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Private Health Insurance

Nothing Is More Important Than Your Health


You Insure Your Home And Your Holidays, But What Insurance Do You Have For Your Health?

We all know it’s important to keep healthy, and we all do our bit to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But it’s important that if you do fall ill, you can access treatment quickly and feel in control.

Hodgson Insurance Services have partnered with USay Compare, one of the UK’s market leading healthcare comparison providers. They have a range of flexible and affordable healthcare plans to suit your family’s or your business needs and budget, comparing all the household names including BUPA, Aviva, AXA, Vitality and more.

The NHS are great, but they are under greater strain than ever to provide the service we require, which is why we’re seeing more and more people looking to private medical insurance, for viable and affordable peace of mind.

Expert advisers will provide a completely FREE no obligation quote and offer expert advice and include a PRICE MATCH GUARANTEE. Find out what you could save.

Click one of the quote buttons below, input some brief details and an advisor will contact you to discuss your requirements.

Having Private Health Cover Makes All Of This Possible!

Which Insurers We Use and Compare

All the top UK private health insurers are searched on your behalf.

Why Consider Private Health Insurance?

Skip the NHS queues!
A record 6.7 million people are on NHS waiting lists. With much reduced waiting times, quicker access to treatment is available.

Breakthrough Treatments
Private medical Insurance offers access to some breakthrough treatments and medications.

More Comfort
Access to private en-suites instead of the hospital wards.

More Flexibility
Choose where & when you receive treatment. A digital GP is also available for peace of mind from the comfort of your own home.

Cancer Cover.
Cover for cancer treatment is available.

It’s Probably Cheaper Than You Think
Find the best price for your needs from a panel of 7 health insurance providers. Completely free advice and PRICE MATCH GUARANTEE included.

Extra Benefits
Perks, treats, discounts and extras make it cost effective. Gym membership discounts, healthy food incentives, Apple watch offers, Amazon Prime and more.

Private Medical Insurance

An in-depth guide to everything you need to know about Private Medical Insurance (PMI).

What’s The Difference Between Health Insurance and Private Medical Insurance?

First things first, the terms ‘Health Insurance’, ‘Medical Insurance’, ‘Private Medical Insurance’ and ‘Private Healthcare’ are completely interchangeable and have an identical meaning.

What is Private Medical Insurance (PMI)?

PMI is an insurance product designed to provide fast and effective medical treatment outside of the NHS. When you take out a policy, you and the insurer agree that should you fall ill or suffer an injury, the PMI policy will attempt to return you to the same level of health you had when you took out the policy.

PMI has many benefits – the best known being that you get immediate private treatment for covered conditions, rather than waiting weeks or months on the NHS. PMI doesn’t pay out a lump sum – instead it pays directly for diagnostics and treatment at a private hospital.

How Do I Purchase Private Medical Insurance?

There are three main ways to buy private Health Insurance:

  • Direct from an insurer
  • Through a broker or intermediary
  • Though an independent financial adviser (IFA)

The main benefit of buying from an intermediary/broker is the ability to compare lots of different companies and policies to find the best one to suit your requirements.

What Makes Up a PMI Policy?

Private Medical Insurance (PMI) policies consist of two main elements: core cover, which comes as standard, and add-ons – the extras that cost more, but enhance your cover.

Core Cover Includes:

In-patient cover: Cover for when you’re admitted to hospital and stay overnight. Cover includes hospital accommodation charges, specialist fees such as consultants, surgeons and anaesthetists, diagnostic tests and scans such as CT, PET or MRI, plus X-rays or physiological tests. Some insurers also offer additional benefits, such as physiotherapy, as part of their in-patient cover.

Day-patient cover: Covers you when you’re admitted to hospital and discharged the same day. Covers the same things as in-patient cover.

Out-patient cover: Covers you when you visit a hospital and return home the same day without being admitted – in other words, you’re not given a hospital bed. Out-patient cover includes the cost of consultations, diagnostic scans/tests and some minor surgical procedures. Some insurers also include physiotherapy in their out-patient cover.

You can choose to remove this cover, limit it, or choose a fully comprehensive option. If you choose to limit your outpatient cover, the options range from £500 to £1,500.

Core Cover Options:

Hospital lists: All insurers have a list of approved hospitals you can choose to attend for treatment. You may be able to reduce your premium by excluding certain prestigious or city centre hospitals.

No-claims discount (NCD): Your level of NCD will vary according to whether you currently have PMI or not. If you have, the insurer will take your claims history into account when calculating your premium. If you claim on your policy, your NCD may reduce – the amount it will reduce by varies according to your insurer. If you don’t claim on your policy for a full year, your NCD will increase.

Six-week option: The six-week option is a great way to reduce your premiums. If you choose the six-week option, and your treatment is available on the NHS within six weeks, you must use the NHS. If NHS treatment isn’t available within six weeks, your policy will cover you for immediate private treatment.

Excess: If you choose to add a voluntary excess to your policy you will be responsible for the first part of any claim you make, to a specified amount, ranging from £100 to £5,000. Most excesses are offered per person per year, though some insurers offer an excess for each claim, which is another way to reduce your premium.

Tailoring Your Policy

Health Insurance policies can be tailored to suit your needs and your budget. Once you’ve chosen the insurer you want to provide your core cover, you may wish to reduce your premium by limiting or reducing some benefits. You may prefer to add extra benefits and cover, though this will increase your premium.

Optional Add-on Modules

The following optional add-ons can enhance your cover:

Travel: This includes standard travel insurance features, such as cover for missed or delayed flights, loss of travel money and passports, legal protection, and some winter sports. More importantly, you will be covered for any medical emergencies while abroad.

