Having a baby costs money. That's common knowledge, especially for couples still in college who have yet to find jobs with maternity benefits.

But Aaron Benton, a local insurance salesman, has focused his newly opened company, Redfish Insurance Group, LLC, on a loophole that could lighten the cost.

He calls it maternity insurance but it is a package of two AFLAC and two Allstate supplementary health insurance policies. They are for anyone, but they're a better deal for those expecting.

"I thought it would be prudent to specialize in maternity insurance because it's a screaming deal," Benton said. "If I can provide the means to show young married people how to get extra money I'll do it. It's practically like money falling from the sky."

The "money falling from the sky" comes in the form of a $5000 check paid if the policyholder spends 24 hours in the hospital.

Usually those who buy such plans work for an hourly wage without sick leave benefits. It is a security so they can still pay their bills if they can't work.

Norman Thurston, BYU economics professor invited Benton to his health economics class to discuss the concept.

Benton explained that a couple should begin the policy when they decide they want to have kids. Odds are pretty good the women will be pregnant after three months and pregnant for nine months.

So the couple pays for 12 months of insurance premiums, which comes to about $1,850. After they have their baby in a hospital they receive a $5,000 check to use however they want.

It is indemnity insurance, which works much like life insurance, Thurston said. If you die, your family gets a fixed amount of money. If you spend a day in the hospital, with Benton's insurance package, you get $5,000.

"He has an interesting product that I have never heard of before," Thurston said. "It sounds like it's too good to be true but after some checking I found that it's a legitimate product."

Of course there is still a degree of risk involved because some will buy the insurance and not get pregnant.

According to Benton the national average for the length of time it takes to get pregnant is 6 months.

Devron Lloyd, a hairdresser in Orem, and her husband bought a different kind of supplemental insurance before they had their baby. They ended it right after and made a small amount of money.

"We tried for a year and a half," she said. "I have friends who have tried for four years and five years. But I have a couple of friends who are more fertile so it just depends."

Benton said those who should consider signing up for maternity insurance should be planning to become pregnant within the next two years but should not already be pregnant. They should also have individual health insurance coverage.

Those who already have group maternity coverage can use the $5000 for other needs, he said.

Most insurance companies require a $5000 deductible for individual health insurance before it pays for anything maternity related so the money given back from supplementary insurance plans can help pay for that, he said.

Insurance companies can give up the money because there are always other workers who buy the insurance plan as a security and don't end up using it, Benton said.

"You have to think about the construction worker guy whose job doesn't pay if he can't work," he said. "So he pays his 1,850 a year in premiums but doesn't spend a day in a hospital."

Though it works much like any insurance program and it's legal, there is some debate about its ethics.

Jared Baker, 23, a senior from Los Angeles majoring in economics said he's sitting the fence on the issue.

"I see both sides of the story," he said. "The major question brought up in class was, is it taking advantage of a situation that is designed for somebody else. Like any normal person I was incredulous.

"On the other side, most insurance companies aren't stupid. They know these things happen so why should I feel bad. It's not against the law and it's there for the taking."

Baker is married and may consider the plan in the future. He said he doesn't want to do it until he knows what his insurance situation will be after he graduates in April and looks for a job.

Thurston said the plan is basically just a good deal much like one found at a grocery store and people should decide on their own if they think it's ethical.



Copyright Brigham Young University 21 Mar 2003