New Parents May Find These Maternity Tips Handy

Initially, you may find it difficult to relate the expediency of buying maternity insurance while planning a baby. This time your main focus is on the baby instead of on medical bills whether it is hefty or not.  While medical treatment cost is the prime concern, welcoming a newborn is a costly affair in India.

Medical cost for each pregnancy would come under lakhs if someone opts for C-section, while 70-80 thousand for normal delivery. Therefore, you should plan your expenses simultaneously with the baby planning. Here comes maternity insurance in the picture which saves yours from being bankrupt.

Indian insurers have introduced various maternity plans keeping the needs of the parents in mind and utilising the marketing strategies at their best. However, when health insurance market is dominated by a few leading insurers, you can check for Iffco Tokio Health Insurance and maternity plans that meet your requirements under group plans. So, if your employer provided health insurance is by Iffco Tokio, then you’re covered. Otherwise, with plenty of options out there, it is a wise decision to compare multiple plans, so that one can land on an informed decision.

To ease its benefits here are some maternity insurance tips for newbie parents:

Maternity Plan Follows Your wherever You Go

The foremost tip is to actually get one! And it is a must requirement for expatriate mothers-to-be because medical treatments in a foreign land are expensive. Cost for delivery and childcare in a private hospital in metro cities like Delhi is beyond imagination. With insurance, middle-class people can’t afford the cost. A maternity plan covers you for the medical expense during delivery and post-partum period. Complications after a delivery can’t be predicted when you’re not financially prepared for the same. There is no surprise that complications may rack up the hospital bills which easily could come around 1 or 2 lakh at one go.

Again, pregnancy requires more attention than delivery. Pre-and post-natal care is mostly expensive these days and nobody wants to compromise on that. Therefore, invest in a maternity plan and enjoy the maternity period.

Consider the Waiting Period

In some cases, couples own maternity plans without knowing the fact that they will have to serve pre-determined long waiting period to make a claim. This means if you make a claim for maternity-related expenses, just after a couple of months, the insurer wouldn’t pay for the same. Since the waiting period is 2 to 4 years depending on the insurer, no claim will be accepted during this period.

If you don't have a plan that covers maternity benefit and if you’re not making your mind up for a baby, then go for a plan that includes pregnancy right away, so that your waiting period is covered until you plan a baby.

Paying Now Vs Paying Later

You might pay your insurance premium on time or up-front, insurance expenses don't stop here. Let’s face it! All insurance plans require some deductibles or co-payment to be paid by the insured. Just for your knowledge, the deductible is a flat amount that you pay to avail the policy benefits while the claim is made. On the other hand, co-payment is a small amount of the total medical cost which the insured is required to pay.

Most of the insurer prefer to adjust deductible and co-payment before a plan is finalised or at the time of renewal. Higher the deductible and co-payment lower the premium you’ll pay. Take advice from your insurer at the time of deciding yours to maximise the benefits.

Make Claim without Hassle

While you are facing an exhausted phrase of your life and going through physical trauma, the last thing you want from the insurer is to accept the claim for total expenses incurred during hospitalisation and childcare without any hassle. To ensure this, make sure you avail cashless facility or the hospital authority has direct billing with the insurer. If the hospital doesn’t offer this facility, talk to the insurer or you can ask for a speedy and seamless reimbursement process.

With health Insurance Ensure safety

After bringing the newborn to this world, every parent wants to provide its baby with utmost newborn healthcare. A good maternity health insurance covers you starting from the pre-natal period, during and after delivery, including the time spent in the Baby Intensive Care Unit, incubation and more. You always want your baby to get the best advantages in life. But having parents that are shambled with hefty medical bills is certainly not happening!