Can I get life insurance when pregnant?

It is possible to get life insurance when you are pregnant, but it would be wise to think about applying before conceiving or at least during your first trimester. Being pregnant is not a stopper necessarily from obtaining life insurance.

It is just that pregnancy can make some pretty drastic changes to your body that are unexpected. Sometimes these changes will cause a premium rating or even a decline of coverage.

Health stability can be just somewhat unpredictable for life insurance underwriters when it comes to evaluating someone who is pregnant.

It is not so much that a person is pregnant, it is more that things can happen like a blood pressure spike, unforeseen weight gain, cholesterol scores that suddenly become high, gestational diabetes and depression.

Learn more about life insurance below and make sure to use our free comparison tool above!

Buy Life Insurance Early

It is always a good idea to apply for life insurance early. The younger you are the less will be the premium prices, and if you apply and are issued a policy before becoming pregnant, you are better off as far as wondering if you will qualify.

If you are going to apply while you are pregnant, it is best to apply for coverage during the first trimester.

Some insurance companies have little to no problem issuing life insurance policies during the first trimester of pregnancy, but many will become cautious after that because of the unpredictability of a mother’s health as the pregnancy gets past the first three months or so.

–Work With an Insurance Broker

It is a fact that different life insurance companies will treat you differently when it comes to underwriting you when you pregnant. It is because they have different standards and perspectives of the risks in pregnancy.

An independent and experienced life insurance broker will have the ability and capacity to work with several life insurance companies and will know or be able to find out which companies will be best.

He or she will also know how to work with the bureaucracy of a life insurance company, as it can sometimes be intimidating with all of the rules, filling out an application, having unknown people measure your insurability, and then have to worry about rejection.

Your results will be much better, and you won’t have to worry so much about all of the details.

Kinds of Life Insurance

–Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance is the least expensive in terms of cash flow because it is scheduled to last only for a certain period. For example, you can get it for one to thirty years in different combinations.

You can buy one-year renewable term, 5-year renewable term, or 10, 15, 20 or thirty-year level term and other similar configurations.

Term life can be renewable and convertible. Renewable means that the term is renewable on a guaranteed basis when the term expires and convertible means that you are guaranteed the right to convert the term policy to permanent coverage withing certain guidelines.

The bottom line on term life coverage is that it is inexpensive and it will run out or expire someday.

–Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance is just that. It will remain in effect until you die. If you live until age 100, it will pay you the face amount of the policy, as that is mathematically as old as we can get. Of course, not many of us make it to that age.

A permanent life insurance policy has a level premium all of the way throughout the life of the policy. There is a reserve inside of the policy that is there to keep the premium level.

As a person gets older, the mortality charges increase, as a person is slightly closer to death. The reserve is designed to offset the increasing mortality risk in the policy.

The reserve is also called the “cash value” and is available for use while a policyholder is living. It can be borrowed directly from the life insurance policy or used as collateral if another lending source is used.

There are different forms of permanent life insurance such as whole life, twenty-pay life, universal life, indexed universal life, and endowment policies.

The cash value grows inside of the permanent policy and any excess interest earned over the amount of the premiums accumulates on a tax-deferred basis. Some companies pay dividends to the policyholder which can also accumulate on the same tax-deferred principle.

–A Combination

Life insurance can combine both permanent and term into one policy with a permanent base and a term life insurance rider. This allows a great deal of flexibility by having a cash growth portion coupled with a larger term portion.

This is ideal for young families as term coverage can be designed with the permanent into a family plan. Children can be covered with term riders automatically if the policy is in force before they are born.

We Do Not Know The Future

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, and if we should think of the consequences that would occur financially if we leave this world prematurely.

In the case of a married couple, or partners, there are usually financial obligations such as mortgages, debts, obligations, and even other children to be mindful of. Many couples live on two incomes, and if one income goes away, it can be a hardship on the survivor.

It is possible to obtain life insurance while a mother is pregnant, but the very fact that she is pregnant opens the door for potential health problems that were unforeseen just a few weeks to a few months beforehand.

While the possibility of a good life insurance rating exists if insurance is applied for early in the pregnancy, there is also a good chance that something will be discovered during the time that will hike the rate.

In Conclusion

The best course of action for the purchase of life insurance for a woman in the childbearing years is to purchase life insurance before becoming pregnant. If that does not happen, the first trimester is the best time to apply.

Planning ahead can be very fruitful in this endeavor.

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