Frequently Asked Questions

At International Fertility Insurance, we’re dedicated to providing intended parents with answers to their questions about protecting all parties involved in a surrogacy journey. On this page, you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions we hear.

Health Insurance Reviews
Egg Donor and Surrogate IVF Complications
Local / Outside Monitoring
Surrogate Accidental Death
Maternity Cost Estimates
Maternity / ACA Health Insurance
Medical Billing Management
Surrogate Bedrest Disability
Hospital Indemnity
Newborn Insurance

Health Insurance Reviews

Even if a surrogate’s health insurance is expected to cover maternity expenses for surrogacy, it’s always possible that a change in circumstances could impact her coverage. Potential examples of changing conditions include but are not limited to a loss of coverage due to the surrogate moving, a change in employment status (she or her spouse changes or quits their job), her employer changes benefits to exclude surrogacy, or insurance rules and regulations around surrogacy change at a state or national level.

Egg Donor and Surrogate IVF Complications Insurance

Each policy covers complications for 1 cycle, for up to 4 months. If multiple cycles take place within the 4-month coverage period, separate policies will be needed for each cycle.

Health insurance coverage varies, but most do not cover expenses for IVF complications for an egg donor or surrogate. IFI can review her insurance for a fee upon request.

Local / Outside Monitoring

When our team is locating a clinic, we consider location of the clinic to your donor or surrogate, if the facility can perform the services requested by your physician, past patient experience, test results that are provided in a timely manner, services are financially reasonable, a clinic with weekend availability if requested, an in-house lab, and other criteria upon request.

The main challenge we see with agencies and parents trying to coordinate this effort is how time-consuming the logistics can be to stay on top of. Some common mishaps include incorrect or missing lab orders, the clinic's inability to perform the correct testing, or failure to provide results back to the IP's clinic quickly. Cycles can either be at risk of cancellation or delay without the proper vetting of the local monitoring clinic. We also see uncontrollably high costs when unvetted locations are chosen for convenience. This can cost IPs thousands of dollars and much stress to navigate.

Surrogate Accidental Death Insurance

Yes, there are no age restrictions for beneficiaries.

Coverage runs for up to 12 months post-delivery as long as death or bodily injury is due to a surrogate pregnancy-related complication.

Maternity Cost Estimates

Yes, our estimate team will need your chosen provider’s full contact information in order to obtain an accurate estimate of your expenses for a routine and healthy pregnancy and delivery.

Maternity / ACA Health Insurance

Usually from Nov 1st each year to Jan 15th.  Note that this is for the states that use the Federal Marketplace – otherwise it depends on the state.  There are many states that have their own health insurance exchanges and therefore control their own dates. For the latest information on these dates, please check with IFI.

A time outside the yearly Open Enrollment Period when you can sign up for health insurance. You qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if you’ve had certain life events, including losing health coverage, moving, getting married, having a baby (only in select states), or adopting a child.  Usually, you will have 60 days following the event to enroll in a plan.

The current policy may not be available for the new year, or it may not remain 'surrogate-friendly' with the new version.  If you would like us to check the new version of a policy, we have an ACA Renewal online request .  The service provides the following:

  • Check the new version for liens & exclusions
  • Check that the previous (or new) medical providers will remain in network
  • Advise on changes to the premium, deductible, coinsurance, and out of pocket maximum
  • Provide a written review of the new policy
  • Connect with the surrogate (if necessary) to make any changes to the application

For more information on ACA, click here.

When a surrogate’s insurance won’t cover a surrogate pregnancy and no ACA (Affordable Care Act) option is available, the IFI Surrogacy Maternity Plan, backed by Lloyds of London, is a comprehensive, affordable, professionally managed surrogacy maternity plan. The plan comes with $500,000 in coverage and can be upgraded to $750,000 or $1,000,000.

Most begin the process upon medical and legal clearance.

Medical Billing Management

Yes, IFI will do a customized review of the insurance plan benefit summary and request an estimated amount of funds for the expected medical bills to hold in escrow. The billing team will use these funds to pay providers directly after a thorough claim and bill review process on each statement that is submitted by the surrogate on our secure portal. At the end of the pregnancy, if any excess funds remain in the account after an audit, they will be returned to the parents.

Coordination of benefits (COB) applies to a person who is covered by more than one health plan. We will ensure that both of the insurances will be filed in the correct order of primary and secondary and correct any claims that are not processed accordingly. Without proper coordination of benefits, providers may only send claims to one plan, which could be rescinded later for evidence of other insurance and create a billing mess to deal with as far out as 1 to 2 years after delivery.

Surrogate Bedrest Disability

No, this policy only covers medically necessary/prescribed at-home bed rest when ordered by your surrogate’s OBGYN due to a complication of pregnancy requiring her to miss work. Morning sickness is considered a routine side effect of pregnancy and is not a covered expense.

For surrogates who are self-employed/business owners or independent contractors, Lloyd’s of London’s underwriters will require a 12-month income history. If pay stubs showing net lost wages are not available, underwriters will accept tax documents such as a 1099.

Yes, coverage is refundable on a prorated basis in the event of a miscarriage or if coverage is canceled.

Hospital Indemnity

Applications must be submitted prior to embryo transfer, and we strongly recommend applying prior to starting IVF medications to avoid a 6-month waiting period for coverage. If applying after the start of medications but prior to transfer, the policy would still be helpful for coverage during the 3rd trimester.

Newborn Insurance

You should contact your insurance member services department to confirm how and when a newborn is added to your plan. If your plan doesn’t provide out-of-network coverage where your baby will be born, we offer different newborn insurance options. If you would like IFI’s help navigating your newborn coverage or billing, we offer a domestic intended parent newborn consultation and domestic intended parent newborn billing management.

Yes, even if intended parents have their own newborn insurance or opt not to purchase it, you can choose to have IFI assist with well-baby care billing. Our medical billing management commonly saves parents between 30% to 75% on well-baby care costs. We can also help negotiate bills for intensive care and well-baby care.

Many intended parents find travel insurance useful, including options to cover the costs of canceled trips.

Intended parents have different needs for covering their newborn babies. We encourage parents to educate themselves about their options and choose the coverage that best suits their needs. IFI is here to help!

Please consult with your agency and IFI. Generally newborn insurance is needed.

Yes, you will have medical bills to pay for a healthy, well-baby delivery. The average is $3,000 to $6,000 USD.

It might, depending on the plan. We recommend you call your insurance representative to confirm dependent coverage in the US and consult with IFI on your findings to ensure you have adequate coverage.

Insurance Coverage Levels Sample

An easy guide to insurance levels of coverage with costs.

Intended Parent Resource Guide


Download our Intended Parent Resource Guide.

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