Private health insurance

[Strictly1]

Is it worth having private health insurance? We are currently a healthy family but I know how quickly things can change and with the NHS in the state it is, I wonder if it's worth getting even just for a few years whilst things get back to 'normal'.
I've got a quote for Aviva which seems fair. Thoughts?

We have private HC through DH work (I’m a dr). I’m not sure we’d bother if we were bearing the cost ourselves. Just make sure you are aware of what you are getting. Private healthcare in the UK only covers non emergencies. So anything that would cause you to end up in A&E wouldn’t be covered. Pneumonia requiring hospital admission wouldn’t be covered, a heart attack wouldn’t be covered. If you need follow up after the initial illness that is normally covered. There are also no private intensive care units outside London and no private in patient paediatric or O&G services outside London. Remember it’s the same drs treating you- the private sector in the UK isn’t run by ‘better drs’ it’s runny NHs drs eating some extra money in their free time. What private healthcare does get you is a queue jumping service in much nicer surroundings than an NHS hospital.

I fully appreciate it's the same doctors and I'm not worried about the surroundings. From work I am just very much aware how colleagues are struggling to get seen for lumps etc and having to chase. My dad can't get a doctor's appointment and had to go to A and E.
My mum died of an aggressive form of cancer which she got a few years older than me. I know it doesn't mean I'll get it but you just don't know. Also, I know for children's mental health the queue is very long so I planned to add this in.
Thank you for your response - definitely food for thought.

We have had private insurance through DH work for a long time and in this time I have gone from previously completely healthy person to someone with multiple issues . It’s been incredibly valuable for us to quickly diagnose me back in the day with my primary chronic illness and after that investigating and treating several more . My other family members have also had investigations and treatment on it as well and I’ve always been incredibly grateful for it . The benefit is definitely the speed you can be seen and the investigations and treatment. In comparison I for some reason went m the nhs route with one of my problems and it took 3 y of my life when I would have wanted to be doing ivf and 3 hospitals to diagnose this was a big mistake . Endless cancellations of app without explanations , being shuffled around from doctor to doctor . I wish I hadn’t wasted my time . I am grateful to have NHS thru just don’t have the resources. If you can afford private insurance easily without giving up other important things I might pay for it although it wasn’t something we even thought about before DH got it through work as a benefit .

I have it through work, not sure if we’d pay for it ourselves because we’ve never looked into the cost, but it is very nice to have. We get GP appointments, which is great because I’ve had some gynae symptoms and can’t get an appointment with my NHS GP. The private GP referred me on for a scan that will also be private, but this has only just happened so not sure what the wait for the scan will be.
I also had physio first some neck problems that were causing daily debilitating headaches. Regular GP’s advice was to take ibuprofen (which I was already taking daily and wasn’t helping), but I was able to get physio through the private healthcare pretty much immediately and it’s made such a huge difference.

Well that stuff about no private intensive care or O&G outside London is incorrect, but I guess insurance is more useful if the hospitals you would use are nearby. Years ago I read it is possibly cheaper for the average person just to pay-as-you go, rather than having insurance. But then again, insurance covers you for being unlucky, rather than average. Most of the people (from all walks of life) I know (without insurance) have gone private occasionally. See the consultant quickly, get the scans, then get referred back into NHS if you need treatment you can't afford.

I think it depends on how much. dH and I both have it through work. DH actually pays for me again, so kids can get it.

We have used it for physio for DD and she did get money for an overnight stay in hospital.

But probably paid a lot more than we have got back, but it's worth it for us for peace of mind.

I have heard of a number of people paying to get ops done privately just now.

But I wouldn't pay a lot every month for it.

I also have it through work and it's been worth every penny. I had a gynae referral on the NHS at the end of 2019 and they had a waiting list of 26 weeks for an investigation procedure (bear in mind this was before Covid!). I went private and had consultation, full bloods, MRI, and 2 procedures in under 3 months (and that included 2 weeks over xmas / new year when nothing happened). I think I'd still be waiting now on the NHS.

We’ve got it through work and I wouldn’t be without it now to the extent that we’ve both agreed that we’d pay for it ourselves if we ever lost it. It’s very good and we’ve used it for all sorts from diagnosing DDs CMPA when she was little, physio I needed a couple of years ago and mental health services inc counselling. A friend of mine had a devastating cancer diagnosis but she had the same policy, didn’t even see a GP, was able to self refer and get a diagnosis v quickly and had amazing treatment. It definitely took some of the stress away. It’s a definite must for us as a family now. Wouldn’t be without it.

