Pregnancy can be considered as one of the important phases in a woman’s life. It is essential to be well-prepared to face the various challenges that are associated with pregnancy and parenthood. The cost of medical facilities associated with pregnancy and motherhood is quite expensive and might create a financial crisis.
However, if you have a health insurance plan with maternity cover then it would be easier to face any financial hurdle arising during pregnancy. With adequate maternity cover, you can obtain financial protection against expenses related to the stay in the hospital, delivery expenses, medical diagnostic tests, and medicines.
What is a Health Insurance Policy with Maternity Benefits?
Maternity Benefits are the add-on cover that can be included in your health insurance policy. This add-on cover would provide coverage for both forms of delivery i.e. Normal and Caesarean delivery. It can be opted in an Individual Health Insurance Plan as well as in a Family floater health insurance plan.
If you have an existing health insurance policy or you purchase new health insurance, you would be able to include the maternity add-on cover into the policy. At the time of delivery, your expenses related to the delivery of the baby, other treatment related to any other complications in pregnancy, etc. are covered under the Maternity cover. Maternity add-on offered by many health insurance companies would also help in covering the expenses that are arising due to any fertility problems, hospitalisation of your newborn baby due to health problems, vaccination of your newborn baby, etc. However, this coverage is usually offered until a specific period such as 90 days from the delivery date in most cases.
In the corporate sector, women employees are offered health insurance plans which have maternity benefits as an inbuilt feature. In maternity insurance, careful inclusion and exclusion are necessary so that sound financial decisions can be made for the proper utilisation of your health insurance plan.
What is the Eligibility to Opt for the Maternity Benefit?
According to the opinion of the insurance advisors, it is advisable to opt for maternity insurance before you are pregnant or are planning to start a family. Once you have conceived then health insurance companies would deny you the request for a health insurance policy with maternity benefits. Usually, those couples who are within the age group of 20 years to 35 years must prefer purchasing Maternity insurance.
The waiting period is quite long in the case of Maternity health insurance plans. It is advisable for couples to purchase a health insurance policy with maternity benefits as soon as they get married. The major advantage which would be obtained by this is that the waiting period would get over by the time the couple plans to start a family.
Important Factors to Consider While Purchasing the Maternity Insurance Plan
Maternity Insurance plans have different terms and conditions. These are different for different health insurance providers and it is advisable to be very careful while selecting your maternity insurance plan.
The Coverage Provided and the Sub-limits
One of the most important factors to be kept in mind while purchasing Maternity Insurance is the coverage limit of the policy. Also, the sub-limits for the type of delivery i.e. Normal delivery and Cesarean delivery must be kept in mind while purchasing the Maternity Insurance. Usually, health insurance companies would provide a maternity cover which is within the range of INR 15,000 to INR 50,000. Some health insurance companies offer a higher coverage of around INR 1 lakh. It is advisable to select your maternity cover concerning your requirements.
The Pre-hospitalisation and Post-hospitalisation Expenses
The maternity insurance policy chosen by you must be providing coverage for the expenses that are incurred before the hospitalisation as well as after hospitalisation. So, your maternity insurance must provide coverage for expenses incurred in tests, diagnosis occurring before the delivery, and also the expenses incurred in the medical care of the baby as well as the mother post-delivery.
Waiting Period
Most of the health insurance companies offer long waiting periods. You must select the insurance provider which offers lower waiting periods. It is wiser if you obtain your health insurance policy with maternity benefits earlier to avoid the long waiting periods associated with Maternity Insurance policies.
Vaccination Expenses
Many health insurance companies would offer cover for the expenses incurred in the vaccination of your newborn baby. You should do proper research, compare online, and opt for those maternity insurance policies which would offer cover for the mandatory vaccinations of your newborn baby.
Prenatal and Postnatal Expenses
The Maternity Insurance plans would cover prenatal and postnatal expenses. These expenses can be the consultation fees of the doctor and the medication charges also. Your health insurance policy which offers maternity cover must provide coverage for the pre-natal and the post-natal expenses.
Also Read: Health Insurance Claims & Process
Conclusion
So, for some of the health insurance providers, maternity insurance acts as a rider or an add-on included along with the base health insurance policy. However, nowadays it is a common standard to offer maternity insurance coverage along with the base health insurance policy. Hence, you must select a health insurance policy that offers a high sum insured on the maternity feature so that the delivery-related expenses are covered.
