New Parents Guide To Maternity Insurance in Singapore

Hey mommies and daddies, you probably are here because you expect a new family addition. You probably heard from family and friends it is important to get insurance for mommy and baby. However, with so many products out there, you probably don’t know what’s happening. No worries! here, we explain what maternity insurance is all about!

As a bonus, we will also compare the best value-for-money maternity insurance available! Don’t worry. We’re here to make your pregnancy experience smooth and fruitful.

What is maternity insurance?

Maternity insurance is a type of health insurance that helps cover the

1. pregnancy complications of the mother and baby during pregnancy and
2. congenital illness of the child such as Cerebral Palsy, Down’s Syndrome and congenital deafness.

Some maternity insurance also provides additional benefits such as guaranteed insurability for life insurance and miscarriages or breech delivery. This protection is usually a lump-sum payout or daily hospital cash benefit to help with medical expenses.

Maternity Insurance is rather affordable, and it costs from $300 to $1600 depending on coverage and which insurer you get it from. We will compare the best and cheapest maternity insurance for you below!

Do I need Maternity insurance? Doesn’t my hospital plan cover hospital bills?

Before we dive into what maternity plan covers, let’s see what your existing insurance might cover. We assume you already have Medishield life and an integrated shield plan.

Integrated Shield Plan (hospital plan) coverage

Hospital plans do cover pregnancy complications. However, they only apply to a narrow list of pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. However, the list of complications is usually small. Also, hospital plans generally do not cover congenital illnesses (for the baby). While Integrated Shield Plan does give some form of coverage, it generally is limited in scope and does not cover the baby.

One additional thing to note is that maternity plans have a feature known as the Guaranteed Insurability Option, which allows you and your baby to buy insurance without medical underwriting. Meaning if you or your baby’s health condition changes after pregnancy, you can purchase life insurance for yourself and your baby without requiring medical checkups, exclusions or higher prices.

This feature is important in the event your child is born with health conditions as they will be rejected the right to purchase insurance plans in the future.

When should you buy maternity insurance?

You should purchase maternity insurance as soon as possible. This is so that the plan can protect against any complications that may arise later in the pregnancy. Maternity insurance costs do not change as pregnancy progesses, but your health typically detiorates later into pregnancy.

In Singapore, you can only purchase maternity insurance after the first trimester (13 weeks). After 13 weeks you are said to have a “stable” pregnancy and typically, this is when you’d announce the pregnancy to your family!

You can purchase maternity insurance up to the 40th week of pregnancy. However, we recommend you purchase it at week 13 because certain pregnancy complications, such as Gestational Diabetes and Low placenta placement, tend to occur during the 2nd trimester, while congenital illnesses are detected at the 3rd trimester. Once any illnesses is screened, you will not be able to buy this insurance.

Types of Maternity Insurance in Singapore

There generally are two types of maternity insurance in Singapore, Standalone and Bundled Options. Both plans have similar coverages. However, Standalone plans are significantly cheaper and give you, the parent, a greater choice.

Standalone Maternity Insurance

Standalone Maternity insurance refers to pure maternity plans, where you purchase only the maternity insurance, with a choice to purchase a life insurance or hospital insurance for your baby after birth (that covers any congenital illnesses or medical conditions). Because you purchase only maternity insurance, the cost is lower.

Additionally, with the option to purchase life insurance, you can decide how much insurance you want. If your child has a severe medical condition, you can purchase to the maximum limit (even with a medical condition). While if your child is healthy, you could purchase minimal life insurance that suits your budget.

Note: There will not be additional loading or exclusions added to the life insurance purchase after birth. This feature is known as the Guaranteed Insurability Option.

Bundled Insurance

Bundled insurance, however, requires you to purchase an ILP (investment-linked insurance) or whole life insurance at the point of purchase (before birth). Bundled insurance ties you down with expensive life insurance that may not suit your current needs.

Additionally, you can not increase or decrease the whole life insurance after your baby is born to adjust to any medical or health conditions he/she might have. If you purchased a $50,000 coverage before birth, you will not be able to increase your coverage even if your child has a medical condition.

Cost Standalone vs Bundled:

On average, standalone insurance would cost about $500, while bundled insurance would cost $2000 and up (for 15 to 25 years). Hence, we recommend you get Standalone rather than bundled plans.

Companies offering standalone and bundled options

Standalone:

• Great Eastern
• AXA
• Singlife

Bundled:

• Prudential
• AIA
• Manulife

What do maternity plans usually cover?

Generally, here’s what you can expect to find:

Coverage for mother:

• Pregnancy complications: Complications that arise from the pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, Miscarriage, Contractions, Breech Delivery
• Death or total & permanent disability benefit (TPD)
• Hospitalisation benefit: Daily cash benefit if you are hospitalised due to pregnancy complications

Coverage for baby:

• Congenital illnesses: Birth conditions such as heart issues, cleft lips, jaundice, hole in the heart.
• Death benefit
• Hospitalisation benefit: Daily cash benefit if the baby is hospitalised due to congenital illnesses
• Outpatient phototherapy benefits due to severe neonatal jaundice

What is Not Covered under Maternity Insurance Plan?

There are some things that Maternity Insurance do not cover; they are

1. Any pre-existing condition the mother might have.
2. Hospital bills that are not related to pregnancy complications or congenital illnesses.
3. Elective procedures (procedures that are not medically necessary but instead chosen by the patient/physician)
4. Diagnosis, check-ups and tests.

Compare the Best Maternity Insurance Policy.

Check out our next article as we compare Singapore’s best maternity insurance plans. In this article, we only compare standalone insurance as bundled insurance is too expensive, restrictive and not value for money and coverage.

Click here for a comparison of the best maternity insurance in Singapore.

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