Discover the real value of Private Medical Insurance

Those people that have private medical insurance (PMI) for themselves and their family with an insurer (as opposed to those covered on a company paid scheme) know full well the sinking sensation each renewal when the increase in premium comes through. Given that medical inflation can be 10% or more by itself without taking into account any increase due to claims or age band increases.

I am convinced then that the price of PMI often puts off prospects who come to me for a price and benefit check on individual private medical insurance. When they see the cost of any decent level of cover I fairly often never hear from them again. It is a fact though that it is relatively easy to offer lower levels of premium by increasing the self pay element (by using an excess or shared responsibility product) or slightly lowering the level of benefit taken. Putting this flexible product construction to one side I wanted to talk about two issues. Firstly the real value of private medical cover and secondly as a counter-point to this, how much we pay for other household and every day items.

What Can PMI do for me :

You don’t have to wait for appointments, scans or treatment on the National Health Service - mst good PMI plan offer immediate access to healthcare treatment. So there is effectively no NHS waiting list. This means that regardless of high minor, niggling or even massively life threatening your condition is. you’ll get to see your specialist and begin diagnosis/treatment immediately - so you’re buying peace of mind and speed.

Support from the best medical specialists :

It is sad but true that in an NHS context you’re unlikely to receive much of the consultants time. In practice most treatment is performed by junior doctors and registrars. PMI gives automatic access to the top doctor and because you are effectively paying him personally for his time, most private patients find their consultants charming, informative and very approachable. Altogether a different experience to the NHS which is massively constrained in terms of time resources.

Excellent treatment in comfortable surroundings :

A hospital with graded rooms like a hotel, en suite facilities and even (if you feel well enough) a wine list - a big part of the costs of PMI are associated with hospital room charges.

Treatment when you need it :

It’s all about work life balance. All of the above issues mean that on top of making a medical choice you’re also making a choice about balancing the things that are important to you. This brings me on to some of the other items that we don’t even think twice about spending money on.

The costs of everyday items :

Hotel Room - One night in a Premier Travel Inn in Leeds tonight would cost £ 73.00

Packet of fags - 20 Silk Cut would set you pack £ 6.95 - going through 8 packs a month would be over £ 55 per month

Sky TV - Full package including HD is well over £ 50 a month

Costa Coffee - a medium late costs £ 2.40 or so - one each work day adds up to £48 per month

Gym Subscription - Anything from £ 40 to £ 100 a month

One Adult and two junior swimming tickets - around £ 7.45 in Leeds - or £ 30 a month

Meal out at Pizza Express - for a family of four (2 kids 11 and 5) the Knight family average around £ 80 a visit this includes starters, mains, couple of drinks each a desert to share usually.

In Summary

I know that in the end PMI is a non-tangible purchase until you need to use it and so it may be unfair to compare it directly with some of the items above. However, I am talking about priority. Some of the things that we seem to value more in fact will seem less important on the first occasion that you or a family member becomes sick and your GP tells you that you will wait five or six months to see a surgeon or consultant. Decent private medical cover is available from as little as £ 20 or £ 30 per person a month (depending on age and product chosen) - double this for a couple and two and a half time this for family benefits.

If you’re interested in comparing costs for health insurance - get in touch on 07792 07578 or e-mail .