Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    AN increasing number of pregnant women are buying maternity insurance to hedge the risks of health problems occurring during pregnancy or to their new-borns, while insurers are offering more policies of this kind to cater to the demand, a Shenzhen-based online policy seller said yesterday.

    The number of expectant mothers at older ages has risen markedly in Shenzhen since the second-child policy went into effect Jan. 1, 2016, statistics show. “There has been an obvious increase in the number of expectant mothers at older ages since the second-child policy took effect,” Yao Jilong, president of Shenzhen Maternity and Child Health-care Hospital, said in an interview in January.

    Government statistics show that 19 expectant mothers died last year in Shenzhen, among them were five permanent residents, according to Yao, who said that in the past there had been no cases of permanent residents dying from giving birth.

    Huize.com, a third-party online insurance-selling platform, found that maternity insurance products, which were designed for expectant mothers to cover health problems arising during pregnancy and to new-born babies, have been becoming increasingly popular among Shenzhen residents.

    Without giving statistics, Huize said in the report, which rolled out to mark International Women’s Day, that more of these products are available.

    Huize also found that beauty insurance or plastic surgery insurance hasn’t sold well, although the innovative product had attracted wide attention.

    More than 80 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 24 have purchased travel insurance, and women over 60 spend more on travel insurance than any other kind of insurance, Huize found, adding that women between 30 and 34 years old spend more on health insurance than other age groups.