CSHealthcare are the worst health insurers (IMHO), but who do YOU recommend please?

coachman12

Personally, I believe in private health insurance if you can afford it. Given the state of the NHS, I think private health is as important than paying for a mortgage if you can afford one.
I have tried several health insurers over the years. The best I have found is " The Exeter " which is my current insurer. I can afford the reasonable premiums if I manage my finances carefully and I have full comprehensive cover for everything except A&E ( which no private insurer covers at present----see my last posting on this site), including all consultations with consultants, all outpatient treatment, all tests and scans, procedures, operations, hospitalisation, good food and menu for all tastes, private ensuite room, visitors at any time at all etc etc. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND " The Exeter" , though I am open to MSE members' own recommendations and experiences. It is my main point in making this post.

The WORST health insurer I have been a member of is CSHealthcare, which are really good at convincing the public that they are wonderful. THEY ARE, in my opinion, THE WORST.
CSHealthcare is supposedly a mutual friendly society ( thus, owned by all its members) , yet it is ruled with a fist of iron by a ruling elite of "old school tie" top ex-civil servants ( who were on as much as £100,000 pa and whose pensions are more than most of us could ever earn in a couple of years currently; there are also "outsiders" whose background is in financial management, usually with no previous experience of working in the health sector---the sort who earn high salaries and pensions and the infamous "bonuses". Together , these Board Members ignore all ordinary members' opinions and wishes. CSHealthcare's AGM is always in London and was attended by less than 0.5% of its members !!!!! Membership of CSHealthcare has fallen so low that they are now hardly viable, so their latest idea has been to open up their membership criteria to include non-public servants ( for the first time since its formation). So this is a good time to warn anyone who may be taken in by great reviews and great TrustPilot ratings, that CSHealthcare manipulate these figures very cleverly and are , in actual fact, an awful health insurer which ignores members, wishes and goes to huge lengths to bolster positive comments and completely stifle poor reviews, so that the latter are rarely seen in public. STAY WELL AWAY FROM CSHealthcare.

For lower cost insurers that virtually everybody can afford ( £10-15 per month) , I recommend Benenden Health, which in effect provides private treatment in cases where NHS waiting lists are just too long and unacceptable.

I'd welcome MSE expert members' recommendations before my renewal date later this year please.

csgohan4

you get what you pay for, Benenden health are rubbish IMO, they are not private healthcare, rather they help you jump the queue a bit and have a lot of exclusions for common ailments which makes it pointless.


You could try aviva/ Bupa e.t.c the expensive ones


Never heard of the provider you mentioned, I went through a broker who gave me a list which I researched and picked one that worked for me, not the cheapest

coachman12

csgohan4 wrote: »

you get what you pay for, Benenden health are rubbish IMO, they are not private healthcare, rather they help you jump the queue a bit and have a lot of exclusions for common ailments which makes it pointless.


You could try aviva/ Bupa e.t.c the expensive ones


Never heard of the provider you mentioned, I went through a broker who gave me a list which I researched and picked one that worked for me, not the cheapest

TY csgohan. Have you come across the awful CSHealthcare? And, as you imply , having used brokers, that you are covered by a particular private health insurer, may I ask which one it is and if your experiences have made you a big fan of that insurer. But you seem to prefer to keep your own insurer a personal and private matter, not for applauding or criticising on this site

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can other posters come in and name a few likely candidates that are good rather than just steer folk towards " the expensive ones". Not all the "expensive ones" are necessarily "good". Personal choices and value for money info would be of help to me please.
BTW, Benenden deserve better than the comments above

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they provide a service which are the only sort that some people , worried by long NHS Waiting Lists, can afford. Most people need to count their pennies and choose according to their income; we're not all millionaires.
I am pretty happy with The Exeter but I am looking for postings which can help me in finding out what private health members think about specific companies. I'd also appreciate comments from anyone who has come across the snooty and dying CSHealthcare. Thx.

csgohan4

coachman12 wrote: »

