More and more pregnant women in Denmark are paying for pregnancy insurance to gain extra peace of mind during childbirth. However, the concept faces harsh criticism from healthcare professionals who argue it’s completely unnecessary given Denmark’s comprehensive public healthcare system.
Pregnancy Insurance Doubles in Popularity
In Denmark’s largest insurance company, Tryg Forsikring, the number of pregnant women purchasing pregnancy insurance has nearly doubled in just one year. While approximately one in ten women bought the insurance in 2024, that figure has now risen to nearly one in five.
Tryg introduced pregnancy insurance around three years ago after identifying what they saw as a customer need. The basic package is offered for free to pregnant customers and includes a hotline to an online midwife, crisis assistance in serious birth situations, and expanded accident coverage.
Customers can also purchase enhanced versions of the insurance. These may include instant compensation in case of cesarean section due to pregnancy complications or help at home if the pregnant woman experiences complications during or after birth.
Healthcare System Should Be Sufficient
Despite growing popularity, healthcare professionals have little enthusiasm for pregnancy insurance. Jordemoderforeningen, the Danish Midwives Association, stands among the critics.
Chairwoman Lis Munk believes that Denmark should have public maternity care comprehensive enough that additional private insurance isn’t necessary. In fact, she believes Denmark already has that level of care. For insurance companies to profit from pregnancy insurance, complications during birth must be quite rare. And that’s exactly the case in Danish maternity care, she points out.
At Lægeforeningen, the Danish Medical Association, chairwoman Camilla Rathcke also doesn’t see a real need for this type of insurance. She compares it to private full-body scans of healthy people, which primarily sell a feeling of security. The reality is that if a pregnant woman develops symptoms or complications, the healthcare system takes over and is already equipped to handle it.
External Advice Versus Your Own Midwife
Lis Munk specifically points to the online midwife consultation included in the insurance as unnecessary. Pregnant women are already assigned a midwife in the public system along with their designated birthplace.
She argues that advice from a midwife who knows the pregnant woman is far more valuable than getting it from an external source. Pregnant women have different medical histories, including previous illnesses, which their public midwife knows thoroughly. While external advice might make sense to some in the moment, she believes the quality of advice is better when the provider knows the complete history.
Insurance Companies Package Fear as Product
Lægeforeningen objects to insurance companies making money from pregnant women by amplifying their fears. When an insurance company offers coverage for cesarean section due to pregnancy complications, they’ve essentially turned the fear of a relatively rare complication into a commercial product.
Most pregnant women don’t develop pregnancy complications, and far from all women with such complications end up with cesarean sections, Camilla Rathcke explains. She believes the insurance concept resembles the sale of unnecessary medical services to healthy people.
Tryg’s claims director Karina Engel rejects the notion that pregnancy insurance is simply an easy way for the company to make money rather than genuinely benefiting pregnant women. She points out that the insurance is actually used extensively, with over six million kroner paid out over the last three years. According to Engel, the insurance provides peace of mind and support during a time filled with worries.
Exploiting a Vulnerable Group
Nanna Schultz, CEO and founder of the online community Momkind, feels provoked by the concept of pregnancy insurance. She believes it’s an unfortunate trend and that it shouldn’t be necessary to take out a specific pregnancy insurance policy. Women should be covered by their regular accident insurance, she argues.
At Tryg Forsikring, Karina Engel explains that specific birth-related injuries fall outside regular accident insurance. The pregnancy insurance is more specifically targeted at pregnancy and birth, covering things that wouldn’t be covered under standard accident insurance. This could include situations where the baby is delivered with the assistance of suction cups or surgical cuts, the claims director explains.
However, Nanna Schultz believes these types of injuries should also be covered in accident insurance. She sees the pregnancy insurance as simply shifting costs onto women, which she considers both discriminatory and detrimental to gender equality.
Why Women Say Yes
Despite her criticism, Schultz understands why many pregnant women choose to purchase the insurance. Pregnancy is a vulnerable time when women are like sponges, absorbing advice and guidance. They don’t know very much and are carrying a life in their womb.
So naturally, when an insurance company comes along and says they can catch you if something happens, that’s a target group very willing to say yes because they want to secure everything they can, the Momkind founder explains.
Karina Engel maintains that Tryg Forsikring is not discriminating or working against gender equality by offering pregnancy insurance. The insurance isn’t about giving pregnant women worse conditions, but rather about giving them extra security during a phase when situations can arise that don’t fall within regular accident insurance.
Government Response
Interior and Health Minister Sophie Løhde has responded to the trend, stating that pregnant women should not need to take out private health insurance to feel safe. Denmark should have good public healthcare offerings so pregnant women feel they’re in safe hands throughout their entire pregnancy.
The minister emphasizes that the government has strengthened the birth area. More staff have been added to maternity wards, and more pregnant women now have the opportunity to give birth with the same midwife who followed them during pregnancy.
Currently, the government is examining how services for women who have given birth can be improved. Today, too many women with postpartum complications experience not getting the necessary help, Løhde adds.
Sources and References
The Danish Dream: 21 Insurances You Must Have in Denmark
The Danish Dream: Health Insurance in Denmark for Foreigners
DR: Populært som aldrig før at købe graviditetsforsikring: Unødvendigt, mener kritikere
