You want to take a trip. You’re pregnant. Or you might be pregnant by then. Does that mean you can’t plan any travel?
No! Plan away! But it’s time to learn about travel insurance.
This post is meant to cover the following situation: I will be pregnant or may be pregnant during the trip. I want to take the trip, but what if something happens healthwise before or I just don’t feel like taking the trip? On the other hand, I may be fine so I want to plan on going unless something happens.
This post is not meant to cover insurance to help if something happens to you while you are on the trip pregnancy-wise. There are policies out there that cover this, but I do not have personal experience with them. Keep in mind that for many insurance policies it matters whether or not you were pregnant at the time you bought the policy.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance sounds scary, but it can be a really useful tool. It can be a bit tricky buying the right policy but it can be done!
Cancel for Any Reason Coverage
“Cancel for Any Reason” coverage means you can cancel the trip for any reason. It’s more expensive than other travel insurance policies since it covers more, but it can protect you if you can’t or don’t want to travel when the time comes.
Most other policies may not cover you if you knew you were pregnant when you bought the policy or want to cancel the trip because you became pregnant. Make sure the policy you are looking at is “Cancel for Any Reason” not just generic “Trip Cancellation.” Pregnancy and childbirth are very often exceptions to general trip cancellation policies.
There is a Tight Deadline
Here’s the kicker: you have to act fast. Once you make a purchase toward the trip, the clock starts. This means a deposit, that first hotel reservation, plane tickets, whatever it is where you are spending actual money on the trip.
Each travel insurance company has different deadlines. The most common I’ve seen is 14-21 days from the “date of first deposit” or the date you first buy something. The longest I’ve seen is 30 days. Do not miss this deadline. I missed the 21-day deadline by hours for my trip to London because I did the math wrong. I had to go with a company that had a 30-day window and it was more expensive.
How Much Will It Cost?
Lots of factors go into this including the age of the traveler and cost of the trip. The good news is that most sites will give you a free quote once you punch in the details.
Here’s an example using RoamRight, which who I tend to use. RoamRight is not paying me to post this and I’m not suggesting you go with them. This is just an example!
On the homepage, enter in the details for your trip. Below is an example for a trip for 2 with $5000 in nonrefundable costs.
Three quotes are returned. I usually go with Preferred because I have credit card and other insurance that covers other items I need. I never buy Essential because it does not have an option for the Cancel for Any Reason upgrade.
Note the prices quoted do not include the Cancel for Any Reason upgrade. You have to click down and see the additional cost to add it.
The total cost to insure my fictional trip is $368 ($230 plus the $138 Cancel for Any Reason upgrade). Simply click through, enter your personal and payment information and you’re done!
I get it, $368 isn’t a small amount of money. To me the cost is worth it so I can plan trips without worrying that my pregnancy will put me out thousands in nonrefundable plane fares. I’d also rather spend the money instead of not traveling at all during pregnancy.
Other Tips
I insure only the non-refundable portions of the trip. It brings the cost of the insurance down. There’s no reason to go through making an insurance claim on a refundable hotel reservation if I can simply call the hotel to cancel.
If the trip cost goes up, I call and adjust the policy. I estimate how much coverage we need and buy the policy. If the non-refundable part of the trip costs more than anticipated, I call the insurance company and adjust.
Please note I’m not an insurance agent and this is just my experience, not insurance advice. You should do your own research into insurance policies before buying.
Almost Never Clever 