Will travel insurance cover cancellation claim for pregnancy if only one parent stays home (Dad)?

SnoozleBoozle

I have a holiday booked but am undergoing a lot of fertility issues (three back-to-back losses) over the last seven months. I am pending specialist help for the issues we are facing. 

We have an abroad wedding booked for October 25 and I (female) will be in the wedding party as a bridesmaid. My dilemma lies with the insurance company (haven't got one in mind as I need recommendations) and the potential to pay HALF the holiday for my partner to stay at home if I were to give birth in September. Alternatively, if I fall pregnant in January for a due date in October, would a travel company cover that? I don't want to put my life on hold for someone else especially given the trauma we've been through for the majority of 2024 but I want to be there when one of my best friends gets married.

1. What would you do?
2. Would the insurance company pay for half the holiday if cancelled?
3. Would you fly when pregnant in the third trimester?
4. Any insurance recommendations?
5. Would the insurance company accept the cancellation claim if it's for the birth of a child?

All help is appreciated! Thanks

marcia_

 Insurance will cover pregnancy problems in that you are advised not to fly or you go into labour. Though you will have to declare your referral to the specialist. 

Personally i wouldn't fly that late and many airlines dont let you. 

I use stay sure because i have multiple medical conditions. 

daveyjp

Sorry to read of your situation.

Unfortunately you may find that as you are currently undergoing medical investigations getting any insurance for travel is likely to be very difficult.

DullGreyGuy

marcia_ said:

 Insurance will cover pregnancy problems in that you are advised not to fly or you go into labour. Though you will have to declare your referral to the specialist. 

You would need a medical condition causing that advice like preeclampsia, not just general medical advice as pregnancy itself is considered a choice and so routine pregnancy is excluded from cover

1. Depends whose wedding it is and how much the travel is. If it was a close sibling and/or not expensive then a may consider intending to travel and accepting the loss. If it was just a friend and its in Australia I'd be declining

2. No, pregnancy is a choice and insurers dont cover choices you actively make

3. If we'd had problems getting pregnant/carry a baby to term, no, wouldn't risk it

4. None will do what you want

5. Birth of the child no, only if you were still pregnant and were having medical issues as above

You may also potentially being optimistic about where you could be, depending on in the intervention is going to be private or NHS. It's possible you may still be undergoing treatment in October 2025 and would you want to defer egg collection for a month for a sake of a holiday etc? Certainly the NHS are not very sympathetic to people prioritising other things over pregnancy and most funding agreements have time limits etc. 

zagfles

With any situation like this what I'd do is book it as late as possible when you know what the score is. Obviously if it's somewhere with very few flights and accomodation or it's in the middle of peak season this may be a big risk.

But as it's not till Oct 2025, what you could do is check the situation this Sept/October and see what the cost & availability is looking like for a last minute booking. Chances are it'll be similar next year. Obviously there's a risk, but if it's somewhere with plenty of flights and accomodation and it's not peak season it's probably a much smaller risk than booking something in advance which you have to cancel. 

Alternatively book cancellable & refundable flights and accomodation. It's often not much more expensive to book accomodation that's cancellable, but it usually is for flights. 

sheramber

If travelling when pregnant, You should investigate what medical facilties are like in the place you are going to.

Are maternity facilities readily available and of  good quality?

Make sure your insurance gives you all the cover you might need.  They may not cover the costs of a birth abroad. 

Babies follow their own agenda and may arrive early.  There was a case recently of a couple whose baby arrived prematurely and need intensive care for some time after the birth but their insurance didn't cover all the costs involved 

Bigphil1474

Depending on destination, maybe wait until March/April time to book? You might end up paying a bit more, but will have peace of mind.

silvercar

Given that flights for October 2025 are unlikely to be available, unless with a low cost carrier, until October 2024, I wouldn't be in a rush to book flights or take out travel insurance just yet.

I can't see a travel insurer paying for one person to travel and not the other. Usually you all cancel or none, anything else is just a choice and wouldn't be covered.

I also think you are being quite optimistic to think you will feel like travelling on your own just a few weeks after giving birth. 

Best of luck with the fertility treatment.

Voyager2002

I think you should discuss the situation with your friend, and make it clear that you are happy to attend a ceremony in the UK. If she wants you to be with you, she might reconsider getting married abroad, and/or arrange an additional event closer to home for the people like who are unable to travel.

Your plan is not something that insurance would cover, for all sorts of reasons.

DullGreyGuy

silvercar said:

I can't see a travel insurer paying for one person to travel and not the other. Usually you all cancel or none, anything else is just a choice and wouldn't be covered.

Why would an insurer want to pay out double?

It's fairly common on a group policy for one or more parties to cancel but the other parties continue to have the holiday. Take two sister going on a holiday together with their respective spouses, one of the husbands/wives breaks their leg 2 days before so they can't go, the respective sister decides to stay to look after them but the other couple want to proceed with the holiday. 

The problem here isn't that an insurer won't cover one party rather than both but that pregnancy/childbirth are excluded perils as they're basically self inflicted.

marcia_

 Don't know why everyone is saying the insurance won't cover pregnancy. I bought insurance and declared pregnancy along with other medical conditions. I was insured to fly, premium was higher but to be expected.