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Generally, the cost of delivery in the UAE can cost between AED 20,000 to AED 30,000. The price also includes consultations with OB-GYN, ultrasound scans, and other necessary tests and hospital stays. This can put a lot of strain on someone financially. Hence, it’s best to have an active Maternity Insurance Cover to help cover up these expenses.

How is the Maternity Insurance Cover in the UAE?

According to the law passed by the Dubai Health Insurance in the year 2013, any organization must provide health insurance that comes integrated with maternity benefits for their staff. The perks of such health insurance are that its services also cover up the employees’ family. When opting for maternity insurance plans, one should keep in mind that they should plan for the future. If your employer doesn’t sponsor you such a policy, then don’t wait! Rather than apply for one ahead of time as most insurers need a moratorium or waiting period, they can avail of the plan’s benefits to you.

Waiting Period of an Insurance Plan

In the case of an existing maternity plan, the insurance companies generally inform you about a delay of 6 to 12 months before choosing to make a claim. This is a precautionary step that helps them avoid the loss of money due to immediate claims and giving away free coverage. Although, in recent years, many companies have opted to avoid such a waiting period due to an increase in competition. Thus, there is a chance for an instant claim provided the insured wasn’t pregnant when applying for the policy.

What are the benefits and coverage limits of maternity health insurance?

There are various maternity health insurance plans available in the UAE, depending on the type of coverage you opted for in the first place. Generally, in the case of a standard policy, these are included in its maternity coverage:

- Prenatal Services: It involves eight consultations with the OB-GYN, three ultrasound scans, and a variety of standard initial investigations that covers up to a maximum of 10% co-insurance.

- Childbirth and hospital stay: According to the Dubai Health Authority ruling, the coverage limit is a minimum of AED 7000 in case of standard delivery and AED 10,000 for a medically necessary C-section, complications, and medically essential termination of pregnancy. These also get covered with a maximum of 10% co-insurance payable by the insured. In case of emergency treatment, it must have approval from the insurance company within 24 hours for a claim.

- Postnatal Services: These provide coverage to any complications that might happen during the eight weeks following childbirth.

- Neo-natal Care: In the case of a newborn, they will be covered up to a minimum of 30 days through newborn care. This also includes immunization against BCG and Hepatitis B along with neo-natal screening tests.

Maternity coverage for already pregnant women

Most insurers will deny providing any coverage for those women who are already pregnant, and those who do will charge a premium of up to AED 25,000. This won’t stack unless the applicant feels the need for financial protection against any pregnancy-related complications that might arise in the future. It is indeed necessary to consider other ways of controlling expenses in case the insurance is unavailable. These include maternity packages offered by private hospitals and government health cards for reasonably priced treatment at public hospitals.

Points to Remember:

Health insurance maternity cover has the following conditions and limitations –

- It is only provided up to a certain age that is specified in the policy.

- There are certain medications, procedures, and treatments that are excluded from these policies.

- Issues related to previous voluntary termination of pregnancy, multiple births, and voluntary C-section are generally excluded from the cover.