What is Private Medical Insurance?
Private Medical Insurance is used to cover the cost of private medical treatment for curable short term medical conditions. Private medical insurance includes the cost of surgery specialist accommodation and nursing in a private hospital or in a private ward in an NHS hospital. Usually there are two types of private medical insurance – standard and comprehensive:
- Standard Private Medical Insurance covers hospital and emergency treatment. This type of cover will include in-patient and day care treatment only.
- Comprehensive plans offer additional coverage including such care as outpatient treatment, dental treatment, complementary medicine, maternity travel and personal accident cover.
Usually PMI does not cover chronic or critical illness that cannot be cured for example multiple sclerosis, asthma or diabetes. However if there is an emergency they will pay for you the cost to be stabilised until you return to your previous level of health.
Why do I need it?
Here are some of the reasons why people consider health insurance:
Find out what’s wrong: If you are unwell and you are referred to a specialist by your GP, you will normally be able to arrange a specialist appointment within a few days.
Get treated: if you do need any further tests or an operation, you can arrange this at a time and hospital convenient to you.
Facilities available: most private hospitals have access to up to date technology and will offer patients a private en-suite room, TV and a choice of food from a menu.
What are the types of benefits and exclusions will I expect?
All policies carry a list of general exclusions from cover and some companies exclude more or may place financial limits on certain benefits offered particularly benefits such as routine dental cover or maternity cover. The most common exclusions are:
- Alcoholism or drug abuse
- Dental treatment
- GP services
- HIV or AIDS
- Hazardous sports
- Infertility
- Normal pregnancy
- Sterilisation
- Treatment Overseas
- Cosmetic surgery
In addition to any general exclusions, others may be applicable depending on the medical history of the family members you wish to include in the policy. If information on the application form names medical conditions that you or other family members have recently suffered from, often going back five years, an insurer may either qualify the cover offered or exclude such conditions from cover entirely.
How will we help?
When you contact us we will take your details, your health status and financial well being, then we will discuss which level of cover would be best for you depending on the information that you would give us. Then we will ensure that you are given the best quote possible by checking all the different providers.