TY csgohan. Have you come across the awful CSHealthcare? And, as you imply , having used brokers, that you are covered by a particular private health insurer, may I ask which one it is and if your experiences have made you a big fan of that insurer. But you seem to prefer to keep your own insurer a personal and private matter, not for applauding or criticising on this site

---

can other posters come in and name a few likely candidates that are good rather than just steer folk towards " the expensive ones". Not all the "expensive ones" are necessarily "good". Personal choices and value for money info would be of help to me please.
BTW, Benenden deserve better than the comments above

---

they provide a service which are the only sort that some people , worried by long NHS Waiting Lists, can afford. Most people need to count their pennies and choose according to their income; we're not all millionaires.
I am pretty happy with The Exeter but I am looking for postings which can help me in finding out what private health members think about specific companies. I'd also appreciate comments from anyone who has come across the snooty and dying CSHealthcare. Thx.

As I mention, good cover costs money, if your strapped for money, buying cheap cover can end in tears, finding what you thought was covered was not and you wasted all those premiums.


I am with Vitality at the moment but will change if I can get something slightly cheaper, but not Benenden level cheap, but there will come a time when you can't change because you will claim for something in the future.


Good private insurance can cost around £50 a month and rising every year due to age.


NHS is not bad as it covers everything generally. But I can't afford to wait 18 months for a hip operation and out of work which is the rationale for getting private insurance

MEM62

coachman12 wrote: »

Personally, I believe in private health insurance if you can afford it. Given the state of the NHS, I think private health is as important than paying for a mortgage if you can afford one.

I have never had an issue with care from the NHS and they were brilliant with my mum following the discovery of bowel cancer late last year. Private medical coverage may, in some cases, give you earlier initial access but the treatment is no better and the aftercare often very poor or non existent. (As several of my family member have discovered)

The reality is that the only advantage that your private medical premiums buy you is a nice single room if you have to have in-hospital care.

coachman12

GLInsuranceProfessional wrote: »

I can appreciate how frustrated you feel. I'm no medical Insurance expert but people rely on the advice of medical insurance firms and experts and such a purchase can be very personal. Totally agree with you about 'The Exeter' as in insurer. I arranged my brothers income protection policy through them and what do you know, needed to make a claim on his behalf. Thought i'd be chasing them around waiting for a claim but they were as pro-active as I was.

Yes GL, The Exeter are very eager to pay up (rather than foul up like the awful CSHealthcare do ).
I have heard nothing yet on this thread that makes me think I've made any wrong decisions in choosing The Exeter. But I would still really like to hear the experiences of as many MSE Forum members as possible to get an idea of the Top 10 health insurers as voted for by "real" people. And I'm always anxious to hear from any of the 0.25% of members who attended the last CSHealthcare AGM !!!!!!
Any further comments on health insurers please???----there must be a wealth of experience in the MSE community. Thx.

coachman12

Any other suggestions for good health insurers among the very knowledgeable MSE members
please ?
Any comments of experiences with The Exeter please ?
And any comments of experiences with the AWFUL CSHealthcare please ?
There must be many MSE members who have private health insurance. Any help and advice from your personal experiences would be most gratefully received. Thx.

coachman12

Still hoping for lots of comments on this topic, which would be of help to many MSE members, I think. I would certainly welcome the opinion of many members on this very important issue. 
And, I still haven't heard anyone who has suffered under the abysmal CSHealthcare regime.
Comments most welcome please. Cheers.

coachman12

I can't believe that no MSE members have private health insurance and could give the benefit of their thoughts and experiences.

coachman12

Just come across this link for a very good company ( Drewberry ) which specialises in providing advice on the best private healthcare insurers. In this case they are providing useful info about the very best private insurer, IMO            https://www.drewberryinsurance.co.uk/private-health-insurance/insurers/the-exeter-health-insurance  

BJV

coachman12 said:

I can't believe that no MSE members have private health insurance and could give the benefit of their thoughts and experiences.

BUPA all the way. I sort out the health care for work and I always shop around to get the best deals. We wanted the top level of cover and have to say while thankfully we have never had to make a claim so far they are inexpensive and so quick to amend, change or do anything.