Where Can I Find Surrogacy Insurance?

The issue of surrogacy insurance is handled during the legal contract stage of the surrogacy process. Your surrogacy professional will:

• Look over each party’s insurance policies to determine what costs will be covered
• Determine what services may be covered by supplemental insurance policies 
• See how much the intended parents will be required to pay out of pocket for medical costs

Contact a surrogacy professional today if you’re ready to start your surrogacy journey. This article will examine the two aspects of the surrogacy medical process that may be covered by insurance.

Infertility Treatments

Some insurance companies will cover infertility treatments up to a certain amount. While this surrogacy insurance will not cover the surrogate’s medical expenses, it typically will cover the costs incurred during in vitro fertilization to create embryos.

In fact, 15 states have enacted laws requiring insurance coverage for infertility treatment. However, whether that law is applicable to your insurance company will vary based on aspects like your employer pan, the company size of your employer, where your employer’s policy was written and more.

In states where infertility coverage is not mandated, whether you can receive any surrogacy insurance coverage for IVF and other infertility processes will vary from policy to policy. Typically, health insurance plans will cover infertility testing because it’s fairly inexpensive. On the other hand, because IVF is more expensive than other infertility treatments, it may not be covered under the intended parents’ insurance plan.

The Surrogate’s Pregnancy

Insurance companies have caught on to the growing trend of surrogacy — and have started writing policies that only cover a pregnancy within the family, not a surrogate pregnancy. This is where it’s key that a surrogacy professional completes an insurance review and gets an interpretation of the policy in writing. Again, it will vary by insurance company whether or not they provide insurance for surrogacy. If they don’t, intended parents may need to purchase supplemental coverage or cover  surrogate pregnancy costs out of pocket.

Keep in mind, supplemental surrogacy insurance policies can be costly; premiums can be approximately $10,000 and deductibles can start at $15,000 for a single-child pregnancy. ART Risk Financial and New Life Agency are popular choices for surrogacy insurance plans for both intended parents and surrogates. Although the plans are expensive, they will usually cover the surrogate’s medical costs.

It may also be possible to purchase an individual plan that covers the surrogate’s maternity care. These plans do not have a deductible and are mandated to cover preventive health screenings. But, they’re also not written specifically for surrogate pregnancies, so it’s important that intended parents and their professionals review the plans to make sure that a surrogate pregnancy is not excluded. Intended parents may also wish to look into a secondary insurance policy in case their primary insurance provider refuses to pay at the end of the pregnancy.

It’s best that you talk to your surrogacy professional, a financial advisor or an insurance broker to find out what options are available to you and which plans are the best for your situation. Many surrogacy agencies include an insurance review as a part of their screening services.

How You Can Still Make Surrogacy Affordable

While there may be options for surrogacy insurance, it’s a good idea for intended parents to be prepared to pay extensive medical costs. Before you begin the surrogacy process, make sure you understand exactly what will and will not be covered by your insurance provider and then budget and finance appropriately. You may want to consider:

• Loans
• Grants
• Fundraising and crowdfunding
• And other methods of saving money

While not all companies cover surrogacy insurance, with the proper research and preparation, intended parents may be able to find surrogacy insurance coverage or other financing options to help offset surrogacy costs.

Start Your Surrogacy Journey Today

Are you interested in learning more about surrogacy or starting the process? Complete our form to request free surrogacy information now.