Life insurance when pregnant

05 January 2022

If you’re expecting a baby, it’s only natural if you’re feeling excited, a little apprehensive, and keen to make plans for your future family life. Bringing up children is not cheap, so it’s understandable that pregnancy is a trigger for many people to start thinking about life insurance, and the best ways to secure their children’s future if they were to pass away. In this guide, we’ll look at the different ways you can buy life insurance while pregnant, and whether it affects your premiums or ability to get covered.

Can you get life insurance when pregnant?

Applying for life insurance when pregnant is no different to applying at any other time. As with any other applicant, you will be asked to answer questions about your health and lifestyle, but an insurer cannot decide that pregnancy alone is a reason that you should pay more for your cover or not insure you.

Benefits of buying life insurance

There are many stages of life where buying life insurance can provide financial peace of mind, and being pregnant is no exception. Here are some of the potential expenses for parents that life insurance can help cover if a parent were to die while covered by the policy.
  • Childcare costs. A life insurance payout could help with early years childcare expenses such as nursery and childminder fees.
  • Other educational costs. As children get older, a life insurance cash sum could help pay for the cost of after-school clubs, hobbies and activities, school uniforms, private tutoring, and where applicable, independent school fees.
  • Everyday living. Having a family home costs money, but the pay out from a valid life insurance claim can help towards paying the mortgage or rent, utilities, or simply cover everyday living expenses for children. 

It's important to remember that life insurance is not a savings or investment plan and only pays out if a valid claim is made.

Will pregnancy affect my life insurance premiums?

No. Your pregnancy will not affect your Legal & General life insurance premiums. If you buy life insurance while pregnant, the fact you’re expecting a new arrival will make no impact on the premiums you pay. However, while pregnancy alone will not affect your life insurance premiums, any applicant has to disclose information about their health status, which could theoretically include medical issues related to the pregnancy that may affect the cover we can offer.

 

When asked for my weight, do I put my current pregnancy weight or my usual weight?

We realise that your weight during pregnancy won’t be a fair reflection of your usual weight, so please tell us the weight you were immediately before your pregnancy.

 

When asked do I smoke, does that mean in the last 12 months or just while pregnant?

We won’t categorise you as a non-smoker if you’ve only given up smoking since becoming pregnant. To qualify as a non-smoker you need to confirm that during the last 12 months you haven’t done any of the following:

  • smoked any cigarettes, this includes cigars, pipe tobacco (including shisha and hookah) and cannabis
  • used e-cigarettes or vapes (whether or not they contain nicotine as their impact on health is still undetermined)
  • used nicotine replacement products (such as nicotine patches)

That means you'll need to provide your smoking history from before you were pregnant.

 

When asked for my weekly consumption of alcohol, what should I say?

When applying for life insurance, the first alcohol-related question we’ll ask you is about your current level of consumption. Of course, you may have cut back during your pregnancy. As you work through the questions, you’ll find we also ask whether your alcohol consumption has changed over the past five years, and whether you’ve been medically advised to reduce your alcohol consumption. This combination of questions lets us build a fuller picture of how your consumption of alcohol has changed.

 

Can I get life insurance if I experience medical problems while pregnant?

Legal & General will take into account all medical issues during a life insurance application, whether related to your pregnancy or not, but will consider all reasonable applications.

 

If I already have life insurance, do I need to tell my insurer if I become pregnant?

If you already have life insurance and you become pregnant, you are not obliged to disclose your pregnancy to your insurer, and your premiums won’t be affected. 

It’s vital to be transparent in your answers to these and any other health questions that may be asked when you apply for life insurance. If you’re later found to have provided inaccurate information, it could mean a claim may not be paid and your policy may be cancelled or amended.

 

Our life insurance

As we’ve covered, you can get life insurance while pregnant, so if you’re planning to start a family, there is no reason why pregnancy alone should deter you from getting the financial protection you need. 
 
If you have an existing life insurance policy, it may be worth reviewing it to see whether it reflects the future needs of a growing family, or whether you need to make changes.