Health insurance is important for individuals and many employers offer private health insurance
to their employees. Usually group health insurance is available at an
affordable cost than individual insurance when you look at the premiums
individually per person. You can also include your family members in the
group plan.
If you change your job and want to continue with your
private health insurance, you can do so as a group leaver on
continuation of cover to an individual policy in your name with the same
insurance company. However, your premium will be more expensive on an individual health insurance
policy. Of course, there is the option to use the NHS, but as you may
be aware the services and hygiene condition of some NHS hospitals can
sometimes be poor and people do sometimes end up getting infected by
superbugs. Apart from that you may also be kept waiting for long periods
in the NHS waiting lists. This is one of the main reasons why people
prefer private health care facilities.
Basically the information
required includes personal information like name, address, date of
birth, level of cover and underwriting required - if fully underwritten
your doctor's details and medical history. Ensure that all the
information that you provide in the form is correct as non-disclosure
may lead to a future claim being declined. The good news is that more
and more companies have now introduced tele-underwriting where you can
speak to a trained tele-underwriter who will go through all the medical questions with you over the phone which can significantly reduce the chances of misunderstanding and hence non-disclosure.
Private
health insurance is especially useful when it comes to getting an early
diagnosis, as a diagnosis in time can sometimes save a life. The other
advantage associated with having insurance is that it will cover your
treatment in a private hospital. Depending on your level of cover, you
can get full out-patient consultations from a specialist and can also
enjoy the comfort of a private room with TV in a hospital of your
choice.
Certain factors have to be considered before buying a private health insurance plan. Don't just opt for the first insurance
company that you come across. Instead shop around and compare policies
and companies as this will help you to save quite a bit of money.
Alternatively you can use a broker that specialises in this field and
they will do all the work for you, and the good news is that most of
them do not charge for their services as they receive their commission
directly from the insurance companies.
Dean Ghavami is the Director of DataHealth Consultancy Ltd which
was founded back in 2000 and he has over 15 years of experience in the
private health insurance industry.
