Our typical clients for international maternity insurance
International maternity insurance is a type of private health insurance that covers maternity services and treatments on a global basis. While anyone can secure international maternity insurance, it’s usually expat women or those who are planning to travel to another country for delivery and/or maternity care that benefit most from doing so.
Here, we share a question we got from a prospective client (which matches our typical client profile) and the response we sent her. In it, we delve into the ins and outs of this international insurance for pregnancy. We hope this will help you evaluate whether or not this type of plan is right for you.
Question:
I am a Canadian. However, I have been declared as a non-resident in Canada since 2005. I am currently working in Hong Kong and planning a pregnancy, and would prefer to deliver my baby in Toronto. Is it possible for me to purchase the international maternity insurance plan beforehand? Is there a waiting period or any exclusions to know of? Thank you.
Answer:
Yes, it’s possible for you to purchase the international maternity insurance plan beforehand. In fact, it’s advisable to do so earlier rather than later. This is because maternity insurance plans usually come with a waiting period of 10 to 12 months. In other words, this is the length of time you have to wait before your plan kicks in and affords you coverage for maternity treatments.
Discover more: If you’d like to learn more about maternity insurance waiting periods, including your options if you get pregnant before your waiting period is over, check out our blog post addressing this topic or our video for a brief overview.
Our international maternity insurance plans
As a health insurance brokerage, Pacific Prime partners with top health insurance companies to bring to you a wide range of international maternity insurance plans. We can offer you comprehensive coverage for a routine delivery, and ensure that both you and your child are protected in the event of a complication during the pregnancy. We also aim to give you the freedom to choose any doctor or hospital in the world for maternity services.
Our international maternity health insurance plans will provide you with a number of coverage benefits during your pregnancy including pre- and post-natal treatments, routine delivery, complications of delivery, medically prescribed caesarians, and may even provide cover for home delivery costs.
International maternity insurance is typically a ‘rider’ or an optional extra attached to an international health insurance plan. Based on your healthcare and lifestyle needs, as well as budgetary requirements, there are a number of coverage options through international health insurance plans, including:
- Inpatient or hospitalization insurance
- Outpatient insurance
- Maternity insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- And more!
Newborn coverage
One interesting aspect of a maternity plan is the availability of a New Born Child benefit, which many insurers will typically offer as a part of the maternity coverage. A New Born Child benefit is normally offered with the aim of protecting your child’s health once they have been born.
While a New Born Child benefit will usually have a waiting period attached to the coverage, the period will typically be much shorter than the waiting period associated with the maternity benefit; in some cases, it may be as short as 6 months from the start of the plan.
A New Born Child benefit will normally be applied through the child born into the parents’ existing policy or the child receiving a “free benefit”. If the child is born into the plan, then they will get lifelong medical insurance coverage; regardless of the state of their health at birth.
To have your child born into your existing plan, you can contact the insurance company after the birth. It is important to note that adding your child to the existing health insurance policy will raise the policy premium, and not all insurers will offer this option.
If the child receives a free benefit, then they will typically be covered by the insurance company up to a predetermined time, or financial limit. Once the limit on the benefit has been reached, you must submit a new application to the insurance company to ensure continued coverage.
Get a free insurance quote today!
If you’re thinking about starting a family, or even if you’re already pregnant, we advise you to get in touch with us today. We’ve got highly-trained insurance advisors on hand, many of whom are expat mothers themselves, who can offer personalized and unbiased advice. Rest assured, you’ll get help finding the most suitable international maternity insurance plan, and a whole host of support services throughout your entire insurance journey.
