Starting a new family, or having an addition to one can be a big step. This is especially true if you’re looking to give birth in Hong Kong, one of the most expensive locations in the world for maternity care. In most cases, securing maternity insurance to offset the high cost of care is essential for those planning to frequent private clinics and hospitals.
Hong Kong has a total of 11 registered private hospitals, with some of the most popular choices
for expectant parents being Hong Kong Adventist Hospital and Matilda International Hospital.
The extra perks offered in private hospitals are no doubt attractive, but they do come with a steep price tag. Consider that the cost for a ‘normal’ delivery at The Matilda is around HK$49,900, and for a c-section HK$60,500. As you’d expect, public hospitals are much more affordable – around HK$350 for a normal delivery. Despite this, many expectant parents prefer to go private because of the higher quality of service, additional privacy, shorter waiting times and longer visiting hours.
Coverage options to consider
Step one: Plan ahead. Most maternity benefits come with a waiting period of 10 to 12 months, meaning you need to wait until you have passed the duration of time as specified in your plan before you’re entitled to claim any maternity related costs.
It’s also important to note that in Hong Kong there are no stand-alone maternity insurance plans. Rather, cover will always need to be included as an add-on to either inpatient (also known as hospitalisation) or inpatient + outpatient plans.
Like all insurance products, maternity can come with a range of benefit options and coverage limits that can be tailored to your needs. Make sure you do your research on all the prenatal, delivery and postnatal expenses associated with giving birth, and what sorts of insurance you might need to help you cover it. Seek advice from an expert insurance provider (like me).
Maternity plans are designed to bring you and your baby to delivery in a healthy state, and they may have some low-level coverage for unexpected events. If your pregnancy is high-risk, or you want to be prepared for all circumstances, choose an appropriate plan. Unexpected complications during pregnancy, c-sections and treatment for congenital disorders are the type of things that push up the overall cost. And outcomes like these are stressful enough, without the added worry of whether you have the cover to deal with them financially.
Lastly, it’s always advisable to select a plan that provides great post-birth coverage for your newborn. If your policy offers good ‘child wellness’ cover, you can start claiming costs incurred for the baby’s routine health checks and vaccinations from day one.
Contact
• Pacific Prime Hong Kong, 9830 0284, www.pacificprime.com
If you have any questions, feel free to email [email protected]
Tags: babies, birth, children, darren counsell, hospital, insurance, maternity, pacific prime
