is equally important for any unexpected events or complications that could arise. Make certain you fully understand all the limitations to your policy, including financial caps and time limits on the cover offered to you.
There are some procedures that your newborn is guaranteed to need, such as vaccinations and health checks. These events can be scheduled in advance so it is important to confirm which of these procedures will be covered by your policy. Insurers can have different approaches, so finding the one most suited to you can save money.
Assisted Pregnancies
As assisted pregnancy methods such as IVF become more widely available and with couples finding these alternative methods to be successful, insurers have had to face and tackle two rising problems: There is the actual IVF treatment along with the associated costs for consideration, and secondly there is the possibility of multiple births and subsequent expenses. Not every insurer will offer to cover the cost of IVF treatment or cover multiple births as a result. There are some insurers that will, but we advise that you first seek specialist advice so you can start an insurance policy sees your assistant pregnancy needs properly attended to.
Future Children
Most insurers will allow families to remain under the same plan to cover all future newborn procedures.. Typically, the initial waiting period does not have to be re-fulfilled if the policy has not lapsed, or with the possibility of any pre-existing conditions.
A common procedure used when encountered with problems is delivery via c-section. If your first child has been delivered by c-section, the chances for future births requiring the same procedure are high. Because c-sections are more costly than uncomplicated deliveries, insurers are likely to impose limits to new policy applications. We therefore recommend remaining with your first maternity policy if there are no additional complications or different circumstances involved, as a way to both save money and ensure consistent care.
What if You are Already Pregnant?
If you are already pregnant without insurance it can be difficult to secure cover for the delivery. International insurance companies will not cover the delivery procedures at this time, but there are other areas that can still be covered. Complications of pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancies, or gestational diabetes can be covered even this late into a pregnancy, and it is possible to cover your newborn for any serious illnesses. We have found that of all the people looking for health insurance plans, about a quarter of them are doing so in preparations to start a family. Maternity coverage may be a significant component when selecting the right insurance.
We always hope for the most straightforward and uncomplicated pregnancies, but plan for anything that can go wrong to ensure that regardless of scenario, both mother and newborn receive the best medical care available