Home » Forums

[MSE Jenny]

This thread is specifically to discuss the content of the

Medical Insurance Cost Cutting Plan Article

To discuss or ask a question about the article: click reply

[aloiseb]

I have plumped for private medical insurance after thinking things through when my husband had to have an operation last year. (The hospital was MUCH nicer than the NHS one who would have also had him wait about a year....) I used the system Martin suggested to find a good deal -it took ages but was (I hope) worth it.

I'd like to point out that nearly all the ones I looked at had AT LEAST a moratorium of two years on anything I had had a problem with before, and many wouldn't provide any cover for pre-existing conditions at all. I decided I'd better take out cover straight away, before any other bits started to go wrong! Possible this is just what they had in mind.

it would be lovely to do the "self-insurance" thing Martin suggests but let's face it, how many people have that amount of self-control at that age? I spent all my money on seeing Europe - and I'm glad I did - not on some future hip operation!

[BEVI]

Hi, my husband and I have taken early retirement to go cruising on our boat. We intend to mainly cruise in the med. Can anyone give any help regards medical care abroad. We have E111, but no other insurance etc. I need some surgery to my thumbs, but don't want to sit around in England on a waiting list. Is there any way I can have the op in France or Spain? As most insurances rule out care for existing problems, what can I do? Thanks in advance, BEVI

[sandeep 14]

I had health insurance and working within the nhs i thought i had a good deal
i got a 33 % discount
i looked on money saving expert to see if this could be bettered
i have now saved over 90.00 pounds for a family of four with a " reputable " company
i really think that was good and the saving fantastic:

sandeep 14

[new]

any experience or comments regarding Pru health plan?

[louloubelle79]

Hello
I am a student nurse in the NHS and wondered if i could laos get a discount? I need to find a private medical insurer who would cover me (even 50% covered) for a pre-existing illness. Is there anyone who knows anyone that could cover me or help with my costs for me? I am at breaking point and need help.

[ADM]

My son plays semi pro rugby, anyone know which is the best type of insurance.
I suspect he would be better with some health care insurance and some loss of income insurance.
Any advice will be much appreciated.

[PMISpecialist]

Originally Posted by BEVI

Hi, my husband and I have taken early retirement to go cruising on our boat. We intend to mainly cruise in the med. Can anyone give any help regards medical care abroad. We have E111, but no other insurance etc. I need some surgery to my thumbs, but don't want to sit around in England on a waiting list. Is there any way I can have the op in France or Spain? As most insurances rule out care for existing problems, what can I do? Thanks in advance, BEVI

Hi Bevi,

You need an international policy. there are many many insurers offering international policies. i.e. Bupa international, Global, Axa/PPP International etc etc etc

First thing is to check is if you can get away with a good travel insurance though, as it will be a fraction of the price of international PMI and unbelievably covers you for more as well i.e. PMI covers you for just medical bills. Whilst the insurance covers you if you have possessions stolen, liability insurance etc etc aswell, i have seen some (company travel insurance) that will cover you up to 180 days (6 months) at any one time maybe there is an individual scheme which will cover you. You can then come back for 1 day and go for another 180 days or whatever. Companies will negotiate the amount of time you can go for and may just charge you a little extra premium.

If you can't get away with travel insurance, then international PMI it is. If you just opt for European cover it should be cheaper to. If you have worldwide including USA and Canada it can be more expensive.

You will struggle to get your pre existing condition covered though. As most insurances (especially PMI), the insurance covers you for future conditions not past conditions. i.e. with car insurance you don't smash your car up and then get insurance and expect them to pay out. You have the insurance before the problem. Similarly with PMI they are not going to allow you to get ill, then pay a £50 premium, them claim £50,000 or whatever and cancel then scheme, they woulden't last long in business.

There exeptions to this i.e. typically companies with over 20 employees on a group scheme can have MHD (Medical History Disregarded) underwritting. That does pretty much what it says on the tin.

[PMISpecialist]

Originally Posted by louloubelle79

Hello
I am a student nurse in the NHS and wondered if i could laos get a discount? I need to find a private medical insurer who would cover me (even 50% covered) for a pre-existing illness. Is there anyone who knows anyone that could cover me or help with my costs for me? I am at breaking point and need help.

Hi,

Its hard to get pre- existing conditions covered unless you work for a large ish company who has a scheme in operation.

