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What to know about disability insurance & pregnancy

Short-term disability insurance can cover time off from work for pregnancy and childbirth, but coverage may vary depending on your policy.

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Andrew HurstSenior Editor & Licensed Auto Insurance ExpertAndrew Hurst is a senior editor at Policygenius who has spent his entire career writing about life, disability, home, auto, and health insurance. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, and Property Casualty 360.

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Anna SwartzAnna SwartzSenior Managing EditorAnna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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Short-term disability insurance can pay out when you need to take time off work because of pregnancy or childbirth. You may get short-term disability insurance through work — it’s designed for leaves of a few months to a year maximum.

Key takeaways

  • If you’re out of work for a few months because of pregnancy or recovery from childbirth, short-term disability insurance can help replace your income.

  • Many people get short-term disability through work, but you can also buy your own policy if you don’t have it as an employee benefit.

  • 13 states offer paid family leave that you can also use to replace part of your income if you need to take time off because of pregnancy or the birth of a new baby.

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Does disability insurance cover pregnancy?

Disability insurance replaces part of your income when you have to take time off of work because of an injury or illness, and pregnancy and childbirth can both count as reasons to file a claim and use your short-term disability coverage. 

You can qualify for disability benefits during pregnancy or after childbirth as long as a doctor confirms that you can’t work. This is true even if you have a normal pregnancy without any complications.

Short-term disability insurance typically covers periods of three to six months, making it sufficient coverage for most people. But, if you experience complications from pregnancy or birth and can’t return to work for longer, you need to use long-term disability insurance, which covers absences of a year or more, once your short-term coverage is exhausted.

Some disability insurance policies won’t cover certain pregnancy-related complications (especially if you’ve had them before and they affect future pregnancies), so go over your policy carefully to know how your policy covers pregnancy and childbirth.

Do you need to file separate claims for pregnancy and childbirth?

Your policy may consider a pre-childbirth complication and the actual birth a single disability and only require you to make one claim, but it will depend on the rules of your policy.

Be aware that you may not be able to receive benefits after childbirth if your pre-childbirth complication lasts for longer than your policy’s benefit period and both are considered one disabling condition.

Disability leave vs. maternity leave

Disability leave and maternity or parental leave may work together, but how exactly they affect one another is different at every workplace — talk to a benefits coordinator or someone else in HR at your job to make sure you understand your company’s rules.

For example, if you have paid parental leave through work, your employer may require you to apply for disability benefits when you start your parental leave, and then adjust your pay based on your disability benefits so that you don’t end up earning more than your salary.

→ Read more about disability insurance benefits for families

When is the best time to get disability insurance to cover a pregnancy?

You should get disability insurance when you’re thinking about getting pregnant — don’t wait until you’re actually pregnant.

Pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition when it comes to disability insurance. That means that if you’re already pregnant and you buy a disability insurance policy, it won’t cover your current pregnancy.

Insurance companies may not even cover you if you disclose that you’re trying to get pregnant, or your medical records show that you are. 

If your employer offers short-term disability coverage, make sure you’ve opted-in to the coverage at your yearly benefits selection. If you don’t get any disability insurance through work, it’s a good idea to shop for your own disability insurance policy before you get pregnant.

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What if you don’t have disability insurance and you’re pregnant?

Double check that you don’t already have disability insurance through your work. You may have elected to get short-term disability insurance during your employer’s open enrollment period and just not remember.

If you’re already pregnant and your work doesn’t offer any disability insurance or paid parental leave, you might still be able to get some paid leave through your state. 

Thirteen states provide some paid family leave benefits:

  • California

  • Colorado

  • Connecticut

  • Delaware

  • District of Columbia

  • Massachusetts

  • Maine

  • Maryland

  • Minnesota

  • New Jersey

  • Oregon

  • Rhode Island

  • Washington

Is the Family and Medical Leave Act paid leave?

You may qualify for some basic employment protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but FMLA is not paid leave.

Basically, the FMLA ensures that you can’t be fired or lose your employer-provided health insurance if you need to take up to 12 weeks (per year) off of work for things like pregnancy, childbirth, or caring for a newborn.

The FMLA doesn’t force your employer to pay you while you’re away from work, so don’t think of FMLA like paid maternity or parental leave. If your employer doesn’t offer paid maternity or parental leave, you may qualify for FMLA protection, but if you want to keep getting paid you’ll have to make sure you have disability insurance or another kind of financial protection.

→ Read more about how FMLA and disability insurance work together

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Author

Andrew Hurst is a senior editor at Policygenius who has spent his entire career writing about life, disability, home, auto, and health insurance. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, and Property Casualty 360.

Editor

Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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