Private Medical Insurance

SeaSmart

I have a comprehensive policy with my current employer for private medical insurance with standard life. For just me to be covered my employer pays it. However to add my family (wife, daughter and son...daughter is 1 and son is 5) it will cost an additional £28 per month. Is this cheap? I was thinking about opting out for the rest of the family and relying on NHS and saving 30 quid a month?

shelly

If you were thinking of getting insurance for the family, then to me it sounds a good deal. Could you get a comprehensive policy for your wife and children seperately for £28?

Hubby gets his BUPA cover paid for by his employer and had we been offered the same deal as you have we probably wouldn't have bothered. As it is I was added to the policy for nothing, glad too as I was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year. No doubt the NHS would have given me excellent care but with BUPA I got to choose the hospital, date of surgery, had a private room etc.

No-one has a crystal ball and can see whats around the corner. I am glad I was covered and if hubby was ever to leave the company and we could afford to then we'd pay for BUPA ourselves.

So I guess if you can afford it and you have been thinking about it then go for it.

mattymoo

Its not a bad deal but you should check the policy restrictions. My BUPA cover through my employer for me, the wife and 2 kids (9 and 7) costs the company £100 a month and I pay £40 in tax (benefit in kind).

This is for their premier care cover. Cheaper policies have inner limits like £500 outpatient cover limit. When blood tests cost around £300 and a consultant £200, the limit is used up within 1 visit.

Employer schemes normally do not exclude pre-existing conditions which is pretty useful.

shelly

mattymoo wrote:

Employer schemes normally do not exclude pre-existing conditions which is pretty useful.

Yours must be pretty good then. Hubby and I have a comprehensive policy with BUPA through his company and they won't cover pre-existing conditions i.e my back problems-they won't cover me for any treatment should this flare up again.

Also when my cancer was diagnosed they nearly wasn't going to cover me. The cancer was found following surgery to remove a failed pregnancy, I joined the policy in Nov and the pregnancy occured in Feb. Had I been pregnant at the time of joining the policy in Nov then they wouldn't have covered me for any of my cancer treatment.

Bizarre if you ask me.