Some company schemes offer MHD (Medical History Disregarded) underwriting (i.e. 20+ members) which does as it says i.e. disregards past conditions and allows you to claim for conditions you had before you joined. However, since your employer is the NHS i would be surprised if they did have a private healthcare insurance policy in place for any employees as they are not too pro private hospitals.

On an individual basis Pruhealth have a very unique moratorium you may be interested in which will cover your condition after two years (subject to their normal terms and conditions of course).

With most moratorium's it is a case of: Any condition you have suffered 5 years prior to your policy start date, you have to go 2 years advice, symptom and treatment free from the policy start date until it can be covered. If the condition flares up before the two year moratorium is complete the clock goes back to zero and the two years start again.

With Pru its the same 5 years back from the start date of the policy but two years after the start date of the policy you are covered for your pre existing conditions no matter what happens within those two years.

Without knowing more i.e. what the condition is, it is hard to say much more really.

I have sent you a private message.

[friar]

My mum's insurance is coming up for renewal in January and sh is 89 in fair health.She's had insurance with ppp now Axa for 20 years but the cost is now huge.Next year will be about £7500.
What worries me is she wouldn't get insuarance again at her age.But in April she broke her hip and went to NHS hospital who did a pretty fair job.(Private don't do accidents).
Have asked Axa for cheaper plans.(She doesn't get glasses,hearing aid teeth or any other incidentals which my wifes HSA doea help with)
What do you think?

[PMISpecialist]

Originally Posted by ADM

My son plays semi pro rugby, anyone know which is the best type of insurance.
I suspect he would be better with some health care insurance and some loss of income insurance.
Any advice will be much appreciated.

On the PMI side of things. He sounds like the sporty type, so i'd have a look at Pruhealth if i were him as if he gets to platinum, he can get free gym membership, many other really worthwhile discounts + 100% of this years unclaimed premium off next years (so he'll end up paying around £4 per monthin years 2,3,4,5, etc if he doesn't claim much + get free gym membership).

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...493150&page=55

[PMISpecialist]

Originally Posted by friar

My mum's insurance is coming up for renewal in January and sh is 89 in fair health.She's had insurance with ppp now Axa for 20 years but the cost is now huge.Next year will be about £7500.
What worries me is she wouldn't get insuarance again at her age.But in April she broke her hip and went to NHS hospital who did a pretty fair job.(Private don't do accidents).
Have asked Axa for cheaper plans.(She doesn't get glasses,hearing aid teeth or any other incidentals which my wifes HSA doea help with)
What do you think?

Firstly regarding canceling it altogether. It is impossible to say, neither of us have crystal balls that tell us what the future holds. She may go the rest of her life barely needing it or she may really need it next month.

£7,500 is a huge sum of money to be paying on her PMI, though not uncommon. There are some sensible non risky options that you can investigate to reduce that premium for her. I have just looked at a way via Bupa for example (there will be others also) which would save her over £6000 per year without affecting her cover too much. Because of her age Bupa would request a GP report i.e. they will send a form to her GP to fill in and if it comes back favorably i.e. her GP doesn't put anything down on the form that Bupa thinks is likely to cost them too much. Then she will be accepted on 'Switch' underwriting (this means they will match her current exclusions with AXA/PPP and she will not be any worse off when it comes to exclusions).

At the moment if she is paying that much, she is probably on a fully comprehensive scheme with Full OP (Out patient) cover. One good option to look at is downgrading to a scheme which has no (or hardly any) OP (Out patient) treatment and see how much that alters the premium by. I.e. she may save £4-5,000. Then in future if she needs an Private Outpatient consultation (approx £100 - £150 on average), an OP Xray (£100), OP Physio etc in the future pay cash with your huge savings. You still have full cover on In/Day patient treatment which is all the really big bills. Even though you have dropped your OP You should also still have full cover for the big scans (PET, MRI, CT) which can cost around £800and OP Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy (make sure of this).

Moving insurer hinges on her current state of health.

I Suggest you speak to an insurance broker who specializes in PMI and is FSA regulated.

I have sent you a private message.

[copprbottm]

is there a need for private insurance? Can't NHS suffice??

