Child health insurance

What can this policy cover?

Child Health Solutions is cover that provides peace of mind, knowing that your children up to the age of 18 can get prompt, private medical treatment when they need it most. This overview explains the benefits offered by the policy. We encourage you to read all the information in this section so that you know what conditions and benefit limits apply.

How does Child Health Solutions work?

Child Health Solutions helps children up to the age of 18 get prompt, private medical treatment when they need it most. It can also help your children benefit from a number of different therapies – things like speech therapy for toddlers and physiotherapy for youngsters at school – and our extensive cover also offers you personal support, helping you to cope if they’re unwell.

Our team are happy to run through what you may or may not be able to claim for depending on your children’s medical history, as pre-existing conditions and chronic conditions will not be covered.

We’ve included information about the benefits offered in the following dropdown sections – but there’s a lot to take on board. So we’ve also provided the information in this PDF document, which will open in a new window:

• Our Child Health Solutions brochure (PDF 672KB)

Full details of cover are in our terms and conditions booklet, which you’ll find in the Useful information box on this page. If you'd like to take out a policy, you'll need to complete an application. If we accept your application, the details you give us and the options you select will determine the final terms of your policy.

What types of illness or injury does Child Health Solutions cover?

Child Health Solutions is designed specifically to treat your children up to the age of 18 for acute conditions that start after the policy begins. An acute condition is a disease, illness or injury that’s likely to respond quickly to treatment so that you can return to your previous level of health.

Chronic conditions are those illnesses, diseases or injuries that either continue indefinitely, have no known cure, come back (or are likely to come back), need long term monitoring or long term control or relief of symptoms. Chronic conditions and pre-existing conditions aren’t covered by Child Health Solutions.

We have a friendly team on hand to answer any questions you have, and run through what your children may or may not be able to claim for depending on their medical history.

Which benefits are included in the core cover?

There’s no need to worry about the cost of anything that’s listed here – all of these benefits are included for the children covered by your policy.

As an in-patient or day-patient:

• Hospital charges
• Specialists’ fees
• Diagnostic tests
• Radiotherapy / chemotherapy treatment (pre-existing and chronic conditions aren’t covered)

As an out-patient (going to a hospital or clinic, but not being admitted):

• Consultations with a specialist
• Diagnostic tests – such as blood tests, X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans and ECGs
• Radiotherapy / chemotherapy treatment (pre-existing and chronic conditions are not covered)

The complete list is in our Child Health Solutions brochure (PDF 672KB), along with details of any benefit limits that apply. We encourage you to read about them all, and look through the information in that brochure at your convenience. If you have any questions, or want to ask questions about benefits and claims, we’ll be happy to help.

What are the additional benefits included with Child Health Solutions?

With a Child Health Solutions policy in place, your children will also have cover for a range of other treatments, therapies and benefits:

• Accommodation costs for a parent
• A support cash benefit, to make a hospital stay more comfortable
• Therapy treatments, such as visits to a physiotherapist, chiropractor, osteopath or acupuncturist
• Routine dental treatments
• Accidental dental injuries
• Speech therapy
• Hospice donation
• Nursing care at home
• A private ambulance

Again, full explanations of these benefits are included in the Child Health Solutions brochure (PDF 672KB), along with details of any benefit limits that apply. We encourage you to read about them all, and look through the information in that brochure at your convenience.

Could this policy help you, as well as your children?

Yes. We know that having unwell children is a horrible experience, particularly if they’re too young to understand what’s going on or can’t explain what’s wrong. Because we’re healthcare experts, we understand how stressful it can be. So Child Health Solutions also provides support for you if your children are ill:

• 24 hour GP helpline. Children don’t wait to be ill, so we’ve made sure there’s someone you can speak to day and night, in complete confidence. Ask questions about symptoms, find out about a treatment, or get information about drugs, side-effects, or anything else that matters to you in relation to your children’s health.
• 24 hour Stress Counselling helpline. It’s hard work, looking after children. But they need you to take care of yourself, and that means finding ways to deal with the stresses and strains of being a parent. It’s easy to call and it’s completely confidential. You’ll be talking to a trained counsellor who can give you advice on dealing with stress, day and night.

What’s not included with this policy?

Like most private health insurance policies, Child Health Solutions won’t cover any pre-existing conditions unless we have expressly included treatment relating to them. Full details are included in the terms and conditions, which you can find in the Useful information box on this page. There are also some specific treatments and conditions that will not be covered by your children’s medical insurance.

• Treatment undertaken by a specialist without your GP’s referral
• Long term or chronic conditions
• HIV/AIDS and related conditions
• Treatment for pregnancy or childbirth
• Routine medical examinations
• Diagnostic tests and treatment for infertility
• Surgical or medical appliances such as neurostimulators (eg cochlear implants) and crutches
• Charges made by a GP, medical practitioner or specialist for completing a claim form
• Alcoholism, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, solvent abuse and other addictive conditions
• Psycho-geriatric conditions
• Kidney dialysis
• Cosmetic treatment (except following an accident or surgery for cancer)
• Take-home drugs and dressings
• Professional sports injuries
• Experimental treatment, (limited benefit may be available)
• Treatment required as a result of war, terrorism or contamination by radioactivity or chemicals
• Self inflicted injury
• Prescription charges
• Rehabilitation and convalescence
• Incidental hospital expenses, such as television charges, newspapers or phone calls
• Sleep disorders and sleep problems such as snoring or sleep apnoea
• Treatment for warts or verrucae
• Weight loss surgery

What else do I need to know?

It’s important to remember that, for most private health insurance claims, your child will need to be referred by his or her GP and have any treatments approved by us in advance.

You’ll need to complete an application form for us to work out the final terms of your policy if we accept your application and, depending on your children’s circumstances, non-standard terms may apply.

So, what’s next?

As healthcare experts, we think it’s important to make private health insurance policies straightforward and easy to use. Just follow these three simple steps if you’d like to put Child Health Solutions into place:

Step 1 – tell us about your children

We’ll ask you for some details about the children you’d like to cover, before we give you a cost for Child Health Solutions. You can give us this information in three ways:

• Get a quote and arrange Child Health Solutions online. Get a quote now
• Call us. Our friendly experts can answer your questions and arrange cover over the phone
• We can call you at your convenience. Ask us to call you

Step 2 – tell us how you’d like to pay for the policy

You can pay for Child Health Solutions online or over the phone, in monthly instalments or with one annual payment – both by Direct Debit. We can only issue the policy to the parent or legal guardian of the children being covered. If you are a grandparent, and would like to buy a Child Health Solutions policy, you’ll need to reimburse the costs of cover to your son, daughter, or your grandchildren’s legal guardian.

Step 3 – get cover and start enjoying all the benefits of Child Health Solutions

Child Health Solutions helps you get prompt, private medical treatment for your children – but don’t forget, it’s designed to help you and your family deal with the stresses and strains of having unwell children, too. You’ll have:

• Help with the costs of accommodation for one parent, when staying with a child in hospital
• A support cash benefit of £10 per night, for a maximum of five nights, for you to use at your discretion if your child is an in-patient: perhaps to buy a special toy and help with the recovery
• Personal support for you, through our 24 hour Stress Counselling helpline
• …And access to our 24 hour GP helpline, because children don’t wait to be ill!

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