Can You Get Travel Insurance When Pregnant
Travel Insurance When Pregnant
I finally started my yoga journey last week, and let me tell you, I’m sore in muscles I didn’t know existed. Stretching is great, but so is being flexible in life—especially when traveling while pregnant. Let’s explore how travel insurance can help keep things stress-free.
It’s no wonder that some of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Allianz Global Assistance involve traveling while pregnant. Although most pregnant women can travel without incident, there are complications, and some customers wonder, “What does travel insurance cover?”
Here’s the short answer: Travel insurance can cover some circumstances resulting from unexpected pregnancy complications or a pregnancy that happens after you’ve bought your plan. Travel insurance typically does not cover trip cancellations or other travel losses stemming from normal pregnancy.
Travel insurance has limitations and coverage definitions as with any type of insurance. Read your agreement carefully and call if you have questions about coverage. Pregnant women should contact their doctors with worries and questions about safe travel.
Does Travel Insurance Cover Pregnancy?
Travel insurance is short-term and does not cover pregnancy-related services like prenatal visits, labor and delivery, or maternity care.
The reason for this exclusion of pregnancy-related care lies in the overall intent of travel medical insurance: to provide coverage for unexpected medical events that arise during your travels and after the policy’s start date. It is not meant to replace your domestic healthcare plan which you would likely use for preventative care, check-ups, doctor visits, prescriptions, and pregnancy care.
Although travel insurance won’t pay for care related to the pregnancy, it can still cover a pregnant person if she requires treatment for a fresh injury or illness she develops during her trip that is not pregnancy-related.
There are a few travel medical insurance policies that do include some limited benefits for emergency treatment due to pregnancy or complications of pregnancy.
What Does Travel Insurance Cover For Pregnant Women?
If you are pregnant, you may be wondering whether you can still book travel insurance. The answer is yes. Though travel insurance wouldn’t cover routine maternity care, it may cover “complications of pregnancy,” as explained in your plan documents. Knowing and understanding the definition of this term is essential — so you know what is (and isn’t covered).
Complications of Pregnancy denotes entities (if the pregnancy is not resolved) whose diagnoses are separate from the entity pregnancy itself but negatively impacted by pregnancy, or that are causatively linked to pregnancy. Such conditions include hyperemesis gravidarum, preeclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, acute nephritis, nephrosis, cardiac decompensation, and missed abortion. Other complications of pregnancy that can also be checked by using the above tests are: Non-elective cesarean section, Ectopic pregnancy which is terminated, and spontaneous termination of pregnancy, which is during a period of gestation in upgraded that a viable birth is not possible.
Physician-prescribed rest during the period of pregnancy (except due to conditions noted above), false labor, occasional spotting, morning sickness, elective abortion, and similar conditions associated with the management of a difficult pregnancy, not constituting a categorically distinct complication of pregnancy.
What Isn’t Covered By Travel Insurance While Pregnant?
It’s worth noting that any non-emergency expenses related to your pregnancy are not covered by it, for example, routine prenatal visits (including ultrasound and blood tests) are not covered. Other pregnancy-related incidents that wouldn’t be covered:
- Normal labor and delivery even if you give birth on the road.
- Management of other disorders that are linked with a high-risk pregnancy.
- Existing medical conditions that your pregnancy could aggravate.
- If you are traveling despite being advised by your doctor not to do so.
- At the time you book your travel arrangements, you are medically unable to travel.
Our travel insurance plans are not equipped with blanket coverage, read your plan document carefully. If you choose not to travel due to your pregnancy, you would be covered (within plan limits) only if you purchased the Explorer or Epic insurance plan with the optional cancel for any reason coverage, which is offered at an additional cost during the time-sensitive period. When you receive a quote, you can see the plans displayed side-by-side, helping you decide which to choose.
Do I Need A Travel Insurance Plan To Travel While Pregnant?
Travel insurance plans are not a common requirement when it comes to traveling. However, they can be invaluable for travelers. Pregnancy could affect coverage in various ways depending on the travel insurance plan. For example, if you bought your travel insurance plan before becoming pregnant, a normal pregnancy or childbirth may be a covered reason to cancel your trip. Medical expense coverage, however, does not cover normal pregnancy or childbirth. There may be coverage for when you travel and have unexpected complications.
Features to Look for in a Travel Insurance PlanAnother critical feature you need to pay special attention to in your travel insurance plan is 24/7 emergency travel assistance. You have plenty to stress about, let Travel Guard assist with some of the specifics. Travel Guard’s specially trained representatives can assist with everything from rebooking flights to finding doctors who speak English, offering translation assistance, and helping replace prescriptions.
Does Travel Insurance Cover Cancellation Due To Pregnancy?
If you buy a trip insurance plan — one that provides coverage for trip-related losses, like prepaid and nonrefundable travel costs — it will cover cancellation due to pregnancy in some cases.
If you need to cancel your trip for pregnancy, that may be covered if:
- You or a traveling companion has confirmed medical records of a pregnancy complication occurring after the effective date of your coverage, or
- You or your traveling companion need to cancel the trip for pregnancy or childbirth, which is supported by medical records, after the effective date of your policy.
- Conditions can change from plan to plan, so it’s best to read the description of coverage in your trip insurance policy to know when trip cancellation would be covered specifically because of pregnancy.
Is Pregnancy A Medical Condition For Travel Insurance?
Whether or not you must inform your insurer that you’re pregnant varies according to their policies. Pregnancy is not classed as a pre-existing condition for Admiral Travel Insurance, so you don’t have to inform us before you travel.
When you buy your policy also, you do not need to declare any complications with your pregnancy. However, you will have to declare it if the complication persists after pregnancy, say, gestational diabetes becoming regular chronic diabetes.
Is Pregnancy A Medical Condition For Travel Insurance?
FAQ
Pregnancy is covered by Admiral single trip and annual travel insurance, and you won’t pay more for your coverage as it’s not classified as a pre-existing medical condition. You will get the usual cover for things such as:
- Lost luggage
- Travel disruption
- Lost or stolen belongings
But we also will cover the cost of any emergency medical care you receive due to complications during your pregnancy.
Pregnancy is not a pre-existing medical condition therefore, you do not have to inform us before travel. We recommend that you inform us of any pregnancy-related conditions so we can ensure proper coverage.
That’s up to you and your doctor — if it’s safe for you to travel and your doctor says it’s fine, you can fly. Admiral insurance covers you up to 40 weeks of pregnancy, but we highly recommend seeking medical permission for flying at that stage.
There’s no maternity coverage for the costs of natural labor and childbirth. We only consider premature birth more than eight weeks (or 16 weeks for a twin, triplet, or other multiple pregnancy) before the due date.
No, you won’t be able to file a claim after cancellation, if you got pregnant after taking out your polic, or booking your trip (whichever is later).
We don’t cover you if a doctor tells you not to travel (unless there are complications of pregnancy or childbirth) unless you wareunable to change your trip and can produce written documentation to confirm that from your travel provider.
