Insurance Information

by Paul Schwarz

All about private health insurance

Why pay for private health insurance? There are a several very good reasons but probably the most important is speed. If you visit your doctor with medical problem he may refer you to a consultant, the waiting time for this can be months. Following the consultation you may need a scan or some other test, again waiting weeks or probably months. Finally you may need an operation which may involve waiting for months.

In comparison, private medical insurance is much quicker. When you are referred by your doctor your consultation will usually take place within a week at a time to suit you. The necessary tests will be done within a few days, and if an operation is needed it will be arranged on a date shortly afterwards to suit you.

The NHS route has been shortened from several months to just a couple of weeks. Very often, depending on the urgency, the whole process can be condensed into just a couple of days.

There have been many instances of people dying whilst waiting on NHS waiting lists. The severity of a condition might not be recognised until the consultation and tests have taken place, and that can take months.

Many people give up waiting and pay for consultations, tests, and operations themselves, the cost of which can run in to tens of thousands of pounds.

What's the best type of medical insurance plan? Medical insurance can be expensive but there are ways of protecting yourself against high costs whilst ensuring that if you need the dreaded triple heart by-pass it will be covered by your insurance.

If you can afford it you can just take out a plan with full inpatient (operations) and outpatient (consultations & tests) cover. It will be expensive but it will provide peace of mind for you and your family. After all, there is nothing more important than your health, without good health it's difficult to enjoy your life no matter how wealthy you might be.

But there are ways of keeping the cost down. Firstly, there are plans available with limited outpatient cover, usually £1000 per person per policy year, this is more than enough in the vast majority of cases. There is a plan on the market which has just £300 of outpatient cover. With this latter plan you might need to be prepared to pay some of the outpatient costs yourself.

My favourite option is a plan that covers inpatient treatment only. These plans usually also cover scans (MRI, PET, & CT) in full, and also cover oncology (cancer treatments) in full as an inpatient, outpatient, or day-patient. If you have this type of plan and need to see a consultant you have a choice, you can wait to see an NHS consultant or pay about £120 to see a private consultant immediately. You might have to pay for minor tests if you have them done privately but a scan will be paid for by the insurer. But if you need an operation it will be covered in full. This type of plan might end up costing you a few hundred pounds if you need treatment but you will save that many times over during the years that you are paying for your insurance.

No claims discounts - A lot of plans include a no claims discount and they are a great idea for keeping premiums down when you are not claiming. However, be prepared for the fact that if you do claim you will lose discount. There are still a few plans around which do not include a no claims discount but they are more expensive.

It's best to avoid a no claims discount for a family, the more of you there are, the more likely you are to claim. For a couple I would recommend that they take out two separate plans, this will keep the increase down in the event of a claim.

Excesses - There is no point have an excess unless having it saves that excess in a single year. For example if the insurance premium without an excess is £120 per year, and £108 per year with a £100 excess you will save £144 per year so the excess is worth having. If you make a claim you will have to pay the first £100 but you will still save £44.

Underwriting - Insurance companies protect themselves against people joining their medical insurance plans and then immediately claiming. Every new member joins via a particular underwriting method. There are thee types of underwriting; moratorium, full medical declaration, and switch.

Moratorium underwriting is the most common, most people join by this method. Moratoriums vary between insurers but generally if you join by this method any condition occurring in the last 5 years will not be covered until you have been a member for 2 years without treatment, consultation, or medication. This does mean that any ongoing condition such as high blood pressure, or anything related to it will never be covered.

Full medical underwriting requires the applicant to complete a medical history questionnaire, any pre-existing conditions may be excluded. This can be useful if you want to be absolutely certain of what is not covered.

Switch underwriting is unusual for individual medical insurance policies but there are some insurers who do it. You can switch insurers with a continuation of cover proving you have not made a claim in the last 12 months and are not aware of any necessary treatment in the next 12 months.

Paul Schwarz has two specialist health insurance sites: http//:www.freehealthinsuranceadvice.co.uk and http://www.vrhealth.co.uk/

About the Author:

Paul has been an independent insurance consultant specialising in private medical insurance since 1999. He has a degree in Materials Technology and worked in the engineering industry before deciding to give up the worldwide travel and spend more time with his family working from his home in Cheshire.

Learn more about Insurance : http://www.topofbusiness.net