Dental: Get cover for general dental treatments – crowns, fillings, accidental damage and dental emergencies. Alternatively, you can opt for a more general level of cover, which will pay for some general dental costs.

Optical: Optical cover can help pay for the cost of eye tests, glasses or contact lenses (usually provided if there has been a change in prescription). Alternatively, you can opt for a more general level of cover, which will pay for some general optical costs.

Psychiatric: This covers you for the diagnosis and treatment of most mental health issues. Cover varies from insurer to insurer, but usually includes access to in, day and out-patient treatments.

Therapies: This covers the cost of physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic treatment. Some insurers include other holistic therapies.

What Conditions Does Private Health Insurance Cover?

If you’re fit and healthy, Private Medical Insurance covers most acute medical conditions. Commonly covered conditions include:

  • Cancer including palliative care, diagnosis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc.
  • Heart disease including aftercare cover
  • Stroke aftercare
  • Sports injuries unless you’re a professional sports person
  • Mental health issues including counselling and psychiatric care
  • Complementary therapies such as physiotherapy and osteopathy
  • Alternative therapies including acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, etc.

Exclusions

All insurers have exclusions, which explicitly state what isn’t covered by their Health Insurance policies. Generally, these exclusions include anything that will only ever be dealt with by the NHS – including:

  • Accident and emergency
  • Chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes
  • HIV & Aids
  • War, riots and terrorism
  • Dangerous sports such as base jumping, snowboarding, etc.

Each insurer has its own list of exclusions, and our expert advisers will happily talk you through what is and isn’t included for any policy we sell.

Cancer Cover

When selecting what level of cancer cover you would like, each insurer has different options. These options are generally:

  • Included in core cover: here your diagnosis will be covered by your out-patient limits and treatment will be covered by your in- and day-patient cover.
  • Full cancer cover add-on: this will cover all diagnosis and treatments of cancer without limits.
  • Advanced cancer drugs: this will give you access to expensive drugs not normally available via the NHS and in some cases, experimental trial drugs that have been shown effective in treatments. You will receive all diagnosis and other treatments via NHS.
  • Nil: if you don’t want any level of cancer cover.

Provided you have cancer cover in core or as an add-on, you would be able to have CT, PET, MRI scans and any specialist consultations. Once you’ve received a diagnosis you can then begin to receive treatment under your policy.

Cancer Treatment

Your policy will cover all in- and day-patient treatment, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and out-patient consultants in full. This means that whether you need an operation, or the latest drugs and radiotherapy treatment, your insurer will cover these costs. The good news is that even if you’ve opted to reduce your out-patient cover, when it comes to cancer treatments your insurer will generally remove your limitations and cover you in full.

Underwriting

There are two main types of underwriting for PMI polices: moratorium (sometimes called mori) and full medical underwriting (FMU).

Full Medical Underwriting

Full medical underwriting (FMU) requires you to provide your complete medical history – and that of all policyholders – when you take out your policy. The information you provide may mean the insurer excludes certain conditions from cover for the lifetime of the policy.

Moratorium Underwriting

Moratorium underwriting doesn’t require you to disclose your medical history. However, for the first two years of your policy you won’t be covered for anything you’ve had symptoms, treatment, medication, diagnostic tests or advice on in the five years before your policy start date.

If, after a two-year consecutive period, you meet certain criteria (usually this includes remaining symptom, treatment, medication or advice free from that condition), then it will become eligible for cover.

Moratorium underwriting offers the potential for pre-existing conditions to be covered after a two-year period. Usay Compare can set up a moratorium policy over the phone to provide you with immediate cover.

What About the NHS?

Private healthcare insurance is intended to complement the services provided by the NHS, not replace them. The NHS provides a good service for millions of people in the UK today – those who want a faster, more convenient level of treatment for themselves and their families choose private medical insurance.

Some things aren’t covered by Health Insurance, and are better taken care of by the NHS – including A&E and maternity services. The NHS handles these elements, while PMI takes the strain off the system by treating acute conditions quickly and effectively.

Private Medical Insurance gives you the peace of mind that comes from knowing, should you become ill, you can receive private treatment quickly, to return you to your normal level of health as soon as possible.

Why We Recommend AXA PPP Healthcare?
Some of the reasons Hodgson Insurance Services have partnered with AXA.

  • AXA Insurance – AXA PPP healthcare are one of largest UK healthcare companies with over 70 years experience, are part of AXA Insurance, the biggest insurer in the world. They have been established longer than BUPA and the NHS, and with over 2 million policyholders in the UK.
  • Member Satisfaction – Its vitally important that members are satisfied with the service they receive. That’s why 86% of recently surveyed members are very satisfied with AXA PPP healthcare.
  • Fast Track Appointments – The AXA fast track appointments team give you prompt access to specialists. They” find up to 3 specialists for you to choose from, getting you seen as quickly as possible.
  • Prompt Access To Extensive Hospital Network – AXA have a network of over 250 well-equipped hospitals throughout the UK and access to over 24,000 recognised consultants and other practitioners.
  • Expert Help – AXAs Expert Help service gives you access to their 24/7 telephone helpline, Health at Hand, and provides a Dedicated Nurse helpline for members who have been diagnosed with cancer or  a heart condition.
  • Switching Is Easy – Already have a private healthcare insurance? 93% of AXA members surveyed said they were extremely satisfied with overall ease of joining AXA PPP Healthcare.
  • Award Winning Private Health Insurance – Winners of Your Money ‘Best Healthcare Provider’ for 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016.
  • Online Social Media – AXA PPP Healthcare can be found on social media via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest news.
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