A pizza insurance plan has been created by a pregnant woman who wants to make sure she doesn’t lose her coverage as her husband works full-time in a restaurant.
Louise Williams has a new policy which she says covers her pregnancy and her medical expenses while she is a member of the Pizza Industry Association.
Ms Williams has two children with her husband, who is in the restaurant business, and they want to make a point that they can afford their own insurance if they decide to get pregnant.
The policy is a mix of basic and supplemental coverage including maternity leave, personal health insurance, health and dental insurance and an additional coverage for childcare.
“It is very important to me that I have coverage and that I am able to afford it so I can be able to provide for my family,” Ms Williams told ABC News.
The first policy will cover Ms Williams up to the end of her third trimester, covering her child-care costs, maternity leave and any additional expenses.
Ms William’s first policy covers her child care and she will have to pay for her own childcare if she chooses to get the second policy, which will cover her baby at home.
The second policy will provide her with her own child care, but it will only cover expenses for the first month and then only if she gets pregnant again.
The Pizza Industry Associations spokeswoman, Lisa Laidlaw, said Ms Williams’s decision to sign up for the policy was driven by her desire to ensure she and her children had a good quality of life while they were both in the industry.
“I feel that this is a great policy for the industry, and for my wife and for all of us who are in this industry,” Ms Laidaw said.
“So we have decided to make this a mix policy so we can provide our family with the best coverage possible while they are all working full-timers in our industry.”
“We do have some of the lowest rates in Australia, but the average family is not going to pay that much,” Ms William said.
The spokeswoman said Ms William had chosen a mix because she wanted to protect herself from a possible loss of coverage if she got pregnant again, and because she would like to make an example of others who were unable to pay their own costs.
“For the sake of her children and the industry at large, she has decided that it is worth putting in the extra money so that other people in the same position are able to have that sort of experience,” Ms Wright said.
She said she hoped to have the new policy ready for use by October 31.
Ms Wright’s policy covers maternity leave until the end (4 months) of her first trimester.
“We have to make the same choice as everyone else, because we’re a family,” she said.
Ms Lawnlaw said Ms Lacey had had to make “extra” sacrifices to get her family to the point where they were able to get covered.
“In the restaurant industry, if you have an accident and you have to get into the hospital and then you get back into the restaurant, you are out of the policy,” she explained.
“If you have a heart attack and you go back into a restaurant and you’re unable to get a card and your life goes into a tailspin, you’re out of that policy.”
A spokesperson for Pizza Australia said Ms Wright was being “unfairly targeted” by the industry and that the industry was not targeting anyone with a pregnancy-related medical condition.
“There are some people who are going to be left out in the cold,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
“The vast majority of our members have a very good and comprehensive policy.”
The Pizza Association said Ms Willis was not being unfairly targeted, and it was important for people to get on board with the policies they wanted.
“All our members are happy with the policy they have, and that is why we have developed this policy,” Ms Williamson said.
Pizza Australia spokeswoman Lisa Lawnaw said Ms Williamson was not going through a hardship and would be “unable to pay her own way”.
She said the industry did not think that anyone who was pregnant should be forced to buy a policy.
“Any person in the workplace who is pregnant should have the same coverage and benefits as anyone else,” Ms Layaw said, adding that the policy would cover the cost of childcare, medical treatment, prescriptions and other medical costs.