[catchhomely]

I have been paying for PMI for over 8 years now - I took it out when I was healthy - I have since developed several medical conditions but only recently needed to make a claim for a surgical procedure. I have now been told that there are no designated private hospitals covering the scheme in Ireland . I can't change to another comany as I would not be covered for ( what are now)pre-existing conditions. It seems I have been miss-sold the policy and have been payng for years into a scheme for which I can't get either out-patient or in-patient treatment. Is there a regulator I can complain to? any advice would be welcome. C

[PMISpecialist]

You can complain to:

Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR

Phone 0845 080 1800

Email : enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

I know many individuals and companies who have used this service to take on the insurers and have won. Their decisions are leagally binding on the insurers, but not on you, so you can still take them to court should the decision not go your way.

I'd strongly reccomend that you contact them. As by the sounds of things you have a very strong case.

[dacouch]

Thanks PMi, thats the sort of help for MSE members we like

[jessyj]

I have held a BUPA policy on their B scale for 22 years. I'm most grateful that I have always managed to keep up the payments as I was recently diagnosed with cancer and they have really come into their own. I am being treated in a wonderful, comfortable hospital and I have not seen a single bill!

Before the diagnosis, I was planning to spend up to 6 months a year in Australia. After the diagnosis I was worried that I would not be able to get medical cover in Australia but I talked to BUPA International and they told me that I can extend my existing cover to worldwide, excluding USA and Canada.

That is a great relief but the cover is very expensive, £2,200 PA at age 47. Does anyone know of a cheaper way to get the same cover from BUPA? I doubt that I would be able to change insurers now with my existing condition.

[triciclo]

Hello
I have been in BUPA almost 4 years now. I am 26, started when I was 22. Original premium was around £70 a month (for my own insurance only, no dependents). I didn't shop around as I thought BUPA was pretty much the only insurer in the UK. At the moment, insurance is £90 a month, which I consider very high. I do have quite a high cover though... select care 2 with no access. I rung them up a little while ago to see if I could reduce the premium but what they offer was basically have an access and deduct that from annual premium.

I looked today at money supermarket and was put in touch with health on line and they gave me a much cheaper option. I also looked at go compare and realised that there are a lot of cheaper options. I don't have critical pre-existing conditions and I'm not too bothered if those aren't covered. What worries me is that I don't know anything about these other health insurance providers, I have not been able to find consistent reviews.

I would appreciate some advice, whether I'm right in thinking I'm paying too much and if I would be at risk in changing insurance provider... so far the claims I've made to BUPA (which have involved a couple of specialist consultations and one day patient treatment) have been handled without much trouble.

I hope you can help.

[Wutang]

Originally Posted by triciclo

Hello
I have been in BUPA almost 4 years now. I am 26, started when I was 22. Original premium was around £70 a month (for my own insurance only, no dependents). I didn't shop around as I thought BUPA was pretty much the only insurer in the UK. At the moment, insurance is £90 a month, which I consider very high. I do have quite a high cover though... select care 2 with no access. I rung them up a little while ago to see if I could reduce the premium but what they offer was basically have an access and deduct that from annual premium.

I looked today at money supermarket and was put in touch with health on line and they gave me a much cheaper option. I also looked at go compare and realised that there are a lot of cheaper options. I don't have critical pre-existing conditions and I'm not too bothered if those aren't covered. What worries me is that I don't know anything about these other health insurance providers, I have not been able to find consistent reviews.

I would appreciate some advice, whether I'm right in thinking I'm paying too much and if I would be at risk in changing insurance provider... so far the claims I've made to BUPA (which have involved a couple of specialist consultations and one day patient treatment) have been handled without much trouble.

I hope you can help.

Hello - Health on Line are AXA, you can also 'switch' your cover, thus continuing with your existing cover (eg same conditions still insured) at a slightly higher premium - about 10% and also I think its an excess you are referring to, as having no "access" would be pretty pointless. Review Centre usually has info and also you will be private messaged by PMI Specialist who will also try to flog you PruHealth. If you do speak to a broker, make sure they know what they are on about as its quite a niche policy (in that, all companies have different areas covered - and make sure you incorporate decent cancer cover, so avoid the cheapo Moneysupermarket ones).

[PMISpecialist]

Originally Posted by triciclo

Hello
I have been in BUPA almost 4 years now. I am 26, started when I was 22. Original premium was around £70 a month (for my own insurance only, no dependents). I didn't shop around as I thought BUPA was pretty much the only insurer in the UK. At the moment, insurance is £90 a month, which I consider very high. I do have quite a high cover though... select care 2 with no access. I rung them up a little while ago to see if I could reduce the premium but what they offer was basically have an access and deduct that from annual premium.

