Private medical insurance is designed to cover the costs of private medical treatment for curable short-term illness or injury (commonly known as acute conditions). Most people buy this type of insurance to gain the reassurance of knowing that treatment is available promptly, if they become ill or are injured.

As a private patient you can often choose when treatment will take place, the specialist who treats you and the hospital. You will usually have the privacy of an en-suite room, complete with TV and other home comforts.

Some people prefer to take care of their own major financial planning decisions, whereas others seek the advice of a qualified individual or firm when getting health insurance quotes and comparisons. Read more…

Private Medical Insurance is designed to provide private healthcare treatment to policyholders. This means there is no need to wait in NHS waiting lists and treatment commences as quickly as possible, PMI is generally the insurance to cover acute and treatable conditions.

Private medical insurance is optional insurance which an individual or entire family can take out by paying a monthly premium, the same as with life or home insurance. There are many advantages to paying for private medical insurance and here are just of the reasons you could consider taking out this form of insurance.

Perhaps the biggest advantage to taking private medical insurance is to avoid the long waiting lists that are now common on the NHS. Private health insurance can give you peace of mind that if you become ill then you will be immediately seen and are guaranteed to get the very best of treatment.

However, with over twenty policy providers in the market, all offering a range of policies, prices for PMI cover can vary widely. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few of the ways that you can reduce the cost of your cover, while still enjoying the many benefits of PMI.

Your insurer will provide a Key Facts document and full terms and conditions. Take the time to read these through carefully to make sure you know exactly what your policy covers. You will generally have a short ‘cooling off period’ in which you can change your mind if the policy is not right for you.

Medical conditions suffered prior to joining a new plan are known as pre-existing conditions. All plans for individuals and their families exclude pre-existing conditions either permanently, or for a given period of time.

With Full Underwriting, a medical declaration is given by each person to be covered by the medical insurance plan. This information is then put before an underwriter, who will assess the risk factors for each person. Normally, any previous serious medical conditions, and possibly non-serious conditions, will be permanently excluded from cover. In extreme cases, cover may be refused.

Private Medical Insurance is designed to cover the costs of private medical treatment for short-term illnesses or injuries - commonly known as acute conditions. Most people buy this type of insurance to gain the reassurance of knowing that treatment is available promptly, should they become ill or injured. As a private patient you can usually choose where and when your treatment is to take place, the specialist who treats you and the hospital. You will usually have a private room with en-suite facilities, complete with TV, telephone and the freedom to entertain your visitors at all reasonable times.

Private Medical Insurance is designed to cover treatment for short-term illness or injuries. Some illnesses and treatments are not usually covered and these are common to most schemes. It is also important to remember that Private Medical Insurance is not designed to replace all the services offered by the NHS. Some, such as accident and emergency treatment, are beyond the scope of most private hospitals. The level of cover provided depends on your choice of insurance company and the type of plan selected.

However, with even minor operations and procedures potentially costing thousands of pounds, for most of us this is impractical. Private medical insurance is designed to help you avoid the stress of long hospital waiting lists and inconvenient appointment times. You can also choose where and when you want treatment.

Simple. The Personal Choice Continued Medical Exclusions (CME) option could enable you to transfer from your current individual private medical insurance (PMI) policy to a Personal Choice policy without the need to be re-underwritten.

As a private patient you can often choose when treatment will take place, the specialist who treats you and the hospital. You will usually have the privacy of an en-suite room complete with TV and other home comforts.

Some illnesses and treatments will not be covered by a private medical insurance policy and these are common to most schemes (see section 5 of this guide). It is also important to remember that this insurance is not designed to replace all the services offered by the NHS. Some, such as accident and emergency, are beyond the scope of most private hospitals.

These conditions are known as Chronic conditions. As your PMI is designed to cover treatment for acute conditions it does not usually cover long term treatment of Chronic conditions where the purpose of the treatment is primarily to keep the symptoms under control.

When you first become ill with a chronic condition the insurer will pay for any specialist consultations and diagnostic tests you need to have in order to find out the cause of the symptoms [providing the benefits of your chosen plan covers these]. The insurer will also pay for any initial hospital treatment you require to stabilise your condition. There may then come a point when the treatment you are receiving is only monitoring your state of health or keeping the symptoms of your condition in check rather than curing it. At this stage the insurer will usually look to obtain further information from your GP or consultant before making a decision as to whetther the cover will be withdrawn.