Is private medical insurance worth it.

[Imthegingerbreadwoman]

I just had a quote for £138 a month for medical insurance which includes cancer care and appointments with a £500 access. This covers me, dha nd 4 kids. It does seem a little too good to be true. It was with aviva.

Does this sound right? It was only to have a look but I'm certainly thinking about it as looking at the way things are going it might be worth having?

Or am I being a drama llama? And this sounds too low a coverage price for 2 adults and 4 kids.

It does include gp appointments and diagnostics too and end of life care should it come to that

That’s an amazing price, it’s definitely worth it

They did say someone would call or send forms so I'm assuming it could go up! Dh is diabetic and that won't be covered until 3 years after the policy start if he hasn't had any treatment. He isn't on treatment which is why I wanted to think about it now whilst he is still OK. So should the time come where he does need treatment then he will be covered....

I've been looking too. From what I've read, you will ideally want unlimited cover for outpatient care as it's otherwise easy to reach your annual limit for this and it's one of the things you're most likely to use.

@roselune thank you. I will double check the policy!

It is an annual policy so will increase yearly.

Yes, it is worth it, for peace of mind.

I'm with Vitality - they reward you for a healthy lifestyle which seems good to me.

It’s low because it’s a large excess. The excess is what you would have to pay out each year before the insurance kicked in.

e.g. if you have a suspicious mole and want to see a doctor privately, you’ll pay the first £500 of their consultation plus tests plus follow up. So if it all comes to £750 you’ll pay £500 and then the insurance picks up the rest. But since most consultations even on Harley St aren’t more than about £300 (not including tests) that’s a lot of money to fork out in the initial stages of diagnosis.

Where the insurance becomes handy is if gd forbid the mole does turn out to be serious and you need actual surgery etc the insurance would pay for it all.

But once you’ve paid that excess for the year you won’t need to pay it again until the following year.

But it you have a smaller excess (e.g. £200 or even £100) you’ll pay more monthly.

Also it starts out “small” but each year the monthly bill goes up and especially if gd forbid you’re diagnosed with something you’re then stuck for life because it’s a pre-existing condition.

but in general I’d say if you can afford it it’s worth it.

I was looking at bupa yesterday and trying to work out if it covered their health assessments or not. Would like a really good checkup but not too sure where to look.

The other option worth considering is paying the equivalent of your premiums into a dedicated savings account to build up a fund for medical treatment should you need to go private.

Any insurance is only worth it if you get to use it.
What you could do is save up that amount each month and if you need to access private medical care use what you’ve saved up.
I’m over 60. I’ve never been in need of medical care that I’ve not been able to get. I’ve had a ruptured appendix, knee surgery, skin cancer, scans on my aorta due to family history, maternity care x2. Plus many other minor things. All on the good old NHS with no cost to myself.
the only thing I’d now consider paying privately for is dental care. Our dental services via the NGs are almost non existent. I have a jaw condition that has to be dealt with via the local dental hospital - appointments are generally 6 months + waiting times.
Don’t forget that once you start using the insurance, your premiums can skyrocket.

Ah ok. Thank you @TheSnugglyDuckling they didn't make that obvious! I opted for the higher excess to keep premiums low and I have a credit card for emergencies that covers this price.

I'm 30 and dh is 46. Kids are 3, 5, 8 and 9.

It's dhs age I'm worrying about. As he is older than me. I'm just trying to be proactive as we both get older!

Has he been diagnosed via the NHS? What treatment would he need that isn’t available on the NHS?

Or yes maybe I should save the equivalent amount instead.... can you cancel at the end of the year if you change your mind about keeping it?

@Soontobe60 yes diagnosed on the NHS and sees a diabetic nurse once a year. He's not on medication and is controlled via diet and he is doing well! I'm.more worried about differenct conditions that can come from diabetes not the medication itself. His mum was very ill in the end from diabetes. She got a cut on her foot and it never healed properly. She couldn't walk. Granted this wasn't in the UK but it opened my eyes to how serious it can be if not looked after. It also means the kids could have diabetes later in life or earlier on. His brother is diabetic from the age of 25. So I know it'd a while away but I was unaware of this until recently.

With waiting times at the moment I’d say go for it. DH is a consultant-it’s currently at 32week wait just to see him as an outpatient! Then waits for scans etc, then wait to come back and see him again. And if you need surgery it’s another 6-9months once you’re on the list.

