My client took out a policy last month that covers normal maternity and offers cash benefits. She has now discovered she is pregnant. Is she eligible for cover, or will this be classed as 'pre-existing' by the insurer?
The timing of your client's pregnancy is unfortunate from a PMI point of view, as it is unlikely any PMI providers would cover her for normal maternity and maternity cash benefits after holding a policy for such a short period of time.
The maternity benefit in particular, which usually covers private antenatal and post-natal consultations plus a stay in a private hospital for the birth of the baby, is considered a luxury benefit and is normally only available on a few top plans. As it is effectively an elective benefit, insurers offering this type of cover usually require a longer qualifying period, from 18 months to as much as three years.
Maternity cash benefits are more prevalent among PMI providers ' some offer the benefit on all of their plans while others only offer it on their more comprehensive plans. The amount of benefit varies from £100 to £700. As this is significantly less than the cover provided by the maternity benefit, the majority have a qualification period of just 10 months.
Policies are designed to cover medical conditions ' complications of pregnancy fall under this banner but the pregnancy itself does not. Cover for complications of pregnancy is widely available, with varying qualification periods, although the majority provide cover after 10 or 12 months membership.
For future reference, it is probably worth advising clients to carefully check the details of any policy offered, as this benefit varies considerably between both plans and insurers.
