This is a personal choice. Your situation will be different to everyone else’s. What we can do, is to offer some of the reasons why many of our customers do choose to take out a policy. We’re also happy to chat through health insurance in general with you and compare health insurance policies, there’s no pressure from us to buy a health insurance policy.
What would you be missing out on?
If you’re here in the UK, you will always get free medical treatment on the NHS. So, the question arises, what are you missing out on if you don’t have health insurance? Does anyone really need to have a health insurance policy these days? (We also refer to it as private medical insurance, sometimes.)
It all depends on your situation and your preference. In many, many cases, health insurance is likely to get you diagnosis faster than NHS care. It will offer you a prompt referral for treatment in a private hospital – at a time and place that’s convenient for you. Health insurance is designed to cover the cost of private hospital stays, scans and surgical procedures of all kinds.
What it’s unlikely to cover is existing problems, visits to Accident and Emergency departments, drug abuse, organ transplants, normal pregnancy and non-essential cosmetic treatments. You’ll have many more choices with health insurance in place, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing everything’s taken care of.
In addition, many health insurance policies offer drugs and treatments that aren’t provided free of charge by the NHS. Things like specialist surgeries, alternative therapies, 24-hour phone lines that give you other kinds of support. Every policy is different, and we can talk through these benefits with you – explaining what they are, what they cover, and how much they cost.
What are the alternatives to health insurance?
If you don’t feel comfortable depending on the NHS alone, but aren’t sure about health insurance policies, then there are a couple of other alternatives.
Critical illness cover is an insurance policy that pays out a sum of money, after you’ve been diagnosed with one of many specific serious health problems. You can use that money for anything at all, although many people consider the policy as a way of paying for treatment. We explain more about this in our short guide – the difference between critical illness cover and private medical insurance.
Healthcare cash plans spread the cost of routine healthcare expenses over a period of time, usually in a monthly plan. They’re geared to paying for low-priority treatment, such as dental care or optical care – but they often offer other benefits such as access to helplines.
For some people, the alternative to having health insurance is to set aside a sum of money and ring fence it for that purpose. If you’re considering this, please talk to an independent financial adviser and tax adviser about the most appropriate way to set this up.
Where can I find out more?
Call us. We’re here to help you understand what the benefits of health insurance might be, in your unique situation – and if it’s not right for you, we’ll say so.
Our expert healthcare consultants are trained to listen, so they can understand all of the things you might be thinking about. The costs, the benefits, who’d be covered in your family, which treatments you’d be eligible for, and which you wouldn’t. It’s all about peace of mind.
We’re very happy to chat about health insurance in general with you. Our advice is free of charge. We’re paid a commission by the insurers we work with when you buy a policy from them.
