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.
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.
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.
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
