Having a baby can be a very exciting, emotional, and exhausting experience for a family, and while most parents remember a lot of the preparation details -- such as assembling the crib and installing child-safety locks -- updating their insurance may not be the first thing that comes to mind.
Whether you’re expecting, a new parent, or you know someone who is, it’s important to have the right insurance. Your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent wants you and your growing family to be protected from all life’s possibilities, so we’re providing you an insurance checklist – no assembly required! – for expecting parents.
Health Insurance
1. When you find out you’re pregnant, make sure your
health insurance plan covers prenatal and maternity health costs. (An employer with 15 or more employees is required by federal law to provide coverage for pregnancy-related expenses.)
2. Check your policy to find out if you need preauthorization for certain prenatal or maternity health costs, such as ultrasounds and amniocentesis.
3. Call your health insurance company to ensure your obstetrician, doctor, and/or midwife and hospital or birthing center are both in-network. If they’re out-of-network, there may be additional charges for your health-care expenses.
4. Know how many days you’re covered for after delivering your baby and if your insurance provides additional time for certain medical needs and scenarios, such as a C-section.
5. If you’re planning on a home birth, check with your insurance company to find out if any expenses are covered. (Most insurance plans will cover the cost of a midwife, but do not offer reimbursement for other costs associated with this type of birth.)
6. Contact your insurance provider to find out how to add your new baby to your insurance plan. Since a mother’s and newborn’s hospital stays are billed separately, you need to have coverage for both people. Many insurance plans will only cover expenses for an infant that is enrolled in a plan within 30 days of being born.
7. Confirm that your health insurance plan covers your child’s first set of doctor appointments and vaccinations, and that your pediatrician is in-network.
Life/Disability Insurance
1. If you and your spouse don’t already have a
life insurance policy in place, a new baby is a good time to consider a policy. Most parents have a term life insurance policy, which usually is the least expensive option and provides coverage for a fixed amount of time at a set premium. Usually the beneficiary of this type of policy is a spouse, however, single parents may want to list their child or a family member.
2. If you or your spouse become disabled and one of you is the primary breadwinner for the household, you may want to consider long-term disability insurance. This type of insurance will provide your family with financial support if you are disabled and cannot work. Some employers offer this coverage, but you should check to make sure you’re covered and find out if you have enough coverage.
Homeowner’s Insurance
1. A baby comes with a lot of new stuff, which means you probably need to update your
homeowner’s insurance policy to include enough coverage to replace everything in your nursery. If your new bundle of joy doesn’t have a state-of-the-art crib or fancy diaper genie, you may not need to increase your coverage, but you should check with your Trusted Choice independent insurance agent to find out.
If you have any questions, need help getting coverage, or simply want to double-check your insurance policies, your Trusted Choice independent insurance agent is happy to help … just don’t ask us to baby-sit!