But there is still a need for counselling and specialist guidance to deal with the mental health aspects of fertility treatment, which could be covered under insurance policies.
Advisers should encourage clients to make use of support services or, if their clients are policyholders already, to see if they can claim against the cost of additional counselling that might be needed.
Steyn says: "We provide support and practical information alongside counselling, but we also explain the options available to employees and give advice on areas such as cycle monitoring, testing, investigations and next steps so that they understand the process and know how to access the fertility treatment care that they need.
"We also offer one-to-one emotional support if the IVF cycle is unsuccessful."
Such counselling can shorten the time to a fertility diagnosis or appropriate treatment, as the client will have a better understanding of their options, and may not end up spending months trying to conceive without knowing if there is an issue.
It can also help financially, as a quicker route to a subsequent cycle will cut out a lot of the usual blood, liver function and urine tests, as well as enabling the patient to use any leftover drugs from the previous cycle as long as these are still in date.
Will people use support services?
Advisers might well ask whether their protection clients actually use the support services attached to policies, even if these are pointed out to them by the adviser.
The answer, according to Christine Husbands, managing director of remote nursing service RedArc, is "yes".
She says: "Customers contact RedArc for many different reasons – infertility investigations and the IVF process can be an extremely distressing time."
Nurses can help put clients in touch with qualified counsellors or therapists, which can provide great peace of mind.
Support services like RedArc, which offer a second medical opinion option, could potentially help with an infertility diagnosis much earlier on in the policyholder's medical journey, which could help them get the treatment they need more quickly.
Husbands comments: "The RedArc nurse is there to give long-term support for the customer and, when appropriate, can arrange an appropriate intervention.
"We regularly arrange more than 30 different types of support, including talking therapies such as counselling, physical therapies such as physiotherapy, speech and language, complementary therapies such as acupuncture and hypnotherapy, as well as practical home help and a second medical opinion.
"Our second opinions are carried out face-to-face (in person or remotely), which gives the patient the opportunity to have a discussion with the consultant and a follow-up letter of information and recommendations is supplied, so they can refer back to important information in their own time.
