Best Maternity Insurance Policies with Low Waiting Period

When it comes to starting a family, every couple starts thinking about getting financially stable in the first place. Since the cost of healthcare treatment is quite high in today’s time, one has to invest in health insurance so that neither the treatment quality is not compromised nor does one have to lose savings to pay hospital bills.

Despite having so many plans and insurance policies on the list, searching for a maternity benefit is hard. Many buyers create a pool of affordable health plans provided by various insurance companies but still get disappointed upon checking the waiting period. 

In general, health insurance companies offering policies covering maternity benefits have a waiting period of 2 to 4 years. Many couples who wish for a maternity plan with a low waiting period drop their plans to buy one. 

However, one must not forget that maternity benefits come with a waiting period, but there are health insurance companies that start covering maternity benefits as early as 9 months. 

Check The Maternity Insurance Policy with No Waiting Period

New parenthood brings new responsibilities for parents, including financial planning. It is an important stage in one’s life. To access good medical care, an individual should choose an appropriate maternity cover, considering the higher maternity cost of care in India. A safe pregnancy will be ensured for you if you opt for a health insurance plan as it covers a variety of healthcare expenses like pre-hospitalisation, post-hospitalisation, delivery costs, ambulance expenses, and newborn expenses as well. 

Now that you are aware it is currently tough to find maternity insurance in India without a waiting period. Therefore, it simply means that making a financial plan much ahead of your pregnancy will not just greatly benefit you but is also necessary at the time of signing up for a maternity health insurance plan.

Does the Waiting Period Vary Depending on the Insurance Plan?

At the time of seeking maternity insurance, women who are already pregnant may have to face difficulty in getting insurance coverage with no waiting period as various insurance companies do not provide this option for already pregnant women. The reason behind this is that the insurance company considers pregnancy as a pre-existing condition, which is excluded these plans from coverage. Therefore, it means that a maternity insurance policy is offered with a waiting period only.

A group health insurance plan has no waiting time and requires little to no screening beforehand. Nevertheless, to change the waiting time, you might need to pay a higher premium amount. For the insurance companies, the basic waiting period is around 30 days, while for any pre-existing condition, this waiting period may extend up to two or more years. Moreover, the waiting period depends on insurance company to insurance company. Insurance companies at present do not offer any maternity health insurance coverage with no waiting period.

Health Insurance Policies Covering Maternity Benefits with Low Waiting Periods

Here are the top rated health insurance policies that provide coverage for maternity at a low waiting period:

List of Health Insurance Policies With Low Waiting Period

Check the details regarding the top medical insurance plans with low waiting period:

1. Care Joy Plan: 

One of the best health insurance plans to select if you want to receive maternity benefits is the Joy coverage from Care Health Insurance.  The plan is available in the form of two variants, namely Joy Today and Joy Tomorrow. Joy policy also provides cover for newborn baby expenses. The Joy policy could be your perfect pick for maternity benefits as it has a waiting period of only 9 months for maternity-related insurance claims.

To know more about Joy's policy, and the perfect blend of hospitalization and maternity benefits, check Care Joy Maternity Insurance Plan.

2. SBI Arogya Premier Policy:

Arogya Premier Policy by SBI General Insurance is one of the most affordable policies and the best health cover one can buy to get their maternity expenses covered. Arogya Premier Policy, which is renowned for its extensive medical coverage, is the whole health solution offered on an individual and floater sum insured basis.

A key feature of the Arogya Premier Policy is that it covers maternity expenses after a waiting period of 9 months.

Details like the sum insured, eligibility age, policy period, and more can be checked here.

3. AXA Bharti Plan for Smart Super Health Insurance

The Bharti AXA Smart Super Health Insurance plan is a great option for families with up to five members. The policy gives policyholders a wide variety of insured sums to choose from and is available in Value, Classic, and Uber variations.

Smart Super Health Insurance policy covers maternity benefits in the form of add-on cover. In other words, you can buy a maternity benefit add-on to get your expenses covered. The waiting period associated with maternity mediclaim cover is 9 months. 

To read more in detail about the policy features and benefits click here.

Other Waiting Periods in Health Insurance Plans for Pregnancy

Apart from the maternity waiting period, there are the following waiting periods under health insurance plans for pregnancy:

Initial Waiting Period

The initial waiting period is the time that the policyholder must wait after purchasing a health insurance policy for pregnancy to receive coverage benefits in the event of a claim. It is a precautionary measure that ensures that the policyholders do not buy the policy to misuse it. Usually, the insurance companies have an initial waiting period of 30 days, but it may vary from one insurance company to another.

Pre-existing conditions waiting period

Usually, there is a waiting period clause for pre-existing diseases in health insurance plans for pregnancy. The coverage benefits cannot be availed of during this period. The waiting period for pre-existing conditions generally varies between 12 months and 48 months, but it depends on the insurance company.

Disease-specific waiting period: 

Every health insurance company has a list of diseases that it does not cover for some time after the commencement of the policy. While some diseases may be covered by the insurance company from the beginning of the policy, some may not be covered for 1-2 years. The disease-specific waiting period may vary from one insurance company to another.

Can the Waiting Period be Reduced?

No, the waiting period cannot be reduced. However, you can plan pregnancy well in advance and purchase a plan with a low waiting period. You can also switch from a group health insurance policy to an individual health insurance policy after leaving your company, to eliminate the waiting period. 

As one cannot purchase maternity health insurance plans for women who are already pregnant, it is important to purchase health insurance coverage early in life. It will not only enable you to receive quality maternity-related healthcare but also provide sufficient coverage for the newborn. 

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