What do you do when you would like to add your new-born baby onto your Health Insurance policy? You will need to contact your insurance company or private medical insurance broker as soon as you can. It is essential that you ensure your baby is on cover as soon as possible. If you use a specialist health insurance broker, this should be part of the service they offer you.

How do you add your new-born baby to your health insurance?

Private Medical Insurance companies recommend that you add your baby to the policy as soon as possible after they are born. By adding your baby to your cover within the insurers timescales then it is likely you can get them covered on Medical History Disregarded (MHD) underwriting. Having this underwriting type for your new-born baby means that there will be no excluded pre-existing conditions.

If you don’t add your new-born baby to your policy within the specified joining time,  this will lead to your newborn being newly underwritten. This could result in medical exclusions being applied to their cover. Your insurer may want to have confirmation that your new-born was conceived naturally before agreeing to cover them on MHD underwriting.

It is far better to add your new-born baby to your health insurance as soon as you can. It is better to have no exclusions on their policy for the short-term and the future.  We would recommend that you speak to your insurer or your broker as soon as you can following their birth.

How much does it cost to add a new-born baby to your Health Insurance?

Depending on which insurer your cover is with, there may be no cost until the renewal of your policy. If you are on a small business health insurance policy and already have your other children covered, again, this may make no difference to your premium. If this is your first child, your membership status will change at renewal. Your premium will increase at renewal if the birth of your child means you change your membership status. This could be a change from single to single parent status or from couple to family status.

Are there any Childbirth Cash Benefits available on UK Health Insurance?

You may be able to claim childbirth cash benefit, which is a cash payment following the birth of your child. Insurers who offer child birth cash benefit may ask for a copy of your child’s birth certificate. You can also claim the childbirth cash benefit when you legally adopt a child from most insurers including Vitality Health.  You will need to check your policy to see if there is a time limit that applies to this benefit. If you have only been insured yourself for a month or two you may not be able to claim this benefit. Claims for the childbirth cash benefit will not affect your no-claims discount.

Vitality Health have a 10 month waiting period in place but this does not apply for adoption. They would require notification of adoption within 6 months and the child would have to be under 18.

SMP Healthcare Ltd is a specialist, independent private medical insurance broker. We can help you with any aspect of your health insurance cover. If you want to know about adding your children to your cover, or any other aspect of your policy, please get in touch.  

You can  contact us on 01245 929 129 / 0800 047 0127 or email enquires@smphealthcare.com.