Pre-Natal Insurance Plan

This is not a new product among Malaysian’s Insurers, but recently another case referred to me by another Insurance Agent prompted me to share my opinion on this product.

Case study A ~ A client’s baby was hospitalised within the first month after delivery due to fever. The next day, everything was under control and the parents decided to discharge the baby but the doctor advised to have the baby warded longer. Despite the advice, parents decided to discharge at their risk as everything was found to be normal. Baby grew up normally and the parents decided to subscribe a medical plan for the baby through an insurance agent when the baby reached one year old. The case had been postponed by the insurer for 2 years until fresh submission can be accepted.

Case study B ~ A Client’s baby was hospitalised as nurse observed jerky foot movement during routine check up after delivery. Subsequently the baby was being warded for 14 days for series of investigations, everything found to be normal and no conclusion can be drawn to the suspected event. Few months later, Client decided to subscribe a medical coverage for the baby and again the case was postponed by the insurer until age 3 before fresh submission can be considered.

For both of the cases, both the Insurance Agents referred their clients to me as they knew that we could assist clients to try with other insurers. It is true that different insurers may have different underwriting criteria. Unfortunately, for Case Study A, 2 other insurers also rejected the applications and client decided to bear with the decision at the moment. As for Case Study B, I am still waiting for any official result.

Therefore, this case prompted me to write about prenatal insurance plan. If both the infants had subscribed to prenatal plan, they would not have faced the postponement of their medical coverage now. (*Yes – Waiting period still applies and congenital exclusions clause still applies, but for other events such as virus infection, diarrhoea, accidental events and etc, the medical cost could have been covered)

  1. What is Pre-Natal Insurance Plan?
    • Pre-Natal according to medical term is “The process of growth and development within the womb, in which a single-cell zygote (the cell formed by the combination of a sperm and an egg) becomes an embryo, a fetus, and then a baby.”(ref : https://www.medicinenet.com/)
    • In general, it means an Insurance Plan that is subscribed by the parent to cover the baby (to be born) while pregnant.
  2. What does a Prenatal Plan Cover?
    • Most of the plans provide coverage such as:
      • Life
      • Critical Illnesses (Juvenile / General)
      • Hospitalisation & Surgical (Medical Card)
      • “Baby Plan” – This normally covers the unfortunate events during pregnancy, complication during delivery, congenital disorder / birth defect and etc for the first 2 to 5 years.
      • Other riders that may be applicable.
  3. Why do parent consider to subscribe to Prenatal Insurance Plan?
    • The major consideration will be the Hospitalisation & Surgical (H&S) insurance coverage after the baby was born. A normal H&S coverage can only be applied after the age of 14 days, but during the first month parents won’t have time to discuss and decide on insurance plan. They may further delay until scenarios such as above take place.
    • Hence, the risk of unable to obtain a H&S coverage due to complication took place during delivery, congenital disorders or certain hospitalisation event before reaching the allowed time for the application of Insurance Plan. Consequently, the baby is unable to be accepted by Insurers for coverage. It can be a postponement or total rejection.
  4. (The Million Dollar Question)~ What if I have done all the available tests during pregnancy and I’m pretty sure congenital disorder is unlikely, therefore do I still need to get prenatal insurance ?
    • With the advancement of science and technology in recent years, there are many tests available for the expecting parent to assess the fetus development. But, none is able to provide a 100% answer even we have done all available tests. All the results will only be presented to us with certain % of confidence.
    • Even if we could have definite confidence with the development of the fetus, we still could not ensure smooth delivery procedure and other environmental factors which could cause complications after delivery.

Above is my sharing based on recent case. If you would like to know more, feel free to contact your insurance agent, financial adviser or us. (email to : ask@ethanteh.com)

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