Private health insurance

General FAQs

These are some of the FAQs we hear about our private health insurance. We’re always happy to explain our benefits and costs, or find out answers if there’s something else you’d like to know. If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, call our team or ask us to call you back.

What is private health insurance?

Private health insurance helps you get prompt, private treatment if you’re unwell. It’s designed specifically to treat acute conditions that start after your 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. You pay a premium to us, and in return, we’ll provide you with healthcare benefits. It gives you peace of mind, knowing that you and your family can get the treatment and care you need, promptly.

Better still, our private health insurance gives you extra benefits that can help you maintain your wellbeing and improve your fitness. Things like gym discounts, and health programmes such as MyHealthCounts.

Will you cover my pre-existing medical conditions?

If you take out our private health insurance online, we’ll use our moratorium underwriting criteria. This means that you won’t need to complete an in depth health questionnaire, but your cover will exclude any pre-existing disease, illness or injury (whether or not diagnosed), based on the following:

• We don’t cover treatment of pre-existing conditions or related conditions if you had symptoms of, medication for, treatment for or advice about that condition in the five years before your joining date.
• If you don’t receive medication for, treatment for or advice about that condition during a continuous two-year period after your joining date, the exclusion will not apply.

If you have a policy with another provider at the moment, and want to find out more about the cover we could give you, call our team of friendly experts on 0800 015 5193.

Could I use the hospital I want, when I want?

When you take out private health insurance with us you’ll get prompt, private medical treatment at a nationwide network of hospitals and clinics. Our hospital lists (PDF 2,191KB) are designed to match your budget and preferences. The beauty of having private health insurance is that, as well as choosing a selection of hospitals where you’d like to receive treatment, you can usually arrange it at a time that's convenient.

• Standard Hospital List
  Access to a nationwide list of hospitals. This group of over 300 hospitals is automatically included on your policy unless you choose an alternative hospital list.
• Trust Care Hospital list
  By choosing the comfort of private facilities at NHS/Partnership hospitals, you could save up to 25% on your premiums.
• Extended Hospital List
  Particularly attractive if you live in the Greater London area, this list gives access to more exclusive hospitals in addition to our standard hospital list. This option increases your premium by 45%.
• Signature Hospital List
  Access to a selected number of hospitals, which could give you savings of up to 25% on your premiums. This list is only available to policy holders living in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What’s the difference between your policies?

Each one of our policies is designed to offer different kinds of benefit. We explain the differences between Healthier Solutions, our My Health Cash Plan, Speedy Diagnostics, Child Health Solutions and International Solutions… on our Understand our range of products page.

Will all of my specialist’s fees be covered?

There are some specialists’ fees that may fall outside the scope of your cover. It’s important to us that you’re confident and comfortable with the policy you buy, so we’re happy to talk through any concerns you have about fees over the phone. If we can’t answer your questions immediately, we’re also happy to call you back with the information you're looking for.

What’s excluded on my policy?

Your policy is designed specifically to treat acute conditions that start after your 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). All of our policies have standard exclusions, which will be listed in detail in your policy documents. A guide to the standard exclusions for Healthier Solutions is included on our What can this policy cover? page. Depending on your medical history, we may add limitations to your policy – but these will be explained in detail, and you’re welcome to ask us questions about them at any time.

Is there a difference between ‘private health insurance’ and ‘private medical insurance’?

We say ‘private health insurance’ most often, but providers could use both terms to describe the same thing. A policy that helps you get private treatment could be called private health insurance or private medical insurance.

Everyone seems to offer ‘extra benefits’. What are yours?

You’ll get a number of free extra benefits with Healthier Solutions that could help you look after your health. As well as giving you access to those features, we also include discounts and rewards for good health, which could help you reduce the cost of your private health insurance when it’s time for renewal.

• Discounted Gym Memberships
  You'll get discounts of up to 50% on membership at a selection of UK gyms and health clubs.
• Stress Counselling Helpline
  Stress is a major contributor to ill-health, but it’s sometimes difficult to talk about it. So we make it easier to speak to someone who can help you deal with it. Through our Stress Counselling Helpline, you can talk to a qualified counsellor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• 24 hour GP Helpline
  Ill health doesn’t stick to normal opening hours, so we have a 24 hour GP Helpline in place for you. Contact our GP Helpline for advice on medical matters at any time of day.
• MyHealthCounts
  Looking after yourself is important. MyHealthCounts is a free online programme that helps you find out more about your health and, if your health improves, MyHealthCounts could help you qualify for discounts on your private health insurance at renewal time.
• Free cover for your younger children
  If you take out a Healthier Solutions policy that covers yourself and your eldest child under 20, we’ll also provide free cover for any younger children in your family.
• Up to 66% no claim discount from day one
  Private health insurance can reward you for not making a claim by keeping your premiums down. Terms and conditions apply to our no claim discount. You can find out more about the discount that could apply by calling us, or reading more in the Healthier Solutions brochure (PDF 1,873KB).

Is there a lot of paperwork involved in making a claim?

If you’re sick or injured, one of the last things you want is a stressful claims process. Our claims team understands that you might not be feeling 100%, and they do their best to make sure things go smoothly. You can start by making a claim online or by speaking to us directly, whichever you find most convenient.

Our specialist oncology claims department has team members trained to deal with the harrowing circumstances surrounding a claim for cancer treatment. And our specialist Women's Health Unit will deal with claims that are unique to women: a female member of our claims team will be your personal contact, from start to finish.

Best of all, we can approve most claims over the phone and we’ll settle bills directly with the hospitals so that you don’t have to worry about too much paperwork.

What’s the difference between an out-patient, a day-patient and an in-patient?

An in-patient is someone who is admitted to hospital and who occupies a bed overnight or longer, for medical reasons. As a day-patient, you would be admitted to a hospital or day-patient unit because you need a period of medically supervised recovery but do not occupy a bed overnight. An in-patient is someone who attends a hospital, consulting room or out-patient clinic and is not admitted as a day-patient or in-patient.

More questions? We’re happy to answer them

You can phone us direct on 0800 015 5193, using reference INT HS9.

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