There are many options to choose from when deciding upon the right health insurance for your needs. Although plans differ between insurers they tend to be stepped from a very basic level of cover which is limited to inpatient cover to comprehensive health insurance with all the bells and whistles, including alternative medicines, psychiatric cover and even overseas treatment.
We will focus on the range of cover you can expect when buying comprehensive health insurance and look at what you should consider when buying a policy and the additional options available on a plan. Like with any insurance the more options and cover your plan provides the more expensive the cover.
So how does comprehensive health insurance differ from a basic plan?
Firstly health insurance is not designed to replace the NHS; private health cover is designed to provide individuals with treatment for acute conditions, when and where they require it. There are no hefty waiting lists like those found on the NHS and you get the benefit of having your own private room, with home comforts such as television, internet and choosing what you want to eat, when you want to eat it.
Private health insurance is built around in patient treatment, from a basic plan you can expect to have any in patient and day patient treatments covered in full. However, the cover tends to stop here; usually basic plans have very little if any outpatient cover or additional benefits.
The cover provided on a medical plan that is most often claimed for is outpatient treatment, diagnostic tests and the like so it is no surprise as you increase the level of outpatient cover so the plans premiums increase in line. A mid-range plan will tend to have a level of outpatient cover but it will be capped at a limit say £1,000 per policy year. The policy is likely to include a number of additional benefits such as home nursing and an NHS cash benefit if you spend a night in an NHS ward.
Comprehensive health insurance cover
A truly comprehensive plan will provide cover for outpatient treatment in full. In addition to full outpatient treatment a level of cover for the following benefits can be expected- psychiatric cover;
- physiotherapy;
- alternative medicines;
- NHS cash benefit;
- home nursing;
- emergency dental treatment;
- overseas cover
Comprehensive health insurance plans like any other policy can be set-up as an individual plan, couple cover or a policy for your whole family. Premiums quoted will be based on a number of factors including your age, whether you are a smoker and your lifestyle, if you are fit and health and exercise you might well expect a discount on your health insurance premiums.
Personal factors that affect your monthly premiums
AgePremiums quoted will be based on a number of personal factors. One of the first that probably came to mind was your age, it is no surprise, the older we get the more likely we are to require treatment and the insurers take this into account with premiums rising with age.
SmokerAnother personal factor that will affect your premiums is your smoker status, if you have smoked tobacco in the past 12 months most insurers will label you as a smoker and due to the health risks associated with smoking you can expect to pay inflated premiums.
Healthy LifestyleExercise junkies can expect to benefit from a number of providers who consider how active your lifestyle is when quoting, other than the other great benefits of regular exercise you can now expect discounted comprehensive health insurance premiums.
Ways to reduce the premiums of your comprehensive health insurance
As with any plan there are a number of options to keep your premiums in check, below are some of the most common.
ExcessWhen looking for a comprehensive health insurance plan you are likely to be presented with the option to include an excess, including an excess is an agreement from you upon making a claim to pay this set value, say £100 towards the total cost of the claim.
Excess options vary between insurers but tend to range from as little as £50 up to £1,000. As you are paying a proportion of the claim increasing the excess reduces the price of your monthly premiums, up to a 10% discount can be expected if you include a £250 excess option.
Six Week OptionOf the comprehensive health insurance options you will be presented with, opting for the six-week waiting period can have one of the biggest impacts on the monthly cost of your health insurance plan. By selecting this option you are agreeing to use the NHS if they can provide treatment locally within 6 weeks. However if they are unable to do this, then private treatment will be arranged through your comprehensive health insurance plan without a waiting time. With this option you may well see premiums drop by as much as 25%.
Hospital ListWith some health insurance policies there are options to alter the hospitals you are eligible to receive treatment in, the more comprehensive the plan the more likely all hospitals are to be covered. However some till offer you the option to remove London hospitals from your list to reduce the premiums. When available these options are often split into three tiers.
- Hospitals outside of London
- National and London Hospitals
- National, London and Premier Hospitals.
If you have no need for the London hospitals by removing them from your policy you get the benefit of cheaper monthly premiums.
Next Steps
There is a lot to think about when considering a comprehensive health insurance plan, whether you already have a plan and are reviewing you options or are looking for a virgin plan we will do our best to make sure you get what you are looking for. Dealing with insurance day-in, day-out we are in a position to help you secure great rates and make sure you get an affordable health insurance plan that best fits your needs.
If you want a quick chat to run through you options or just need some health insurance quotes from the leading providers then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
The Association of British Insurers provided are helpful guide for consumers which can be found in the health insurance section of the ABI’s website.
