Future Family Guarantees ‘Baby or Your Money Back’ with New Nationwide IVF Insurance

It’s not uncommon for people to have to undergo multiple rounds of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). However, it’s an expensive procedure — the average cost of one IVF cycle is over $21,000 — making it a substantial financial risk for new families.

This is a struggle that Claire Tomkins, a mother of three IVF kids, knows all too well.

“I had really been exposed to just how expensive and difficult this journey is, and I felt like this was something I wanted to work on,” she said in an interview.

The experience led her to start Future Family, a company that offers fertility financing, digital coaching and pharmacy services. And on Wednesday, the company announced the first nationwide IVF insurance product called Orange Shield.

Families start by purchasing the insurance with an average cost of $3,000 down and $999 per month for five months. They begin treatment, and if they don’t achieve a live birth after two cycles, they can file a claim. They’ll then receive a refund and can decide if they want to continue with additional cycles. The insurance plan may include cycle costs, physicians fees, medications, egg or sperm donor or other services.

“[IVF] is a very stressful and emotional time for a woman and oftentimes a partner, to obviously want to be able to have a baby or expand your family,” Tomkins, CEO of the company, said. “There’s emotional and psychological struggle, and then there’s financial struggle. … So many couples go into it knowing it might not work, at least initially. So how do you kind of get to a point where you can de-risk it financially and emotionally? Because I’m already emotional. If I think I’m also going to go into debt and not have a baby, that’s double the emotion. So that is where the insurance product came to life.”

The company chose the name Orange Shield for its insurance product because orange is a color that represents fertility, Tomkins added.

While Orange Shield is currently only available direct-to-consumer, Tomkins noted that she sees an opportunity to work with employers down the line. More and more employers are looking to provide their employees with family-building support.

Future Family declared that Orange Shield is the first nationwide IVF insurance product. However, there are several other companies working in the fertility space. This includes Progyny, Kindbody and Carrot Fertility. Most of these companies focus on working with employers.

In launching the IVF insurance product, Tomkins ultimately hopes to simplify the journey to parenthood, she said.

“Parenthood is still challenging for some. It’s costly. People do fail at IVF. The mission of the business is [to provide] a pathway to parenthood for all. And I feel like IVF insurance gets us one step closer because you get that emotional and financial security when you start your journey,” she said.

Photo: Natali_Mis, Getty Images