Guide To Pregnancy And Travel Insurance

The sooner you buy travel insurance, the better. The best travel insurance plans package together valuable benefits that cover unexpected events both before and during your trip.

When you purchase travel insurance right after making your first trip deposits, you gain the longest window of protection if you need to cancel for a reason listed in the policy.

You also meet early-purchase requirements for cancellation upgrades that are worth considering if you’re traveling while pregnant.

Buying travel medical insurance for a trip outside of the country is a smart move, regardless of whether you’re pregnant or not.

Travel medical insurance pays for hospital and doctor bills, X-rays, lab work, ambulance service and medicine if you’re injured or become ill during your trip. Reimbursement is up to the medical limits listed in your policy.

Travel medical insurance can help you recoup costs for unforeseen pregnancy complications, but not for medical expenses relating to a normal pregnancy. Travel insurance companies use different definitions for “complications of pregnancy,” so be sure to ask for details when choosing a travel insurance plan.

The most generous travel insurance plans for Australians provide unlimited cover in medical expenses, but you can also find coverage amounts of $250,000, $100,000 or less.

Pregnancy and Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

A pre-existing condition generally refers to injury, illness or medical condition that caused you to experience symptoms, seek treatment or take medication in the 60 to 180 days before you bought the policy.

In Australia, most travel insurance providers cover a range of pre-existing conditions without the need to meet any excessive criteria or be assessed by a medical practioner (these conditions usually include acne, arthritis, coeliac disease, iron deficiency and more).

Some pre-existing medical conditions will be covered by your travel insurance provider, but only if you meet certain conditions set out in the product disclosure statement at the time of taking out the policy. These will incur a higher premium in order to ensure you are adequately insured while on your trip.

Usually, medical expenses related to normal pregnancy and childbirth aren’t covered under travel medical insurance, says Beth Godlin, president of Aon Affinity Travel Practice. However, some complications of pregnancy may fall under a pre-existing medical condition. A small handful of Australian insurers consider pregnancy to be a pre-existing condition and will require a medical assessment before offering travel insurance.

Be sure to consider if you are at-risk of any complications and find a travel insurance provider that will keep you adequately protected.

In addition to buying travel medical insurance, Godlin recommends researching your destination, including nearby medical facilities.

“You’ll also want to plan for every situation that you can,” says Godlin. “Ask yourself, if you were to go into early labour or have pregnancy-related complications during your trip, where’s the closest medical facility?”

Part of planning for any potential scenario may mean buying emergency medical evacuation insurance, sometimes referred to as repatriation insurance in Australia. It can reimburse you if you’re injured or become ill on your trip and need medical care beyond what’s available locally.

Emergency medical evacuation benefits help pay costs to transport you to the nearest adequate treatment facility—or even back home if necessary. The most generous travel insurance plans are those that provide unlimited medical cover, including emergency medical evacuation.

“Research hospitals, pharmacies and doctors and take advantage of any services provided by your travel protection plan because many provide assistance with services available at your destination,” Godlin says.

She also recommends meeting with your doctor before your departure to be sure you’re cleared to travel.

Trip cancellation insurance reimburses you for prepaid and nonrefundable trip deposits you lose if you cancel due to unforeseeable events listed in your policy. These reasons can include severe weather, injury or a medical emergency.

Issues related to a normal pregnancy are typically not covered under trip cancellation insurance. However, cancellations due to pregnancy-related medical emergencies are generally covered.

For example, let’s say you were already pregnant when you bought your travel insurance plan. Then, a week before your trip, you’re diagnosed with a pregnancy complication listed in your travel insurance policy.

In this scenario, you would be eligible to file a claim under trip cancellation benefits. You would not be covered under trip cancellation insurance if you backed out because you have routine morning sickness or are too uncomfortable.

Also,  you’re not eligible to file a claim for a complication or issue that might happen. For instance, a doctor may advise you not to travel because your due date is soon and you have a history of delivering babies prematurely. That wouldn’t be covered because it is a potential complication but not a current issue.

