Private health insurance for baby

Aussieanja · Post by **Aussieanja** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:41 pm

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are expecting our first child next year and I've been advised to get private health insurance for baby. My husband is Finnish and never goes to the dr anyway, I am close to getting permanent residency (the long, arduous process that it is) and I have private health insurance through my work (which will end with my contract though... but I am happy waiting in line for public health, I just am not sure about making baby wait, especially since I will no doubt panic over every sniffle).

What have your experiences with young children been like? Does the public system really make you wait with a sick child for hours before you see a doctor? How much more difficult is it as a new mom with limited Finnish skills? Is private insurance worth it - and if so, which can you recommend?

Thanks in advance for any advice you have to give!

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Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:29 am

Just make sure you get the insurance early enough as theres time limits when you can get one. And its before the baby is born...

Jussi · Post by **Jussi** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 9:38 am

Yeah, go now. Think Pohjola (Op/Osuuspankki) had a good deal recently.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:56 pm

Experiences vary. I'm one of those who would have not got my money back if I had bought an insurance.
(comparing the costs of insurance + deductibles to just paying it outright from my own pocket at a private clinic)

Being stingy (and having some interest in seeing how good or bad the public system as (and not needing to be there very often anyway)), waiting times for acute things have varied, maybe 1.5 hours at its worst (in Helsinki). Waiting times for appointments on non-urgent issues can be long.

Iseult · Post by **Iseult** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:23 am

I'm in the same situation as the OP (expecting a baby next year, although my husband is an Aussie and I'm Finnish so reversed in that sense!) and I applied for private baby insurance.
I think the deciding factor should be how happy you are with your local health centre, there is lots of variation. We are not at all happy with ours (Espoonlahti) so it was a no-brainer. I also had private child insurance when I was little and it was great, never had to wait for any appointments or tests.
As others have mentioned, you must apply for the insurance at the latest 2 months before your due date to cover any issues discovered at birth. If you don't do this, you can still get a child insurance from when the kid is 6 weeks old, but any pre-existing conditions will be ruled out.
The pregnancy/newborn insurance (up to the birth and immediately afterward) is not very expensive either; with IF it's roughly 140 euros, and you can get a discount if you're a member of the Finnish-Australian Society.

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