Yes to bungee jumping, but miscarriage or early childbirth will not be

A WEEK at the beach may be the ideal way for a pregnant woman to relax and take some gentle exercise, but the insurance companies would rather she stayed at home.

Standard travel-insurance policies exclude any problems related to pregnancies, saying they are too high a risk and should be covered by medical insurance policies. The insurers say it is also too expensive to cover pregnancy issues in a tailor-made policy, despite covering an increasing number of dangerous sports.

'The price would be so high, no one would take it,' said Prudential Assurance claims manager Emily Chung Yuk-chun.

Family Money checked eight of the major travel-insurance policies available in Hong Kong and found that all exclude miscarriages and premature childbirth and only one is prepared to insure other pregnancy-related medical problems, up to the 30th week. Although pregnant women are covered for other accidents under the travel policies, medical expenses related to the pregnancy are specifically excluded.

The level of medical cover is high on many of the policies, which now cover a wide range of sports, but most insurers still fail to provide cover for even minor problems related to a pregnancy.

Only Blue Cross's TravelSafe Insurance covers non-routine medical expenses related to a pregnancy incurred while travelling, up to the 30th week of the pregnancy, but does not cover childbirth or miscarriage.