Why you should consider Private Medical Insurance

The NHS is the backbone of the UK’s health industry with access for all. Anyone from any walk of life can be diagnosed and treated when illness occurs. However, the NHS is under pressure to meet the UK’s healthcare demands. For those seeking quicker access to diagnosis and treatment, Private Medical Insurance (PMI) is available.

There are significant benefits associated with having a PMI policy such as:

• You can chose your hospital and surgeon (within reason). You can select a surgeon and hospital to suit your needs as long as the surgeon is recognised by the insurer and the hospital is available on your level of cover
• Waiting times reduced
• Specialist drugs and treatments may be available. Some drugs and treatments are not available on the NHS because they are too expensive or not yet approved by certain organisations
• Private rooms available often with a television and other amenities which avoids staying in an open ward
• Get the scans you want-if the NHS delays a scan or deems it unnecessary, often the Private Medical Insurance will pay for it

Premiums for PMI can be expensive, however there are ways to reduce the cost which makes it affordable for many people. There are several ways to do this:

• Introduce an excess which is payable once per person per policy year. The higher the excess, the lower the premiums will be
• Reduce the number of hospitals you can have treatment. With some plans, it is possible to distinguish between central London and outside of central London hospitals. Opting for the outside of central London hospital list can reduce the premium significantly
• Reduce the out-patient cover from full refund to, for example, a combined limit of £1,000 for consultants/specialist fees, diagnostic tests, physiotherapy and psychiatric treatment

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