3 major pitfalls why you cannot qualify for a Pre-natal policy
In this post, I am going to share with you my experience why some mothers fail to qualify for a Pre-natal policy. It is both my dismay and my mummies’ disappointment when our application could not be put through. Some of these reasons for rejection are inevitable ones, whereas others could be prevented if only the mummies were better informed.
Therefore, my objective of this post is to share with you what you should know to place yourself and your baby in an advantageous position. Should you find my writings beneficial, I urge you to share my writings to other mummies you care about! (For those who still have no idea what a Pre-natal policy is, you can read it here)
Here are 3 common pitfalls you ought to know:
1) Your 20th Week Scan Report:
Yes, it is an irony that your 20th week detailed scan could actually be a double-edged sword. Many parents look forward to the detailed scan because the report will immediately reveal the sex of the baby! The scan reports are usually issued on the spot and more often than not, your gynae will not be commenting much (unless a serious defect has been detected).
Now the thing is that, Insurance companies love to be paranoid. They love to pick up small conditions on your report (which seemed pretty harmless to your gynae) and blow it out of proportion. Do not get me wrong though, Insurance companies are not unreasonable; the small conditions that they picked up do have scientific proof that they may escalate if unlucky.
Here are some of the conditions you should know about:
i. Low Placenta (aka, Placenta Previa)
Complications seldom happen, and most cases of placenta praevia are minor. However, when complications do happen, they can be serious.
ii. Single Umbilical Cord (SUA)
Your baby is likely to be fine. Having only one artery, called a single umbilical artery (SUA), shouldn’t affect his health. However, a baby with an SUA has a slightly increased risk of having kidney problems.
iii. Left/ Right Uterine Notch
iv. Renal Pelvis Dilation
Very occasionally the renal pelvis can continue to dilate, but this does not necessarily indicate further problems. The condition only becomes significantly worse if the dilation is severe – greater than 15 mm – or there is also a defect detected in the kidneys.
2) Your Pre-existing Conditions:
Basically, this clause is not specific to Pre-natal policies; in fact, almost every Insurance plans do not cover Pre-existing conditions. (Please be reminded that Insurance is not a charity business ;)) Well, depending on how minor/ major your pre-existing condition is, you may get a loading or an exclusion if you are lucky. On the other hand, should you have severe Thalassaemia Major, Diabetes or Thyroid condition, large cyst/fibroids etc, chances are you would be in for a disappointment.
3) Basic Criteria of a Pre-natal Policy:
A) The mummy must be within 18- 32 weeks of pregnancy. Being too kiasu or being too late will not help.
B) The mummy must not be a smoker. *Oh no no*
C) The mummy must be under 45 years old.
D) The baby must not be conceived through IVF*
*Note: So far only AIA covers mummies with IVF babies, Prudential and AXA do not)
In my experience, out of all reasons stated above, the most burning reason why mummies do not qualify for a Pre-natal plan is because they apply it after their 20th week scan, whereby some tiny conditions have been picked up and hence affected their eligibility. For mummies who do not qualify, do not take it to heart. And for mummies who qualify, congratulations, you have just done what any loving mother would do for her sweetheart.
Sources:
Pictures-
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a830/low-lying-placenta-after-20-weeks-placenta-praevia#section5
http://dmm.biologists.org/content/4/3/289/F3.expansion.html
http://www.medison.ru/uzi/eho261.htm
Content-
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/x559351/my-20-week-scan-found-one-artery-not-two-in-the-cord-will-this-affect-my-baby
http://www.ehow.com/about_7228514_renal-pelvis-dilation_.html
