UK - Private Medical Insurance

Choose from a wide range of private medical insurance products. Each medical insurance policy can be tailored to suite your specific needs interms of budget, benefits and level of cover.

Private Medical Insurance (PMI) is intended to cover the costs of private medical treatment for curable, short-term medical conditions (often referred to as 'acute' conditions) when the patient is under the care of a specialist.

It may cover, among other things, the costs of specialists, surgery, accommodation and nursing costs in a private hospital or a private ward in an NHS hospital, drugs and x-rays.

In general, Private Medical Insurance policies do not cover the treatment of long-term illnesses which cannot be cured, such as asthma, diabetes, or multiple sclerosis (such conditions are commonly referred to as 'chronic illness'). However, if a crisis occurs in one of these conditions, for example a severe asthma attack or diabetic coma, then most Private Medical Insurance policies will cover the cost of treatment necessary to stabilise the crisis and to return the patient to their previous level of health, if possible.

Private Medical Insurance policies vary in the cover* which they offer for different types of treatment. You should check what will be covered by the PMI policy you are considering. (*A low cost policy usually has limits on out-patient cover).

Insurers do not automatically provide cover for illnesses which you are suffering or have already had, (pre-existing conditions). They may do so in two ways:

Full Medical Underwriting

You are asked to complete a form giving details of your medical history. It is essential that you give all the information asked or you may find that insurers question future claims. If you have a medical condition which is likely to recur, the insurer will still issue a policy but is likely to exclude that particular condition, and any other connected with it, either for good or for a limited time.

Moratorium

You will not be asked to give details of your medical history. Instead, the insurer excludes cover for any medical condition or a related one which existed in the last (usually) five years. These conditions become eligible for cover only when you remain free of symptoms, treatment, medication, tests, and advice (from your GP or a specialist) for that condition for a continuous of (usually) two consecutive years, after your policy has started. These policies are quicker to take out, but you should think about which conditions you have had in the past five years and understand that these and related ones will be outside your cover.

Insurers will pay all valid claims. But in order to avoid disappointment it is best if at all possible to contact the insurer before you receive private medical treatment for which you intend to claim. They will confirm your cover for the treatment and remind you of the relevant limits on the specialists or hospitals that you can use.

Policies have a "cooling off" period (usually two weeks). During this time you can tell the insurer you do not want the policy and receive a refund of any initial premiums you have already paid.