Can pregnant women get travel insurance in the UK?

There is lots of reasons as to why a spot of relaxation prior to the birth of a child is beneficial, but while this is a good idea in theory, it is always a good idea to look into any extra precautions you may need to take if you are intending to travel during your pregnancy.

It is important to take out the right sort of travel insurance prior to travelling, this is a necessity whether or not you are pregnant. While it is very easy to buy travel insurance via online services, without really paying much attention to the whys and wherefores of travel insurance, if you are pregnant then it is essential that you read through the terms and conditions of the travel insurance prior to committing. Lots of travel insurance companies consider a pregnant traveller as being ‘high risk’, as they consider a pregnant women to have an increased risk of possible complications which would require either repatriation, medical treatment or the cancellation of the holiday, due to the individuals pregnancy.

When is the best time to travel during pregnancy?

Statistically, it is considered that the safest time to travel during pregnancy is the second trimester. For insurance purposes the time after the 30th week is considered the focus as the risk of complications related to birth increases.

Many travel companies and air companies will allow you to travel up until around the 36th week of pregnancy, this is providing that you can produce a letter from a doctor confirming that you are fit to travel, and while it is possible to travel with some companies, many will not allow travel after the 28th week of pregnancy.

While some companies will not cover pregnant women, if you do still intend to travel, then it is important to have travel insurance in place for all other aspects of travel which could lead to you needing travel insurance.

A few top travel tips:

•   Before booking for a holiday, it is good to work out exactly how far into the pregnancy you are, and how far gone you will be by the return date of your holiday.
•   Make sure that you are fully vaccinated before your trip – if you are visiting areas of the world which need medication for malaria etc.
•   It is a good idea that prior to booking your holiday you get a check up with your GP, this way the doctor can issue you with a letter to say that you a fit to travel.

Getting insured to travel by a company whilst pregnant, is usually at the company’s discretion. For more information about travel insurance and related products, check out information on the internet.