I looked today at money supermarket and was put in touch with health on line and they gave me a much cheaper option. I also looked at go compare and realised that there are a lot of cheaper options. I don't have critical pre-existing conditions and I'm not too bothered if those aren't covered. What worries me is that I don't know anything about these other health insurance providers, I have not been able to find consistent reviews.

I would appreciate some advice, whether I'm right in thinking I'm paying too much and if I would be at risk in changing insurance provider... so far the claims I've made to BUPA (which have involved a couple of specialist consultations and one day patient treatment) have been handled without much trouble.

I hope you can help.

Hi Tricolo,

£90 per month for a 26 year old is undoubtably alot to be paying.

There are 60+ healthcare providers out there hundreds of different schemes and thousands of variations of those schemes. So its very difficult for most people to know where to start. If you see/speak to direct agents they will almost undoubtably give you all the plus points of their company and not tell you the down sides. An independent specialist broker is definately the way to go for PMI as they have to give best advice and justify their recomendations.

At the moment you have Bupa who are a traditional provider, very much like AXA/PPP, Standard Life, Norwich Union, Groupama, etc You will undoubtably be able to get a better deal through another of these traditional providers and probably half the premium you are curently paying.

In time your insurance premium will go up a little bit each year if you don't claim and alot if you do claim and you will be soon paying quite alot again. I have people on my books in their 70's and 80's who pay £7000+ a year to the traditional providers (Bupa, AXA, etc)

Bupa are excellent when it comes to customer service, but that premium doesn't warrant that service in my opinion other insurers have excellent/very good service as well!

Two very good and very different options to look out for are National Friendly and Pruhealth.

National Friendly (formed 1868) is a friendly society and is not a full refund scheme like Bupa etc. Premiums for someone under 50 years of age start at just £20 per month (individual) or £50 monthly (family). They Will never ever put your premiums up and you can get half your unclaimed premiums back at any point in time you wish. Pays hospitals direct still, No excesses, no hospital list to adhere to (you can use any private hospital), no six week option/wait and covers everything traditional PMI covers and dental and optical on top (which is over and above most PMI schemes).

So whats the catch?

When you pay your premium in (it could be £20) but lets say you opted for a £50 a month premium plus a £10 top up. Half (£25) goes into a deposit account (like a bank account) and half goes to Nationa;l Friendly for running the scheme for you.

When you come to claim 10% of the value of the claim comes out of your deposit account and the other 90% is paid by National Friendly. The £10 top up gives you a further impressive £30,000 extra worth of claims in case your account runs dry i.e. doesn't have enough in it to pay your 10% share. The £10 top up only lasts 10 years, the idea being its a safety net and gives you 10 years to build up your pot the sizable amount and give you the cover you want without paying traditional providers a small fortune.

National Friendly will give you 10% loyalty interest bonus on whatever amount is in you deposit account after 5 years and 2% every year thereafter.

I have uploaded a National Friendly Brochure for you.
http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/1...oh466s68e3dzoq

Pruhealth i am a member of myself and obviously a big fan as other MSE members well know (thank you Wutang).

Why am i and may other on the Pruhealth thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...493150&page=70

such big fans? Well i and many other MSE members on the above thread get Fully comprhensive PMI (like your Bupa scheme) via Pru for £3.46 per month AND Free gym membership too + many other very worthwhile discounts i.e. Full health screenings for £25 (£450 retail), 40 % (not up to, 40%) off Mark warner holidays, Cineworld annual pass £25 (retail £144+) nights at Champneys £40 including all three meals + massage (retail £219), Eurostar tickets to Paris £10 etc etc

Whats the catch with this?

You start off paying a normal premium in your first year £30-£40. Pruhealth reward you for keeping/getting fit and healthy so by doing all the things we should be doing to look after ourselves we get the rewards described above by scoring vitality points (fairly easy).

If neither of these options appeal to you then you should probably stick with the traditional PMI providers.

Let me know if you need any further help, info, advice, quotes ect

I also have to point out that your past medical history is crucial as you will want all/as much as possible of this covered in the future a good broker will go through this in detail with you.