From a purely financial/ risk point of view, it actually makes more sense to buy immediately at week 13 before any tests has been done, so that it will not be subjected to further underwriting. I won't say I did a comparison between all insurers offering this insurance. I only signed up to listen to agents which provided free gifts (as advised by my cult), which quite a bit of agents actually do. By the time, I finally got about to buying an insurance, I am well into the 4th month -_-
1. AIA
One of the most agressive insurers would probably be AIA. Almost every freebie place you sign up for would be sponsored by AIA agents. Among all the agents I spoke to, I found the AIA agent the most comprehensive in terms of doing a full insurance plan (including life, endownment, hospitalisation, personal accident etc.) However, I was only looking for maternity and hospitalisation, so I didn't really like that AIA would auto convert the maternity plan into a life policy. (If I remember correctly, the life plan was tagged onto my age too, which means the premiums will be more expensive.)
In terms of coverage, AIA is very comprehensive. But I didn't want everything rolled into one, although I know some Mums did cos the life insurance will cover critical illnesses without further underwriting. If you are going for AIA, I would recommend Qiren. They are very generous in their freebies (which I didn't receive cos circuit breaker) and they have an amazing facility that you can use if you live near Jurong East or Woodlands.
2. Great Eastern
As I wanted a stand-alone maternity cover, I approached my hub's Great Eastern agent. In terms of maternity knowledge, she isn't as well-versed as AIA. But she was very honest and would highlight exclusions and exemptions. For this fact alone, I decided to go on the Hospitalisation cover with her. Note: Pregancy complications are covered under hospitalisation but there is a 300 days waiting period, so ladies please get yours early! (Generally, hospitalisation covers are quite regulated so I didn't bother to specific comparisions but just did a quick reading on the coverage to decide on the plan.)
I didn't take up the maternity plan with Great Eastern because if was frigging expensive and the coverage was very limited. In terms of their freebies, the insurer is the most easygoing. I immediately got my redemption voucher for my diaper bag and the VIP mothercare membership, lol (which both I haven't redeem and activate). Funny thing is, I noticed OCBC offering the same insurance at a much lower price if you are a customer of OCBC. No agent will tell you that for sure, but of course in the event of a claim, you will probably have to deal with OCBC.
3. Manulife
Manulife is highly under-rated in this whole class of insurance. Compared to the other insurers/ agents, there was no freebies or what-not and because of that their distribution expenses is kept into the minimum and hence the premiums was very reasonably priced. This is a standalone cover (like Great Eastern and NTUC Income) and had as wide coverage as the AIA cover. The hospitalisation coverage wasn't that fantastic, but an additional $50 (for a S$5000 cover) wasn't that much anyway.
Manulife is also one of the rare insurers that provide coverage for twins. I find it ironical that I eventually signed up with Manulife considering I was lured into this by freebies to begin with. I did a spreadsheet to compare between the 3 insurers, so hit me up if you want a copy of it.
Disclaimer: At the end of the day, it really depends on your needs and risk appetite, so the considerations you have may vastly differ from mine. All the above rambles are my own opinions.