We have private insurance through AXA PPP. We had it as a family of 4 and started when my children were 1 and 4 years old. When I started it, it covered everything, all consultants, all testing and surgery etc., it cost £100 per month then. Now some 20 years later, it’s £350 per month and I don’t have outpatient cover and have an excess of £1000, so it really isn’t ideal, but to cover everything would be over £700 per month for 4 adults. Over the years my son has had over £15,000 of knee surgeries and my husband had heart bypass surgery last May in the middle of lockdown, when private hospitals were taken over by the NHS. He managed it get it done privately but had to wait 2 weeks, the cost was over £20,000.

There are lots of different options now, 6 week policies, no claims type policies.

In my opinion and past experiences, yes it is,

Without private healthcare my Dad would not have got the cancer treatment he needed to prolong his life. He had another 3.5 years of good quality life because of his private health care. The NHS do a fantastic job and we are very lucky to have it, however I do now have my own policy (through work) and although I hope I never have to claim, i like that I have the security of it.

I would give up my house before i gave up my healthcare. I know that sounds redic but when my mum had cancer she got seen so much quicker and had access to more medical options than on the NHS. When i broke my rib it's unlikely i would have been able to have it repaired at all on the NHS as it wasn't causing any damage bar nerve pain - even privately i had to fight for it.

My mum's treatment alone cost over a million.

Oh and don't bother with vitality. their options are so limited it's not worth it

We have it through work and have used it once in decades (touch wood going forward)

It was definitely very good in a stressful situation because we were seen quickly and could access someone at the top who only takes big NHS cases

I’d say go for it.

But then we rarely use NHS either, so peace of mind is for rare things here

I haven’t found private healthcare very useful. They try to fob you off to the NHS for everything. If you need any regular tests they expect the NHS to cover them. E.g. I have a bone condition and need a bone scan every year, Aviva won’t cover it and expects me to have it done on the NHS. If you want a medical problem investigated they expect you to go to the NHS and get diagnosed and referred before they take over and do your appointment with the specialist. Then there’s the £500 excess! My insurance is through work so I don’t pay for it, but I can’t use it because I’m not able to afford the £500 excess.

Wouldn’t be without it. Been seen no problem for things that I’d be waiting years for on the NHS if they were bothered to see me at all.

There are also no private intensive care units outside London and no private in patient paediatric or O&G services outside London.

That's just untrue.

Back to the OP's question. We don't have private health insurance but were looking into it when DH became unwell. Due to the enormous NHS waiting list for the diagnostic procedure and after care he needed, we paid directly for him to have it done privately. The price was pretty reasonable, so for us, that's probably what we will continue to do. Any medical history of consequence may make premiums too expensive.

If you think the quote to cover your family is reasonable, go for it (I say that as an NHS worker). The NHS is going to be under intense pressure in the coming years, and private health insurance will be a way of ensuring you will at least be able to access services in a timely way.

@AsTheRiverBends and @BuggerBognor, genuinely want to be educated. Please tell me the private hospitals with NHS equivalent ITU services (CCU is not the same as ITU) and the private hospitals with in patient (ie overnight stays) O&G and paediatric units. You can have high risk elective procedures done privately in NHS hospitals ie the NHS charges the insurance company or individual for use of their services, which may include an ITU stay, and the dr charges their fee on top, but that isn’t the same as private hospitals with NHS equivalent ITU services.

Thank you for the replies. It's £110 for two adults and a child. We've received discount as we have BMIs less than 30 and are non-smokers.

Glasgow has a private Critical Care Unit run by intensivists, there are also similar units in Manchester and Birmingham. I think critical care and intensive care are usually interchangable tbh, certainly the King's Fund describe them that way. Most larger private hospitals offer gynae treatment (so the G of the O & G), I don't know about Obstetrics. Paediatric in-patient beds are available in Glasgow and Manchester.

It's one of those horrid things that you don't want to have and you don't want to use. But I have a policy that pays out a lump sum should I get very poorly which affects my ability to work. It's enough to cover the mortgage.