Private health insurance covering chronic pre existing condition?

[Naliny]

Hello,
I have recently moved to the UK and am looking to open a private health insurance. I have a chronic auto-immune disease and was wondering if anybody knew of any insurances that would cover this illness also? For obvious reasons it has been impossible to get anywhere with the NHS but I really need to see a specialist. We were going to apply for private health insurance regardless, but I really would like my illness to be covered too. Not sure this is at all feasible?

It'll depend on the condition, but in general they would be excluded and you would have to self-fund for that until you became eligible for NHS (once established as permanently resident - ILTR?)

You'd have to talk to insurance companies to see whether they will cover it at all, or perhaps after an exclusion period

You might find that paying the NHS surcharge is the best route

www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-entitlements-migrant-health-guide

Thank you Rose, that's what I feared. I have settled status and am already seen by a specialist (virtually) at the NHS, but appointments are being postponed over and over again, and it's near impossible to get additional tests (blood, X Rays etc) because of Covid, which is why I was hoping to just see someone privately. Might just end up having to pay out of pocket.

@Naliny Private insurance doesn't cover any long term conditions whether you have them as pre-existing conditions when you take out insurance OR if you develop them while insured. They will cover diagnosis of chronic conditions but not continue to pay out for them, in most cases. The exception can be if you have an existing condition but have not had active treatment for 2 or more years.

Your option is your Plan B which is to pay for a consultation and tests, on a pay as you go basis.

No insurance company will cover you for chronic conditions which you already have. They do sometimes cover flare ups and once it is j see control that stops
Also I have had experience of using insurance for treatment for an auto immune condition. Once this got to the stage of having to be prescribed a biologic they would no longer cover as it costs a fortune for each injection. They also made a terrible fuss over blood tests during treatment because they were not for diagnosis.
Really the NHS has come up trumps even though I waited 9 months for the appointment.

There are some private hospitals that will let you pay for your treatment via a pre-agreed payment plan .