Why the nine months are a good time to apply
Pregnancy gives you a natural deadline. Once the baby arrives, sleep vanishes and paperwork slides to the bottom of the pile for months. Sorting cover now means you walk into parenthood with the money side already in place.
Your health also tends to be well documented during pregnancy, with regular midwife checks and scans. That helps an insurer form a clear view. If you apply in the early months, before any later complications show up, you may get a decision faster and on standard terms.
There is also the matter of maternity leave. Your income may drop for a while, and it can feel like the wrong time to take on a new monthly cost. Many couples find that a modest policy started now, with room to add more later, fits the budget better than waiting for a perfect moment that never arrives.
What the application will ask you
Expect the usual questions about your height, weight, smoking and medical history. Many insurers then add a question about whether you are pregnant and whether there have been any problems. Some ask for your pre-pregnancy weight, since weight gain in pregnancy says little about your long-term health.
If you have had a complication, an insurer may want a short report from your GP or midwife, or may postpone the decision until a few months after the birth. A postponement is not a refusal. It means the underwriter wants to see the condition settle first.
- Gestational diabetes and whether it has resolved
- Raised blood pressure or pre-eclampsia
- Previous difficult pregnancies or births
- Mental health in pregnancy and after earlier births
Cover for the parent who is pregnant and for the partner
Plenty of couples assume the main earner needs cover and the parent on maternity leave can wait. Look at what each of you will do for the family over the next twenty years. Childcare, the night feeds and the running of the home all have a cost if someone else has to step in.
Your partner can apply at the same time, either on a joint policy or with a policy each. Two single policies cost a little more but pay out twice if you both died, and they are easier to split if your plans change.
Extras that matter to a growing family
Many critical illness policies include a smaller amount of children's cover at no extra cost, which can start from birth or after a short period. A few UK insurers also include cover for certain serious pregnancy complications. Read these as helpful additions and judge the main policy first.
Look for an option to increase cover after the birth or adoption of a child without new medical questions. If you plan a second baby, that option can save you a fresh application a couple of years from now.
Waiver of premium is worth a thought as well. If illness kept you off work for a long spell, it would cover your premiums so the policy stays in force while you recover.
How Hi Tomorrow helps expectant parents
Tell us how far along you are and whether anything has come up at your antenatal appointments. We know which insurers on our panel are comfortable with common pregnancy complications and which prefer to wait, so we can steer your application to the right place first time.
We can arrange cover for both of you in one conversation, set up a trust so the money would go straight to your chosen trustees, and check your existing workplace benefits so you do not pay for cover you already have.