Posted on: Aug 16, 2020 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

Going to Be A Parent Soon? How to Choose Health Insurance Coverage for Your Little One

Health Insurance For Your Kid - Health insurance

Being a parent can bring immense joy and pleasure into your life, but at the same time it brings along with it a plethora of responsibilities. From protecting the newborn baby to planning for providing everything essentialshe needs, you would go an extra mile for your little one. So, while thinking about the protection and the well-being of your baby, the major point to be considered on top of your priority list is buying an health insurance for your baby. There are many health insurance plans that provide coverage for a newborn baby. Let us learn more about health insurance coverage for a baby.

Why do you need health insurance for your newborn ?

Health insurance plans for newborn babies have turned out to be a necessity as they help in meeting various complexities that arise due to childbirth. Some of the major benefits of health insurance plans for newborn babies can be listed as-

  • The premiums, which are involved in the health insurance plans for newborn babies are less in amount.

  • You would be able to avoid the complexities, which might arise during the birth of your little one without any stress.

  • Your overall medical expenses would be reduced substantially.

  • The health of your newborn baby is secured by the health insurance plan

How would you provide health insurance cover to your newborn baby?

individual health insurance plans cannot be purchased to provide cover to your newborn babies. You can include your newborn baby in an existing family floater policy, group health insurance policy, or maternity health insurance plans.

1. Group Health Insurance Plan

The right method by which you can protect your newborn baby is to add it under the Group Mediclaim Policy. You should inform your insurance provider about this at least within a week from the date of birth of your little one.

2. Family Floater Health Plan

A family floater health insurance plan can cover more than one member of your family for a fixed sum insured. You can easily add your newborn baby into the family floater health insurance plan

Coverage Process for Group Health Insurance Plan and Family Floater Health Plan

There is a basic procedure that would be followed to include your newborn baby in your Group Health Insurance plan or your Family Floater Health plan.

  • In general, after 90 days, your baby can be added to your Group Mediclaim Policy or Family Floater Health Plan and further options can be added while renewing the policy.

  • You need to fill an application form for the addition of your newborn baby into your health insurance plan. This form would be filled renewal of the policy and also midyear at any time after minimum 90 days of child birth and you would also have to submit the supporting documents needed for this process.

  • Documents such as a photocopy of baby's birth certificate, maternity discharge card, and the medical report, in case of any critical medical condition suffered by your baby during childbirth, would be needed for this.

  • Your insurance provider would recalculate the premium for the addition of your newborn baby into the plan. This recalculated premium amount needs to be paid to your insurance provider for policy renewal.

Maternity Health Insurance Plan

Maternity health insurance plans can be helpful when you are looking for options to avail of a health insurance cover for your newborn baby. Your newborn baby would be covered under this health insurance plan for a certain duration of time.

The major areas, which are covered under a maternity health insurance plan are

  • The delivery expenses, which can be related to either Normal delivery or Cesarean delivery

  • Pre-natal and post-natal expenses for both mother and newborn baby

  • Cover for vaccinations of the newborn baby

  • ICU or Room rent

  • Daycare and emergency ambulance charges

Different insurance providers have different criteria set for the purchase of a maternity health insurance plan. You can purchase the plan if you meet the criteria; however, the maternity benefits are payable to you only when the waiting period is completed.

Factors to consider while finalizing a health insurance plan for your newborn baby

The purchase of a health insurance plan covering your newborn baby would be different from that of purchasing a general health insurance plan for adults. So, there are certain factors that you should consider while purchasing a health insurance cover for your newborn baby.

  • Coverage – As said earlier, insurance providers start providing cover for the newborn baby after 90 days of birth. You must check out and ensure that the insurance provider, which you have selected, provides cover to your baby at the earliest. This would be highly beneficial if your little one has been diagnosed with any health condition during a birth.

  • Premium– You will have to submit your baby’s medical documents for verification. The insurance company would do this to check if your little one is having any illness or not. After the document verification, you would be informed about the health insurance premium.

  • Waiting period– Usually, the insurance providers would provide cover for your newborn baby after a particular span known as the waiting period. You need to be aware of how long this waiting period should be, after which your little one would get covered.

  • Terms and conditions– Your insurance provider might be having certain terms and conditions like to inform about the child's birth immediately for being able to avail the benefits. You must know about these terms and conditions beforehand so that you can comply with them.

Conclusion

So, with the cost of healthcare expenses rising significantly every day it would be right to insure your little bundle of joy under a proper health insurance plan. Explore the various health insurance plans mentioned above to enjoy parenting in a stress-free manner.

About The Author

Dr Kavita Ganesh holds over 15 years of work experience in health insurance industry. She highly recommends buying health insurance for securing finances in case of a medical emergency. Looking at the current pandemic situation, she enforces the idea of having a higher sum insured for covering the entire family.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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