Here are some examples of what may be considered pregnancy complications in some travel insurance policies:

• Acute nephritis
• Cardiac decompensation
• Non-elective cesarean section
• Nephrosis

Here are examples of what may not be considered a complication in some travel insurance plans:

• False labor
• Physician-prescribed bed rest
• Preeclampsia

Acceptable complications for a travel insurance claim can vary significantly among travel insurance companies, so be sure to check the details of your policy. For example, hyperemesis gravidarum, or severe morning sickness, may be covered at one travel insurance company but not another.

“Cancel for any reason” coverage and pregnancy

If you want the freedom to cancel for reasons beyond those listed in your travel insurance plan, consider adding “cancel for any reason” coverage. It’s an optional upgrade some travel insurance providers offer to policyholders, which generally plays out by providing 50-75% reimbursement of your non-refundable trip costs (pending certain conditions, such as a specified timeframe to make the cancellation).

“Cancel for any reason” coverage typically adds an average of 50% to the cost of your travel insurance premium, so it’s not a cheap endeavour. Not all travel insurance providers in Australia offer this feature either, so your main priority should be finding a policy that protects you and your pregnancy best.

If you experience unforeseen complications related to your pregnancy while traveling and want to return home early, you can file a trip interruption or disruption insurance claim.

It can compensate you for a last-minute flight home and prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs if you leave early due to a complication covered in your policy.

There are a few travel insurance companies that offer “interruption for any reason” travel insurance. With this insurance, you can return home early from your trip, regardless of the reason, and be reimbursed a certain percentage of your trip costs, just as you would with the “cancel for any reason” coverage.

Adding “interruption for any reason” coverage to a travel insurance plan typically adds 3% to 10% to the travel insurance cost.

If you give birth while on your trip and it’s a routine delivery, your travel medical insurance usually won’t reimburse you for the medical costs. Most top-ranked Australian travel insurance providers include pregnancy in their policies, but of the many policies that Forbes Advisor analysed, there were none that extended this pregnancy cover to includ childbirth.

However, if unforeseen complications ensue during delivery, your travel medical benefits can compensate you for associated emergency medical costs, up to limits specified in your policy.

Although benefits vary by insurance company and travel insurance plan, Buggy at Travelex says that trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits may apply to a normal pregnancy if you become pregnant after you bought the policy. This would allow you to cancel for reasons such as not wanting to travel while pregnant, finding out your baby’s due date is too close to the trip, or because you gave birth and no longer want to go on the trip, she says.

The timing of pregnancy is key in this scenario. Usually, if you are already pregnant at the time you buy the policy, pregnancy is not a covered reason for canceling your trip.

You would need to show medical records from a licensed obstetrician-gynecologist that prove the pregnancy occurred after you bought the policy, she says. Once again, however: check your pds as this policy feature varies widely among insurers.

In addition to routine pregnancy and childbirth, there are some pregnancy-related issues that are generally excluded from coverage, says Grant Hayes, a spokesperson for International Medical Group (IMG).

Some of these exclusions are:

• Routine physical exams
• Traveling for the purpose of securing medical treatment or advice
• Fertility treatments
• Trips taken if you’re not medically cleared to travel
• Expenses from a child born during your trip

Of course, every policy is different and it pays to do your own research as to exclusions.

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It’s also prudent to check with your airline to see if there are travel restrictions for pregnant passengers. Commercial air travel is generally considered safe up to week 36 of a pregnancy, according to the Mayo Clinic, or in the first two trimesters in Australia or up to 24 weeks. However, rules vary by airline. While one may not have any restriction, another may have specific criteria.

For example, if you’ve reached or passed week 28, Qantas requires a certificate or letter from a registered medical practitioner or registered midwife confirming:

• the estimated date of delivery;
• whether it is a single or multiple pregnancy; and
• that your pregnancy is routine and that there are no complications.

For flights four hours or more, Qantas allows pregnant travellers up to week 36 for single pregnancies, and 32 for multiple pregnancies. For flights less than four hours, those carrying single pregnancies can travel up to week 40.

Virgin Australia has similar guidelines, and requires a letter at 28 weeks or more. Overseas airlines—even those under the same umbrella, such as Virgin Atlantic—have slightly different requirements, so it’s important to check each airline you are flying with individually.

If you are turned away at the boarding gate because you don’t meet the airline’s criteria for air travel and have to cancel your trip, you typically will not be covered by your travel insurance.