Private health insurance covering childbirth

[veronikajo]

Hi there! Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place - new here!

My partner and I have just moved to England and are looking at getting private health insurance. We already have a son but are thinking about having more children in the near future. It has been incredibly difficult trying to decipher what insurance would cover and what it doesn't as it seems pregnancy and childbirth is not usually covered? Or there is a fixed amount insurance will pay and the rest will have to be paid by us.

Having had a few complications and not the greatest care and childbirth experience with our son, I am looking at somewhere that would provide comprehensive care and where I could, for example, request an epidural if I felt I needed it during labour or request a C-Section instead of an assisted delivery. I understand all these things come with additional costs and looking at the Great Portland Hospital website, it seems that generally care is divided into midwifery-led and consultant-led. So say, I was midwifery-led but then requested an epidural, would that just be "added to the bill"?

And lastly of course, which insurance, if any, would actually cover a comprehensive pregnancy and childbirth "package" such as at the Great Portland Hospital (including scans and prenatal testing and any follow up postnatally). Does anyone have experience with insurers that are good with these things?

Sorry for the long post, hoping to gain some insight!

[JosellaPlayton]

I’m unsure if policies like you’ve described exist, I know that most people pay out of pocket for private (I did ) unless they’re expats that are not entitled to NHS care and get their coverage through work. But yes it is the norm to have to pay the anaesthetist if you want an epidural whether you’re consultant or midwife lead- I had private consultant led care (in London but not at the Portland) and still had to pay for my spinal for my ELCS on top of the hospital package and consultant’s fees. Think it was about £1500 which really is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of going private!

[costacoffeecup]

Insurance (in this country) doesn't usually cover childbirth because it's a planned so it's not an insurable event. Saying that I've seen threads before which have implied it exists - I've never seen a policy that covers it - but because it's pretty much certain you'd use it and it would be expensive I imagine the premiums would be very high to allow the insurance companies to make sure they make a profit.

[butunlikely]

I have a company health insurance policy with Vitality and we have what I believe is the most generous package - even then only certain childbirth costs are covered, primarily c sections for medical reasons but only up to a maximum cost for certain elements. When I looked into the portland it probably wouldn't have covered half the total cost - eg max £300 for anaesthetists so if you need anything more you pay. I don't think consultant anaesthetists get out of bed for that kind of money! Max one night stay too and complications not covered. No antenatal coverage either so you'd end up with disjointed care or paying a midwife.
I think in my case childbirth is only covered because it's a company policy, I'd be surprised if you can get personal insurance as as others have said pregnancy is deemed a 'lifestyle choice' not a medical condition. The only person I know who's had a private birth at the portland covered on insurance was on a company policy for people from outside the EU relocating in the UK (I think it was her husband's insurance policy).

[veronikajo]

Thanks so much for your replies! I did think the cover I'm looking for might not exist - would be too good to be true really to be paying a good premium and then be covered for everything! Thanks for all the input, we'll look into what our best options are..