The National Health Service (NHS) provides an excellent free service to anyone that needs medical treatment in the UK. However, many people opt to use the private healthcare system instead.
There are many benefits to using the private healthcare system, but it doesn’t come cheap. Yet, it can be made cheaper with private medical insurance.
What is private medical insurance?
Private medical insurance is a type of insurance policy that covers the cost, or some of the cost, of private healthcare services and procedures. You’ll pay a monthly or annual fee for the private medical insurance policy, and the insurer will pay all or most of the cost of private healthcare when needed.
Advantages of private medical insurance
The advantages of taking our private medical insurance are:
- You can avoid long waiting periods on the NHS
- You might be afforded a better hospital bed in a private room, compared to a bed on an NHS ward with multiple other patients
- You can often choose the location of the practice or hospital you attend
- You might be able to access treatment and procedures not available on the NHS
As NHS waiting times grow, the ability to see a doctor or surgeon swiftly is what causes so many UK residents to consider private medical insurance.
What does private medical insurance cover?
Standard private medical insurance will cover the cost of consultations, procedures and medication to help acute conditions that have only been diagnosed after the policy was taken out. Standard policies don’t often cover illnesses and conditions that began before the policy was activated, and they don’t usually cover chronic conditions at any time.
However, you can also get more comprehensive private medical insurance policies that do cover chronic conditions and do provide treatments not available on the NHS. Naturally, these policies are more expensive.
Private medical insurance covers the cost to help you get better, but it doesn’t cover any loss of income due to your illness and taking time off work. To protect your income in the event of illness or injury, consider taking out critical illness cover.
How to choose the right policy
Choosing the right medical insurance policy should be based on personal circumstances and your medical history. Whereas some people will only need standard protection, those with specific medical needs may need to search for a more comprehensive policy.
How to make a claim
Your policy documents or the private clinic should provide information on how to make a claim. If you need further support with lodging a claim on a policy that we helped you secure, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Get help from a medical insurance broker
Speak with a medical insurance broker to learn more about these and other insurance policies. If you want to press ahead with medical insurance, we can help you identify, search and apply for the most suitable policies.
