In many cases, a baby is carefully planned as a new addition to a family fully prepared for its arrival, and everything from middle names to college funding is planned out years in advance of the little one’s arrival.
In most others, it’s more of a…surprise.
In either case, soon-to-be mothers will often want to make all the proper preparations, including ensuring the financial stability of their children with life insurance with no medical exam.
For a pregnant woman seeking coverage, this means taking all those extra pounds and health issues to an exam office for evaluation.
Pregnancy takes a tremendous toll on the body and is not typically the time when a woman is in the best shape of her life.
As insurance providers consider a person’s health at the time of application a fairly important factor in whether to approve a policy, it would appear that being pregnant is detrimental to a woman’s suitability for coverage.
Is it even possible to get life insurance while you’re pregnant?
The good news is that most insurance companies will accept applications for women in their first and second trimesters.
The process isn’t much different from any other application process, and a physical exam is still required.
Common health concerns such as gestational diabetes are not a total roadblock to coverage, and if you can demonstrate a fairly long history of good health in your normal state, your chances of maintaining a policy are high.
You can click this link to visit GIO and compare their insurance options if you’re considering having a child.
However, a permanent policy, known as whole life insurance, can be costly at this stage.
Pregnant women may want to consider a term policy, which provides coverage for a predetermined period at a reduced rate.
As for women in their third trimester, insurance companies are a bit more wary of the risks involved.
The modern era has seen great improvement in the prospects of childbirth and management of complications, but historically the process was extremely perilous, and survival is not guaranteed to this day.
Many insurance underwriters are dedicated students of history, and recognize the increased likelihood that the company will have to make a payout as a result of the pregnancy.
Pregnant women at advanced ages may have even more trouble finding a policy, as their risk of complication is higher.
Often, an insurer will ask that these women postpone their application until after their pregnancy to give them the best shot at approval.
Insurers do understand the effects of a pregnancy on a woman’s body and will make certain allowances in such factors as weight and cholesterol level.
They also understand that ideally, pregnancy requires certain lifestyle changes such as a drastic reduction in drinking or other habits and will ask you about your normal habits.
It is important that you are open about your lifestyle choices in the last 12 months to allow an insurer to make an accurate evaluation of you as an insurance risk, otherwise you risk your policy being invalidated later.
Of course, each provider evaluates the lifestyle of applicants differently, and a company that has had little issue insuring pregnant women will usually offer a much better deal than one that has had to pay out claim after claim.
Some companies allow for a reevaluation after you are no longer pregnant to see if your baseline health level qualifies for a better rate.
Still others will flatly refuse to offer insurance coverage to a pregnant woman under any circumstances.
It is important that you shop around and find out about the finer details of each policy to determine if a provider is the right fit for you.
A pregnancy is a constant reminder that there is someone depending on you, and so many women choose to look into life insurance when they become pregnant.
There are insurance options for women who are pregnant, but as premiums are typically fixed over the life of the coverage and pregnant women pay higher rates, it may be best to buy a policy before you even meet anybody special.
