Does Your Health Insurance Have Maternity Cover?

Having a baby is a special and important part of one's life. From sharing the wonderful news with your loved ones to preparing for the baby, shopping, and getting to see your little one on the ultrasound every month, all of the events that follow can be very exciting. The advanced medical technology has made it possible for all of the to-be parents to get the best of treatments, but this comes at quite a huge price. This is why there are medical insurances in place to help people avail the best of treatments as desired and necessary. But, this leads us to the question of whether health insurance has maternity cover? Read further to know more.

What is a Maternity Cover?

Maternity cover, as the name suggests, provides financial coverage for all maternity-related health expenses. Further, it allows you to choose from a network of hospitals listed under your policy provider to avail the best of medical facilities along with cashless treatment. The insurance cover will provide you with financial help when you are expecting a baby and will save you from the stress of having to worry about arranging the necessary funds. However, maternity insurance comes with a waiting period of 3 to 4 years, based on your insurer before the policy comes into effect. Maternity cover generally has a 100% claim settlement ratio as opposed to other insurance policies. So, the premiums for the same are slightly higher when compared to other policies.

What are the Inclusions under the Maternity Cover?

Health insurance policies are generally known to have exhaustive coverage to help provide the maximum benefits for their policyholders, which is true in the case of maternity covers too. Let us take a look at the inclusions for the maternity cover.

• Hospitalization expenses
• Pre and post-hospitalization expenses
• Delivery expenses
• Vaccination of the baby
• Ambulance charges, if any
• Pre and post-natal expenses
• Baby cover, if the infant is diagnosed with any congenital disorders
• Emergencies

What are the Exclusions under the Maternity Cover?

The maternity policy coverage is exhaustive as they come, but they also have certain limitations which include the following:

• Consultation fees
• Regular check-ups
• Medicine costs
• Non-allopathic treatment costs
• Congenital diseases
• Termination of pregnancy (under 12 weeks)
• Expenses related to self-harm or substance abuse
• Treatment expenses for STDs
• Expenses of in-vitro fertilization or other related treatment

Does Health Insurance Have Maternity Cover?

While all general health insurance policies do not have a maternity cover, you can either buy it as an add-on or an individual cover if you are planning on having a baby. When it comes to health insurance of any type, there is no such thing as the right time. The golden rule is the earlier the better. So, it's better to opt for at the earliest so that when you enter the phase of expected parenthood, you can readily avail the benefits of the cover and have a safe and peaceful pregnancy.