What is Maternity Insurance?

A maternity insurance plan is a kind of insurance product that is specifically designed to cater to the health care expenses related to childbirth and allied expenses. The maternity insurance policy either comes as a stand-alone health insurance policy or it can be an inbuilt benefit of a basic health insurance policy or can be opted as an add-on benefit along with your base health insurance policy. It covers maternity expenses for childbirth up to a specified limit or sum insured in the policy which varies from plan to plan.

What is covered under Maternity Insurance?

Following benefits are covered under maternity insurance:-

  • Pre-hospitalization expenses for 30 days and post-hospitalization for 60 days
  • Inpatient hospitalization includes room charges, nursing expenses, anesthetist charges, etc.
  • Childbirth expenses (Normal delivery or c-section, the limits vary as per the type of delivery)
  • Ambulance charges for ferrying the insured
  • Vaccination of the infant
  • Pre and postnatal expenses
  • Coverage for the newborn baby till the specified time
  • Cashless treatment in the chain of network hospitals

The coverage and policy benefits may be plan-specific.

What factors affect the premium amount of Maternity Insurance?

The premium amount of maternity insurance is generally expensive because of the high-risk product owing to an almost 100% claim ratio. Following are the factors which affect the premium amount of maternity cover

  • The age of the women who will be covered under maternity insurance plays an important role in deciding the premium amount. The higher the age, the higher will be the premium. This is because with increasing age, the risk associated with her life and treatment increases.
  • Other risk factors like her health condition also play an important role in deciding the premium amount for the insurance company. The risk associated with a healthy woman is always less in comparison to unhealthy women.
  • In the case of group health insurance, the number of employees, their designation and company location are some of the most important deciding factors in the premium amount. The profile and location of the company being insured also play an important role in deciding the premium amount.

What is the right time to buy Maternity Insurance?

Maternity is a life-changing period for a woman and that’s why you need to do proper planning for it. Being an early bird for buying maternity insurance is considered an ideal decision. Maternity benefits can be availed after a waiting period, which ranges from 2 to 4 years, usually. So, it is better to buy a maternity plan just after marriage so that the waiting period can be surpassed easily. You should always buy a maternity cover before you conceive because most of the insurers deny the application of maternity cover if the woman is already pregnant. Such cases are considered as pre-existing by the insurer. That’s why early planning and purchase of maternity insurance is important.

What points to be considered before buying Maternity Insurance?

  • Waiting period- Generally there is a waiting period of 2-6 years for claiming any benefit under your maternity insurance. That’s why it is recommended to buy a maternity cover after your marriage so that you don’t have to wait for availing the benefits of your maternity cover. But there are some plans in which the insurer offers you a very low waiting period. All you need to do is to search for different policies, know about their waiting period and then choose the best plan according to your need and situation.
  • Sum Assured- Most of the maternity insurance comes with a restricted cover. But you need to decide the right amount of coverage as low coverage can burn a deep hole in your pocket even after having maternity insurance. Your coverage amount shouldn’t be very high also because a high sum assured can become a financial burden for you. You should analyze your need and situation before deciding the right sum assured.
  • Newborn baby cover- Before buying maternity insurance, you should always check the details of the newborn baby cover. A newborn baby cover will allow you to cover the expenses for treatment of ill-health of a newborn baby from day one. The number of days for the cover of newborn baby varies from company to company.
  • Compare- It is important to compare similar plans before buying to assess the cost, benefit, and other things to make the best buy. Buy online to save premium and policy issuance hassles.