For parents-to-be, the health of the new arrival and mother is usually foremost in their minds. As you attend each prenatal scan, you hope that development markers are being met but also that no serious health issues or complications are discovered. However, things do sometimes go wrong and baby insurance options can provide you with the means to stop and take stock in such a situation. In this article, we explain what baby insurance covers, how it can help and what it will cost.
What is baby insurance?
Baby insurance is a term used to describe the options that are sometimes included within critical illness insurance. Critical illness insurance may provide a lump sum if specific serious health conditions are diagnosed, either during gestation or upon the birth of a baby as well as throughout the child’s life up until adulthood. In some cases, it will also include cover in case of a pregnancy complication, paying a sum of money for specific complications that may occur either during pregnancy or childbirth.
How does baby insurance work?
Baby insurance is sometimes included within critical illness insurance policies and covers a range of different illnesses. If your baby or child is diagnosed with a condition that is listed in your policy conditions, the insurer will pay a lump sum of between £5,000 and £100,000 depending on the level of cover that you choose.
Usually, you would buy an adult critical illness insurance cover and the children's cover will be included with your cover. Some insurance companies will allow you to add children's cover to an adult life insurance policy without the adult needing to buy critical illness insurance for themselves - this can be useful in cases where the adult either cannot afford the cover for themselves or their health prevents them from being accepted for it. In some cases, you have to choose to add the children's cover as it exists as an optional extra and there may be tiers of cover to choose from.
All baby insurance policies are not equal and some provide much more comprehensive cover for the baby and mother than others. We explain the different options for baby insurance below.
Baby insurance - Age ranges covered for children
Some baby insurances will cover a child from when they are 30 days old and until they reach age 18 while others will provide cover from 20 weeks of gestation until they are 23 years old with many insurers choosing somewhere between these ranges.
Baby insurance - Conditions covered for children
Typically, the insurer will cover children for the same core conditions as the adults cover but better policies will also include cover for child-specific conditions.
Examples of adult and child conditions covered
- Cancer
- Deafness
- Coma
- Kidney failure
- Loss of hand or foot
- Paralysis of limb
- Third-degree burns
- Traumatic brain injury
Examples of child-specific conditions covered
- Spina bifida
- Bacterial meningitis
- Cystic fibrosis
- Downs syndrome
- Cleft lip
- Cleft palate
- Congenital Talipes Equinnovarus (Club foot)
- Developmental Dysplasia of the hip
Baby insurance - Pregnancy cover
If you have chosen adult cover then some insurers provide cover if a pregnancy complication occurs but not all, so you have to select carefully or speak to a specialist personal insurance adviser*.
Pregnancy cover can include:
- Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC)
- Ectopic Pregnancy
- Placental Abruption
- Eclampsia (excluding Pre-eclampsia)
- Foetal death in utero after at least 20 weeks of gestation
It is key to note that all baby and child insurance policies are not the same and some critical illness insurances do not cover children unless you select this option. Additionally, a number of policies can provide optional 'enhanced' cover for the child and cover for pregnancy complications.
How much does baby insurance cost?
Baby insurance can start from as little as £10 per month and can provide cover children’s critical illnesses insurance and pregnancy-related complications. The cover may cost more depending on your age and the level of lump sum payment cover you choose.
Below we look at the cost of the most comprehensive insurances that we could find so that not only is the adult covered for a comprehensive list of illnesses but the children's option also covers a large number of conditions. Finally, we ensured that pregnancy complications are included so that the policy would payout in this scenario too. We checked how much it would cost to buy £50,000 of cover over 25 years, a length of time that would allow for the whole period that you could have responsibility for your child.
Monthly cost of £50,000 Adult & Child Critical illness cover with Pregnancy cover over 25 years
| Age of mother | Amount of Adult and Children's Critical Illness insurance (Including pregnancy complications) | Monthly premium^ |
| 20 | £50,000 | £16.66 |
| 30 | £50,000 | £24.00 |
| 40 | £50,000 | £40.26 |
^the monthly premiums are based on a healthy mother who does not smoke
Why do I need baby insurance?
Baby insurance can provide financial support during a difficult time. If you or your baby suffer a medical problem or injury, the payout from such an insurance policy could be spent on private healthcare or replacement income while you and/or your partner take a break from work to adjust. One of the key reasons for selecting this cover is to have financial options for whatever the situation may require because your payout can be used whichever way you deem fit.
Every insurance provider will include a set of terms and conditions for when it will pay out a lump sum of money and a list of illnesses is usually detailed within these. Here you will see definition details including the severity level that has to be matched for a claim to be paid.
Other insurances to consider as a parent
You have to understand that critical illness cover is limited and only covers those complications that are listed and you may have to meet specific parameters detailed under the cover for a claim to be paid. Of course, illnesses or injuries that are not listed under this type of insurance could mean that your baby or child will need extra care and these can happen at any time during your child’s life. So here we look at another two types of insurance that could support parents if a child becomes ill or injured.
Income protection insurance
Choosing an income protection plan will not only safeguard your income in a situation where you become incapacitated and unable to work but some of these policies contain 'carer' benefit that will pay you a monthly benefit if you have to stop working to take care of a child or dependent. This type of cover can work quite well alongside critical illness insurance to ensure that you are well protected if the unexpected happens. Speak to a specialist personal insurance broker* to work out which types of insurance will suit you best at an affordable cost.
Health insurance
Health insurance can cover your children if they are named on your policy giving parents access to private medical care and treatment. A few select health insurance policies will also provide a payout to support the parents' accommodation costs when children have to stay in hospital. Pregnancy is usually not covered by health insurance but you should speak with a health insurance specialist* to get independent guidance to get the best and cheapest health insurance to suit your needs.
How to buy baby insurance
You can buy baby insurance in many ways including online or through a personal insurance broker. While online searches will give you some sense of the cover that is available and how much it costs, there is not enough information on comparison sites for you to view and select specific child and pregnancy covers.
It is almost essential that you speak to a specialist* to buy this type of insurance so that you can:
- Understand what is covered and not covered
- Compare the cost of different options
- Prioritise cover that is important to you
At Money to the Masses, we have vetted the services of a specialist life and illness insurance broker where you will be able to speak to an expert* at no cost to discuss which options of baby insurance are available. The expert adviser will talk through your priorities and describe which insurance policies will address these as well as how much they will cost - we found they were very good at tailoring the cover to suit your budget.
You can arrange a call from the expert adviser with no obligation to buy the insurance but you will receive up to £100 cashback if you decide to go ahead.
If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link, Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses and do not wish to qualify for the cashback referred to in the article - LifeSearch
