Private health insurance

[nonides]

Hello
I was wondering if any of you have private health insurance and whether you have found it useful during pregnancy and beyond? Does it have any benefits other than what you get through the NHS? Just after others experiences with it.
Thanks

Hi nonides my PMI doesn't cover me for anything pg related unless I needed a c-section due to medical reasons & even then the cover is limited. Some policies might give you a cash benefit after baby born, definately worth reading small print to check if you can claim that.

My BUPA doesn't cover anything except for c-section for medical reasons and complications of pregnancy.

I used to have Allianz which would have covered everything... However, the problem is that one has to have it for both partners for 2 years before the pregnancy coverage kicks in (ends up being very expensive), although one might be saving a marginal amount...

Thanks for your replies. Im not sure I understand what you mean by it covers c-sections. Isnt this done through the NHS anyway?

Yes but if you claim on your PMI you can have c-section in private hospital instead of NHS.

Oh great thanks for the info

I have BUPA International (with DC2 due in Jan), which covers private antenatal care and delivery (including normal deliveries) and postnatal care up to a cap, also covers things like private scans, and private care for the newborn immediately after birth. With DC1, I had Allianz, which covered 80% of all private antenatal care and delivery (including normal delivery) and postnatal delivery. Both policies fully covered CS required for medical reasons in private hospital without a cap. With both, I needed to be covered for a year by the policy before pregnancy cover kicked in.

Pink

With the International cover, does that only allow private delivery etc abroad if you are normally resident in the UK?

No, am resident in UK and am having private delivery in UK - have full medical cover in UK with it. It's just a different company from the UK BUPA and offers a different level of health cover.

I have private medical insurance through work which doesn't cover anything related to pregnancy (or, for that matter, abortion). Which I find not especially helpful. Do they exclude large portions of men's health needs too?

I get BUPA through work. Like other people have posted, c section is covered, but I'm not too clear on the ins and outs of that bit.

Definitely finding it brilliant for weekly physio; £50 a session without it. When I called up to get authorisation the nice bupa chap rang me back to make sure I knew about the baby/birth payment (or whatever they call it). You just need to send a copy of birth cert in to claim money, think it's around £100ish.

From personal & family experience I think it's well worth having private healthcare if possible.

You need to pay attention to the detail in all private medical insurance, many/most of them (esp the basic ones that come with work HR packages) are designed to be complementary to the NHS not to replace it, hence needing to go to your GP to get referrals to private specialists, limiting cover for outpatient stuff like physio, and not covering 'normal' life issues like pregnancy etc. Higher coverage will cost you a lot more than this type of basic cover which is really designed to help you when seriously ill and needing to be hospitalised.

My private insurance unfortunately doesn't cover anything pregnancy related apart from complications and the random £100 baby bonus ("Congrats! You figured out how to make a baby!")
As I've been investigating NHS vs private I'm starting to think we've been grossly unfair criticising the American system. While it's not right that million are without cover, if my husband and I lived there, our work insurance would cover the birth and antenatal care by a dedicated OB-GYN minus a nominal deductable and our care would be second to none.
Oh well.. midwife in a grotty hospital it is!

My policy through work is also an International policy which covers all pregnancy related care in the UK which is also my place of residency. It is with Cigna International and it is their Premier Plan. I am seen as an Expat as my company HO is overseas although I am not a true expat IYSWIM. It covers everything without any quibbles but I know this is an exception rather than the norm. I pay through the nose in tax for it and wouldn't be able to afford it if I had to pay the monthly premiums myself rather than my employer paying it. I think I am pretty lucky really.

Mine also doesn't cover anything pregnancy related but has covered lots of other stuff - my daughter had really bad reflux diagnosed at 6 weeks, couldn't feed etc and was able to see a consultant the following day and was quickly sorted with meds. A friend who used NHS had to wait until her daughter was 16 weeks to see a paediatrician who wasn't a gastric specialist - in the meantime she (the baby that is) had lost lots of weight and it was really stressful for my friend.

I've also used mine for PND and other post-pregnancy problems (I had a stress fracture in my foot which was probably caused by walking the dog whilst heavily pregnant but as no one could be certain it wasn't pregnancy-related!). All covered no questions.

I had a c-section cos my daughter was breech, probably would have been covered on my health insurance (breech wasn't spotted so was EMCS rather than elective) but I never bothered to claim as by the time I realised I could it was all over anyway!

I hardly ever used my insurance before but since I had my daughter I'm so glad I've got it.

was the c section a long time ago mrsteddy? sometimes you can claim money off your insurer if you went NHS instead of claiming

Mine has a £300 baby birth payout and a hospital allowance of something like £25/day but it only kicks in with pregnancy related hospital stays on the sixth day after the birth, other than that it doesn't cover any other pregnancy stuff but i get 50% back on dental and optical bills, plus i can get the odd private consultation (within a certain limit per year) to avoid ridiculous waiting lists - very handy when i had a skin problem and was faced with an 18 month wait to see a dermatologist - seen and sorted 2 weeks later.

I'm glad i have it but on the whole i still rely on NHS care.

My corporate Bupa plan doesn't cover anything pregnancy related at all. I used to have Bupa International but there was a one year 'moratorium' on pregnancy which meant I couldn't claim when I needed it.

Having some issues with NHS care at the moment (to cut a long story short, I can't get in for the 20 week scan I should be entitled to - over stretched service). A private 20 week scan with my NHS consultant costs £250 in cash! Bupa cover can't do anything so I'm a bit stuck...

From my experience do your research and try to get the policy a year before you think you might get pregnant (if such a thing is possible!). Almost, everyone else I know has had a great NHS experience, and I only know one person who has elected to go private due to very particular complications (and she is paying in cash, not through insurance and it's costing her a fortune).

When living abroad I experience private obstetric care and it was absolutely fantastic (along the lines of the US system, dedicated obstetrician on the end of the phone, very regular check ups). Bit of a shock to the system now!