Please talk to me about private health insurance

[PrunellaModularis]

I used to get mine through my employer but when I was in between jobs, I paid the premium for DH and myself. No pre-existing conditions and it was costing me £290 per month!

New employer doesn't offer it so I need to find something much cheaper.

We're late 50s so that makes it more expensive.

Im in the same boat op, will follow your thread with interest.

Think we need to bump the thread!

I think it’s usually cheaper to self insure

Put the £300 a month into a bank and pay if you need it. The NHS is good enough for many things, especially emergencies but if you need a new hip then you might want to pay.
We used to have company funded health care and paid for a few years when DH retired but the price just escalated. Also IMO there was over testing and over treating to maximise profits.

The NHS is good enough for many things

No it's not.

especially emergencies

It really isn't.

I would self insure, in all my years (25+) of employer funded health cover I’ve had less than £1k of benefit, DH has had probably £15k but even that means we’ve only broken even on me funding his cover/benefit in kind tax.

£290 a month into a savings account to fund physio etc, if a big op is needed that the NHS won’t do soon enough then take a loan and use the £290 to pay it back.

I can't afford £300 a month! I was paying as a temporary measure.

How many acute conditions do you experience?

Well then you’ll need to find a cheaper policy (with lesser cover) or rely on the NHS & put aside what you can afford.

Well then you’ll need to find a cheaper policy

That's why I started a thread about private health insurance 🙄

I thought Martin Lewis said it's better to save the money monthly and use when needed. The problem is most aren't disciplined enough

DH has had a serious illness, now recovered. His experience as an NHS and that’s all it is, one persons, was that the clinical care was brilliant. Some other things, food , waiting times at check ups not so good. Cheaper insurance will mean more exclusions and difficulties in claiming. Cancer care can run into many tens of thousands for example and frankly if you are anywhere near a specialist cancer centre you’ll be better off there. Cheaper stuff like cataracts, knee surgery you’ll be better off self paying.

A few years ago, when I was 40, I looked into private health cover (my employer never provided it). I was quoted about £150/month and left it there.
For those saying it’s better to just put money aside and pay as you go, don’t you need to have a very large sum already saved in case something major happens? Otherwise you could be caught short.
I also have a former colleague who moved to the US, and she told me that to get health cover equivalent to what she had through her university job, she’d need to pay around $1500/month. If we end up with something like the US system here, surely that would be unaffordable for most people? Or AIBU?

I have this through work however my elderly father (80) has a policy with Benenden Health. It isn't comprehensive like mine but it does fast track consultants and so on. I don't have enough information to advise one way or another but do think it would be worth looking into.

If we end up with something like the US system here, surely that would be unaffordable for most people?

We should aim for something similar to France or Scandanavia.

If you have a car accident or a heart attack there's no such thing as private A&E.
Pneumonia - NHS will treat as quickly. Ok you won't get an ensuite but the bottom line is the same.
My experiences of urgent NHS care
SVT - arrived by ambulance, treated in resus and admitted.
COVID - arrived by ambulance, admitted for two weeks, treated and physio.
When I had breast cancer I can't see how much quicker or more efficient private would be, again just a more luxurious room.

OTOH if you have a chronic or none urgent condition then you'll wait forever while deteriorating on the NHS. Currently languished in a queue for rheumatology.

I've paid the odd £200 - £300 for private consultant appointment which was useful.
I really doubt you could get anything cheaper than £300 a month.

A lot of health insurance policies are modular now so you can pick and choose the options you want and that can help to control the cost. So for example you could choose not to include cover for physiotherapy if you could afford to pay as you go for sessions if you needed them. Or you could not take cancer cover as the nhs is usually good there. For me the cover I’d most want is access to specialist consultations and diagnostics tests, as those can run into the thousands depending on the condition. Then I’d want cover for surgery as that’s where the wait times can come in.

It might be worth chatting to a broker so they can help workout what sort of policy would best suit your needs and what sort of price you could get it for. But bare in mind health insurance costs will increase as you age, because you become more likely to claim!

None of us has any idea whatsoever what is in front of us. That’s the whole basis of insurance. It's a gamble either way but I want it there for something disastrous. Just like I have insurance against my home burning down.

if you can possibly afford it, then do it.

Why do you think this?

I have private healthcare through work, I use it for all routine health appointments. If I needed emergency care I would 100% be using the NHS though - I don’t even think the concept of a private A&E exists - certainly not at any of the many local private hospitals I’ve been to.

Every example I can think of where someone I know has needed emergency care the NHS has been exemplary. My grandma had a heart attack last year and was being taken down to surgery within 45 minutes of calling 999.

Honestly though if I were you, I’d be looking to move jobs again to an employer that offers PMI. I certainly wouldn’t consider moving to a new job now that didn’t have it.

Have a look at www.benenden.co.uk/health/healthcare/

You pay a monthly fee of about £16 and if the NHS cannot deal with you in a 'timely manner' you can use Private Healthcare PROVIDED you can get a referral from your GP (not easy in itself these days).

It's the relative speed of diagnosis where private can often come out in front.

Honestly though if I were you, I’d be looking to move jobs again to an employer that offers PMI. I certainly wouldn’t consider moving to a new job now that didn’t have it

You might not have the choice if you were made redundant!

We're in our late 50s and we went to an insurance broker who found us full medical insurance which kicks in if NHS can't do anything after 6 weeks ( I believe). I'm not at home just now so can't check. We pay £144 per month (total, ie for 2 people).

Just to clarify that 6 week wait usually means that if the NHS waiting time when you’re referred is longer than 6 weeks then you can choose to go private instead and be seen asap.

used to work in PMI for an insurance company