Why maternity insurance is important before planning to start a family?

In the era of Kovid, the sensitivity of taking personal health cover has increased. However, very few insurances cover the various expenses of childbirth. Motherhood is a life-changing and incredible journey for many people, but to make it easier, maternity insurance can go a long way. The maternity cover will take care of the medical expenses related to childbirth, including caesarean section and post-birth complications during complicated delivery and hospitalization, thereby reducing the financial burden of the new parents to a great extent. Can go

In India, maternity insurance is not a standalone insurance product but comes under Aadhaar Health Insurance Policy, mainly constituted by family floater policies. Sanjay Dutta, Chief Sanjay Dutta said, “Stand-alone maternity insurance covers are currently not available in the market due to the anti-choice risk (customers who have made family plans will always buy a maternity policy and thus have a sure shot Will claim)” underwriting, claims and reinsurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance told Mint. So, if a couple is planning for a child they should check whether the health insurance provides maternity cover or not.

Amit Chhabra, Head – Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com told Mint, “The maternity cover saves you the hassle of paying out of your own pocket and assures that the expectant mother and her newborn are in good health both medically and financially. taken care of.”

According to Policybazaar’s website, Bajaj Allianz has a family floater plan that covers the expenses of maternity and newborn in the Health-Guard Gold plan. For this, the sum insured is between ₹3 lakh more ₹50 lakhs. In Bharti AXA health insurance scheme, cover is provided to the newborn for only 90 days. Also, there is a waiting period of 9 months to avail the benefits.

Dr S Prakash, Managing Director, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd, told Mint that his company offers a variety of benefits to a pregnant woman or couple, such as “natural deliveries, normal vaginal deliveries and caesarean sections,” Prakash said. , “We also have ancillary feature wherein a newborn baby is covered from day one even if he is born with congenital defects. The child is covered till the completion of the policy term. After the completion of the policy, the child is covered. Can be added to the parental plan”.

Minimum coverage for maternity insurance

Dutta said that while choosing the coverage amount, one should be aware of the normal delivery charges and C-section charges levied by the city hospital.

Gurdeep Singh Batra, Head of Retail Underwriting, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said that a normal delivery in a good hospital can be approx. ₹50,000 c-section delivery cost is approx. can go up to ₹75,000 or more depending on the complexity of the distribution. He said that if someone is planning to have two children then the cost of delivery can go up to ₹1.5 lakh, excluding medical expenses of the newborn child. In contrast, maternity expenses are free in government hospitals.

Does Maternity Coverage Cover Assisted Reproductive Technology?

Since maternity coverage is a part of health insurance in India, a responsible policyholder should know all the terms and conditions including coverage limits, sub-limits for normal and C-section deliveries. Chhabra, Head – Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com said that any treatment arising or detectable for infertility, sterilization, birth control etc. are some of the common exclusions of maternity cover under health insurance policies.

“Infertility treatment, stem cell harvesting, and storage, surrogacy expenses,” explained Batra of Bajaj Allianz, “are other exclusions under maternity cover in India.

However, Star Health Insurance Dr. Prakash said that there is a feature in their policy, in which a couple, who have difficulty in conceiving a child, also covers the treatment of Assisted Reproductive Technology.

Can you get insured under Maternity Health Insurance when you are pregnant?

While you can get regular health insurance while you are pregnant, no one will be able to get maternity coverage. There is a waiting period to avail maternity coverage which may vary from one insurance plan to another. For example, according to policybazaar.com website, SBI Aarogya Premier plan covers maternity expenses after a waiting period of nine months. ManipalCigna’s ProHealth Plus plan maternity coverage is available only after a waiting period of 48 months. Star Health covers maternity expenses after 24 months. Dr Prakash of Star Health said that if someone is planning for another child then the couple will have to wait another 24 months. He said, ‘If someone is planning for another child within 24 months, then it will not be good for the health of the mother.

Central government schemes for pregnant women

In India, a large section of women till date go to labor in government hospitals for affordable deliveries. The central government provides a maternity benefit program, which is known as Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). Under this centrally sponsored scheme, a cash incentive of ₹5,000 is provided directly to the bank or post office account of pregnant women and lactating mothers (in three installments) for the first surviving child of the family. According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the last menstrual period (LMP) date is mandatory for claiming the first and second installment. The beneficiary has to register her pregnancy in an approved health facility within 150 days from the date of LMP, which has to be recorded in the Mother-Child Protection (MCP) card.

PMMVY Scheme Eligibility

PMMVY scheme is for women who were employed before pregnancy and have experienced reduction in wages due to pregnancy. Pregnant women who are in regular employment with the Central Government or State Governments or PSUs, or are on paid maternity leave, are exempted from the benefits of PMMVY.

State government schemes for pregnant women

Apart from the PMMVY of the Centre, many state governments also provide financial assistance to pregnant women. For example, Tamil Nadu’s Dr. Muthulakshmi Maternity Benefit Scheme (DMMBS) benefits pregnant women for two live births. Women get cash incentives ₹18,000 in five installments, including a nutrition kit ₹2,000 for each live birth. Odisha government has launched Mamta Yojana which provides financial assistance to? ₹5,000 to pregnant women and lactating mothers across the state. Almost every Indian state has a scheme for motherhood, but people do not know much about it, as a result of which they end up spending a lot.

Key Features of Maternity Insurance:

• As per IRDAI guidelines, maternity cover covers pre-hospitalization cost up to 30 days prior to the date of admission.
• Apart from this, expenses like room charges, doctor consultation, anesthetist consultation, surgeon fee and nursing are also covered. Some insurance plans also provide cover for emergency ambulance charges.
• Some maternity insurance also covers pre-natal and post-natal expenses, immunization of infants with critical illness and newborn.
• Some policies may cover the cost of termination due to complications.

However, it is imperative to do a thorough examination of the policy before buying it.