Understanding maternity insurance
Maternity insurance is a type of insurance that takes care of all the pregnancy expenses up to a certain limit. Usually, maternity cover is offered along with a standard health insurance plan or also as a standalone insurance plan. However, when purchasing this plan as an add-on with health insurance, coverage is usually provided after 5-7 years.
1. All the maternity related hospitalization costs: Few insurance companies provide 30 pre and 60 days post hospitalization expenses. However, the number of days vary from insurer to insurer.
2. Pre and post-natal cover: A maternity insurance policy covers end-to-end expenses including caesarean and normal delivery as well as post-delivery complications.
3. Hospitalisation expenses: This usually covers room rent, boarding and nursing expenses along with surgeon, anaesthetist consultation charges, and medical practitioner and consultant fees.Also, a few maternity insurance plans cover emergency ambulance charges too.
4. New-born baby cover: A maternity insurance plan also extends coverage to new-borns in case they are diagnosed with a congenital disorder or critical illness.
The above listed coverage may vary depending on the plan time and also from insurer to insurer
Ideally, it is prudent to buy a maternity insurance cover a few years before you plan to conceive as it has a waiting period of anywhere between 2-4 years. Also, if you plan to buy this cover while you are already pregnant, then the insurance company is eligible to deny you the cover or you can’t claim for it as it will be considered as a pre-existing case.