Private Medical Insurance (Comprehensive)

[TheFaQQer]

my thread has died.

We're too busy thinking about a stocking wearing / commando CM to think about something like this.

[Pickle2]

All the sites I've been on have an on-line quote system.
BUPA don't.
I called them and they quoted over £130 pm.

And what was your counter offer? This would be the salesperson's best price for him, not you.

[s2budd]

Private Medical Insurance

I've looked into private Medical insurance and frankly think that it's all a bit of a con. Everything firstly needs to go through your GP - that's just how it works in this country and they are only open Monday-Friday. Then, once you have the insurance the list of things that are not covered even on the expensive, expensive options is just too long for me.

What's the point in insurance if your not covered?

What I do is have income protection from Dentist & General. I've claimed once and they were very good. If anything happens that would require a long, long wait I would then weigh up the pivate option and tell my GP.

[SandyDown]

Reading from the start some of you are confusing mortgage protection (Life with CIC) with private medical insurance.

Few years back when I was a permie I had a comprehensive for me and the family (HSA one company and BUPA the other) I had an emergency operation, plus other treatment for my knee at the time, including some Chinese acupuncture (well wanted to try it )

They were fantastic, had the same NHS consultant only was treated like a queen because I was paying for the consultant privately. The rest of treatments sure you need to be referred by a GP, but I found it really easy to convince a GP that I really really needed to be referred to such and such, if you mention you were going private they don't really mind.

Anyhow I am looking for a PMI for me and the kids at the mo , I would also like it to include dental (not sure if I can have one policy or I need two separate policies one for health the other dental) when I was a permie it was paid for by the company we had a good discount, one company I only paid £50 pm

Can you claim back if you put it through the company??what about kids, presume I wont be able to claim for their insurance.

[Gonzo]

my thread has died.

Seems to have. Back on topic,

I am on Mrs Gonzo's BUPA scheme through her work. It's a comprehensive policy, there is no excess, and her work pay for it. She pays an extra £20 a month tax on the BIK to put me on it though.

Oh, that's not really answered your question has it?

[TheFaQQer]

I've been quoted £200 pm for critical illness and £40 for life assurance (Norwich Union - £365,000 over 25yrs).
Is that expensive?
All these insurances really add up.

Are you after CI, PMI and Life?

I've not found CI to be worthwhile, since there is always some catch, and it's expensive. I should really, but have never really considered it.

PMI - BUPA are expensive, but they allowed me to move my policy over from permie job at a discounted (!) rate. It meant that I didn't have to go back to square one with pre-existing conditions etc.

Life - I have a number of policies. The smallest costs £1.99 a month from NU, which I signed up to from The Sun when I was a student.

You might want to have a look at moneysavingexpert.com which has some good info - I got my life assurance through an online broker, but I can't remember which one it was, unfortunately. There are some good comparison sites on the MSE forums / articles which explain about paying a commission up front rather than it being factored into the monthly repayments - for some policies this can save a lot of money by paying something low (£50 or so) now.

The MSE section on Health cover can be found here; the insurance section is here.

HTH

[shelby68]

does anyone have PMI or do you just all spend your money on cars?

certainly not, I've got a yacht as well!

[the guy with the bowtie]

Interesting thread (at least the relevant bits).

I've been looking into this. I have opted for a plan which disregards age. The premium you pay once you enter the scheme rises over time in line with medical inflation but is not increased in line with age and subsequent risk. Usual stuff about non-coverage for pre-existing conditions etc. but this is in your advantage if you enter the scheme at an earlier age. There are limits to amount of claim over the life of the plan but again to your advantage as you can "save them up" for later in life. I pay approx £80 per month (single person coverage)

You do pay an initial very high monthly amount compared to other plans but it gets relatively cheaper later in life when you need it. You can also choose the level of excess (like for car insurance) which matches your view on the likely risk.

I think the next big issue coming "out of the blue" is health care and long term care provision. I think it is worthwhile planning ahead how to cover the cost of this once it becomes clear the State will only provide the very basic support (and this support will only get worse from that "provided" today)

[TheFaQQer]

There are some good comparison sites on the MSE forums / articles which explain about paying a commission up front rather than it being factored into the monthly repayments - for some policies this can save a lot of money by paying something low (£50 or so) now.

As FiveTimes says in another thread today - Cavendish Online are good brokers for this kind of thing. You pay the commission up front and it reduces the premiums - it's either £35 or £45 up front.

[TheFaQQer]

Interesting thread (at least the relevant bits).

I've been looking into this. I have opted for a plan which disregards age. The premium you pay once you enter the scheme rises over time in line with medical inflation but is not increased in line with age and subsequent risk. Usual stuff about non-coverage for pre-existing conditions etc. but this is in your advantage if you enter the scheme at an earlier age. There are limits to amount of claim over the life of the plan but again to your advantage as you can "save them up" for later in life. I pay approx £80 per month (single person coverage)

You do pay an initial very high monthly amount compared to other plans but it gets relatively cheaper later in life when you need it. You can also choose the level of excess (like for car insurance) which matches your view on the likely risk.

I think the next big issue coming "out of the blue" is health care and long term care provision. I think it is worthwhile planning ahead how to cover the cost of this once it becomes clear the State will only provide the very basic support (and this support will only get worse from that "provided" today)

Who's the provider? Where did you find it?

Ta