Yesterday was the start of National Pregnancy Week in SA. Why is that important for you? Well, as a Hollard Life broker, you can use this opportunity to share important health and relevant product information with your clients who are planning to start their own families soon or who are currently pregnant.
As we cover a range of issues related to pregnancy under our various benefits, it could also be a good sales opportunity.
Pregnancy facts
First, here are some good-to-know facts about pregnancy, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO):
- Around 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day globally.
- 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries.
- Maternal mortality is higher in women living in rural areas and poorer communities.
- Young adolescents face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy than older women.
- Skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies.
Causes of death
Although great strides have been made in ensuring the health and well-being of mothers during pregnancy and childbirth (maternal mortality worldwide dropped by almost 50% between 1990 and 2013), the WHO says women still die as a result of complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth.
Most of these complications develop during pregnancy.
Others existed before pregnancy but were worsened during the pregnancy itself.
If you think pregnancy complications only exist in poor areas or among those who don’t have access to quality healthcare, think again.
According to the WHO, the most common major complications that account for nearly 75% of all maternal deaths are:
- Severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth)
- Infections (usually after childbirth)
- High blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia)
- Complications from delivery
- Unsafe abortion
Cases of high blood pressure during pregnancy and complications from delivery are not that uncommon in South Africa’s public and private hospitals.
Hollard Life products for pregnant women
We cover pregnant women and their newborn babies under a range of benefits.
For a start, our Comprehensive Critical Illness benefit covers the female insured for pregnancy complications that require her to spend:
- Two or more days in ICU; or
- One day in the ICU and three or more consecutive days in a general hospital ward; or
- More than 5 consecutive days in a general hospital ward/high-care
Our Comprehensive Critical Illness benefit also covers babies of the female insured for:
- Birth defects or congenital anomalies where surgery is required in the 90 days following birth.
- Birth weight less than 1.5 kg that requires the newborn to remain in the ICU for more than two days.
Family benefits that cover children
Moms and moms-to-be will also be happy to know that we have two benefits that automatically include the children of the insured. These are:
- Our Comprehensive Critical Illness benefit, which covers children of the insured – from the age of six months old to the age of 21 (24 if the child is a full-time student) – for the complete range of medical conditions specified under this benefit. The benefit pays 15% of the benefit amount payable for that condition, subject to a maximum of R300 000.
Be sure to tell your clients that their children’s claims under this benefit don’t affect their cover as the insured.
Children of the insured are also covered under the Comprehensive Critical Illness catch-all benefit for accident or illness events that result in their child being hospitalised.
- Our Life Cover product, which covers the insured’s children as part of its family funeral benefit. This benefit covers the funeral costs of children of the insured, up to R10 000 per child, with up to four children being covered. Payments for children don’t affect the insured’s benefit amount.
Maternity leave and insurance premiums
All women employees have the right to a minimum of four months maternity leave. However, it is at the employer’s discretion whether or not this is paid or unpaid leave.
If your client is not entitled to paid maternity leave, this could have an impact on her ability to pay insurance premiums.
Ask your female clients to check their company’s leave policies beforehand, so you can help them plan for every eventuality.
According to WageIndicator Foundation’s South African arm, women who have been contributing to the UIF (and who do not receive paid maternity leave) are eligible for a maternity benefit of up to a maximum amount of 60% of their remuneration (lowest amount of replacement income is 38%) depending on their income level.
The site says benefits are paid for a maximum duration of 17.32 weeks (121 days). In the case of miscarriage in the third trimester or a stillborn child, contributors are entitled to a maternity benefit for 6 weeks.
*There is a 12-month waiting period for pregnancy complications.