I have private medical insurance. Every time I’ve called about something they’ve said it isn’t covered. Broken bone needing surgery - not covered, go to the NHS. Physiotherapy after an injury - not covered, go to the NHS. Torn muscle - not covered. Birth - not covered. Birth injuries - not covered.

Basically the only thing they will cover is if there’s something actually seriously wrong with you where you’d need to go on a NHS waiting list for treatment, then they will pay for you to be treated privately within a few weeks.

Talking from experience, if you make a claim, the premium can easily double the following year. If you have a company policy it is cheaper and then worth it.

The premium will go up for what sounds like T2 diabetes.

there’ll be a rating on the policy, so 100% rating would mean double the premium (would assume his part of the premium)

It may well be worth your DH sourcing his own and you and the kids having separate.

Go and speak to an insurance broker, as different insurers cover different pre existing conditions and you can see a comparison over different insurers. They’ll also talk you through the underwriting questions as some are worded awfully and if you answer them wrongly (even if you think you’ve answered correctly) through no fault of your own you could find yourself not covered.

We have family cover with bupa , didn't give it much thought until I was diagnosed with cancer this September. Scans etc have been done much faster via Bupa and had surgery in private hospital and I'm having chemo in a private clinic. The drugs etc are the same as I'd have on the NHS but it's the little things like having direct phone numbers for two designated chemo/breast care nurses that make a huge difference

Yes - when you do finally manage to make a claim, you will get prompt treatment for that particular condition. Then they’ll put the premiums up so high that you have to cancel your policy. So insurance basically covers you for one big illness and then you’re pushed out.

I live in Ireland and due to Govt deliberate inaction on our health service you need private health insurance here. A GP visit is €70, tele consult €50, A & E is €100. I also lived in UK and saw NHS etc and how accessible it is. In time the NHS will be pulled apart and private health care will be the normal. If I had previously existing conditions like diabetes I'd get care ASAP.
My private health care for 2 adults and two kids is €300 per month. Our excesses seems to be different so I would only pay the first €75 of any consult. Last procedure I have was over €1000 in private hospital and I paid €75.
I'd go for it if I were you.

e.g. if you have a suspicious mole and want to see a doctor privately, you’ll pay the first £500 of their consultation plus tests plus follow up. So if it all comes to £750 you’ll pay £500 and then the insurance picks up the rest. But since most consultations even on Harley St aren’t more than about £300 (not including tests) that’s a lot of money to fork out in the initial stages of diagnosis.

Where the insurance becomes handy is if gd forbid the mole does turn out to be serious and you need actual surgery etc the insurance would pay for it

My private health insurance has been excellent for my skin cancer. I email my dermatologist a photo of a dodgy mole and he removes in either the next day it the following one.

Ok. Thank you everyone. It does cover quite a few things. I wouldn't use it for a broke bone to be honest. But my eldest had a benign tumour in his femur when he was small In year 2. He couldn't walk properly for 2 years and the GPS kept putting us off and refused any scans up until the point I went to a podiatrist thinking it was a foot issue. She suggested it could be his spine and wrote to our gp who then panicked and it got sent around 4 different hospitals and took a year from them to even get an xray. They then tried to say it was a safe guarding issue and made me go through the 3 year time line iver and over again with a infectious disease specialist!? Eventually they found the tumour and it took another 4 months to arrange for it to be removed. He spent a good 3 years in pain and we where ignored and I couldn't afford private at the time. Luckily he had it removed and could walk straight away and is now fine. But that opened my eyes to waiting times and the treatment when they get it wrong! There was a lot more issues with the GPs during this but too long to type out.

So this has also pushed me towards it!

@Iwrotethelyricstoaxlf oooh OK! Thank you. Yes I will look into this further! It looks like the broker will be contacting me so I will go through it. I have life insurance but dhs was canceled because he didn't think he had been formally diagnosed as diabetic. English isn't his first language. So he thought he was just given a pre warning. So he said no ore existing conditions and then it was cancelled!

My claim last year on Axa was for £12,300. all I paid towards it was my £500 excess.

I would never have saved up that much, and then it would have been gone.

And what if I need to claim the same amount in 18 months time?

Private medical fees are expensive. It’s always best to have insurance.

It saved my life last year.