Health insurance advice

Piercedmrsp

Not sure if this or the health & beauty board is the right place for my query, so apologies if I've chosen wrongly.

Anyway, I'm contemplating taking out private health insurance for hubby and I and am looking for general advice/recommendations because I have what is classed as a chronic pre-existing condition. It's not actually anything serious - hypothyroidism with daily medication - but I'm aware it will probably have an effect on premiums. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for good health insurance, or advice on what I should look out for?

My condition aside, hubby and I are relatively young and healthy (29 and 32, no-smokers, don't drink other than a pint on special occasions). The main reason I'm considering it is hubby has. Habit of damaging himself (he's a mechanic and not gentle on himself lol) and recently has had to wait a long time in order to get relatively minor but inconvenient and work-limiting injuries sorted out on the NHS. I figured if we could afford to pay for a better service it might be worth doing (I'm not trying to start a debate on the NHS please).

dunstonh

Just to clarify, are you looking at private medical insurance or permanent health insurance?

MarkCorrigan

if its PMI you're after - there's a couple of insurers that will cover thyroid..

It will not affect the price and likewise it will also not affect the price if you don't cover it.

Your insurance will be based on your budget, choice of hospitals and level of cover you require and not other peoples preferences as everyone is different...

justme111

I can not advise on chronic preexisting conditions , you may have to check. Most reasonably priced ones have limit on outpatient cover. See the premium and calculate if it will be cheaper to self insure if what you concerned about are small nuisance issues. When I looked into small print of what is not covered I found a long list of issues not covered so have a look at small print yourself. . Now , it is in the booklet which you receive AFTER contracting insurance but I am sure if you ask for it you will get an access to it before.
See as well ling list of chronic conditions the don't cover leaving you at a mercy of overworked gp with 7 minutes per patient allowance - basically everything : high blood pressure , hyperthyroidism, diabetes and so on and check they don't seem to cover conditions ARISING from those ( unless there is a deterioration in that chronic condition )
If you are concerned about major issues then I have a feeling that private health insurance may not be that useful.. Emergencies go to NHS hospital, pregnancy and childbirth not covered and when I asked to see an oncologist at my local Nuffield the numpty on the phone switched my line onto local NHS hospital oncology department !
Having said that I still pay for insurance "just in case " while having deep suspicions proper medical cover would cost too much and what I am getting is an NHS limited treatment but sooner and with a cup of coffee.

pvt

Piercedmrsp wrote: »

I figured if we could afford to pay for a better service it might be worth doing (I'm not trying to start a debate on the NHS please).

You could self insure - in other words, pay for private treatment as and when you need it. Compared with the cost of PMI cover, this might work out better in the long run.

I recently totted up how much benefit I, and my family, have received over the long (20 yrs) period of time that I have had PMI cover - lots of minor operations, cataract replacements, consultations, which I would consider a little above average for a typical family. My conculsion is I have paid them far more in premiums than they have ever paid out for those treatments.

I acknowledge the benefits of private treatment, which rather than the lack of a waiting list, is that you are seen and treated by a more experienced consultant rather than a junior houseman. But if I had my time over again, I would still have used private treatment, but not bothered with PMI.