Can You Qualify for Life Insurance While Pregnant?

The short answer is yes, you can qualify for life insurance while pregnant. But pregnancy, along with other factors, can affect your life insurance eligibility, as well as the price of your policy.

Of course, exactly how your pregnancy affects your life insurance rates depends on both the specifics of the pregnancy and the particular company you’re applying to.

Still, other factors include your overall health, as well as your family health history.

Below we break down everything you need to know about getting life insurance while pregnant.

Why Buy Life Insurance Now?

There’s no denying having a child is a life-changing moment.

You’re about to be a parent. And you want to make sure you protect your new baby at all costs.

That’s where life insurance enters the picture.

Quality life insurance coverage helps ensure your new child and other dependents will be financially stable if you unexpectedly pass away.

Protecting financial stability is the number one reason expecting parents often look into life insurance during pregnancy.

Is It Better to Buy Life Insurance Before Pregnancy?

Even though pregnancy won’t dramatically impact your chances of getting life insurance, it’s always best to plan things ahead of time.

But if you are pregnant while buying life insurance, you might find it affects your chances at top rates (although not always).

Your best bet is to buy life insurance before you get pregnant, if possible.

Not only will it increase your odds of qualifying for coverage from your number one choice of provider, but it usually means you’ll pay a lower monthly premium as well.

The fact is, a lot of temporary conditions arise during pregnancy. And any of them can affect a life insurance underwriter’s outlook on your risk to their company.

Seek life insurance beforehand, and these temporary conditions aren’t considered.

Of course, planning ahead is easier said than done, since it’s all but impossible to be prepared for every life event.

Sometimes it’s best to wait to apply for life insurance until after pregnancy if you didn’t apply beforehand.

This is especially true if you’re experiencing complications from your pregnancy, or have experienced complications from past pregnancies.

It can be tempting to buy life insurance while pregnant because you want so dearly to protect your child no matter what.

However, it’s often a better idea to wait until afterwards if you might be denied.

You can usually qualify for a better rate post-pregnancy rather than during a pregnancy.

It all depends on your personal situation.

Most people will be fine waiting until their child is one to two months old before applying for life insurance, while those in more high-risk situations will be tempted to apply right away.

What Are Your Chances of Getting Life Insurance While Pregnant?

Those who didn’t buy life insurance before pregnancy will be happy to know qualifying is still relatively easy, even while pregnant.

Most companies don’t weigh pregnancies too harshly during the underwriting process.

There are some exceptions, however.

The most common factors life insurance companies look at include:

• Your current trimester
• Past pregnancies
• Current medical condition(s)

Most life insurance companies are more likely to give premium rates to those who are at the very beginning of pregnancy rather than those in later trimesters.

What Will Affect Your Rate?

The simple fact is that past pregnancies will affect the rate you’ll receive.

Any complications during previous pregnancies and births will weigh negatively on your life insurance premium.

Of course, the specific way in which past pregnancies affect your current chances at life insurance vary widely depending on the company.

For example, some charge premiums for a C-section while others would give you a Standard rate.

Current medical conditions are another major factor. We mean this in the sense of your current health, as related to your pregnancy.

Risks like gestational diabetes are acute, but they can turn into something more serious if not managed properly. This potential risk has to be accounted for.

Complications from your current pregnancy will also weigh negatively on the rating class you’ll receive from a life insurance company.

This is especially true of medical conditions, like the aforementioned gestational diabetes, but also if you gain too much weight or fall victim to hypertension.

Those applying for life insurance while pregnant are subject to the same scrutiny as those who are not pregnant.

The underwriters at each life insurance provider you apply to will look at all of these factors in detail to assess whether or not to insure you, as well as what rate to give.

Can You Increase Your Chances of Qualifying?

Certain people are much more likely to qualify for life insurance while pregnant (and get the best rates) than others.

The biggest group are those in their first or second trimester.

It becomes more difficult to qualify for coverage in your third trimester.

Sometimes carrying multiples is also deemed a significant risk. Those who are carrying a single child with no complications are most likely to receive coverage.

Other factors which increase your chances of qualifying for the best rate are having no history of pregnancy complications and normal pregnancy weight gain.

A final factor is your age.

Those under 40 are much more likely to qualify for Preferred life insurance rates while pregnant.

What Is the Application and Approval Process Like?

Nothing is different regarding the actual process of applying for life insurance while pregnant than while not pregnant.

You still must fill out the same application and provide the same information.

The only difference is you’ll be asked additional questions specifically regarding your pregnancy and pregnancy history.

You’ll also be required to submit a current medical exam.

The exam is used by the underwriters to prove the information you provided in your application is accurate.

The underwriters will use all of the information they collect to assess your risk. This includes external factors, too, like family history or prior conditions, and other considerations not tied directly to your current health.

They then use this assessment to give you a rating class which dictates your premium and the specifics of your coverage.

The entire underwriting process generally lasts between four and six weeks.

Some companies now offer expedited approval in as little as one day, but that’s almost always off limits to those who are currently pregnant.

What Kind of Rate Can You Expect?

If you are healthy and your pregnancy is deemed healthy, you may receive as high as a Preferred rating.

A preferred (or preferred best) rating means the life insurance company believes your risk is low. You’ll receive the best premiums and the best coverage.

Other results for applying for life insurance while pregnant are a Standard or Sub-standard rate for those with minor complications during pregnancy.

Some women can be denied traditional life insurance altogether.

However, this generally only happens if your pregnancy is risky, you have complications, apply too late, or are struggling with a pre-existing medical condition.

Those who are denied traditional life insurance coverage may still have alternative options in the form of a guaranteed issue life insurance policy, though it should be a last resort.

Pregnant women may even find this type of coverage difficult to secure because it’s availability to certain demographics based on age.

Will You Be Eligible?

Not all life insurance providers are created equal. Some are much more likely to insure those who are pregnant than others.

If, for some reason, you receive a bad rate from one provider (or are denied altogether), take your chances and apply with another.

It’s likely you’ll receive a much different rate from another life insurance company.

The only way to know will be to begin the process and discuss your situation with a knowledgable agent.