Summary
An excellent introduction to medical insurance

Private Medical Insurance- Finding The Right Policy for You

By Tim Taverner 27/04/05

Recent research indicates that the vast majority of consumers take out private medical insurance because they are concerned about the length of waiting lists for treatment in NHS hospitals.

68% of those questioned in a recent online poll, said that they wanted to receive treatment when it was needed rather than having to take their chances with the NHS waiting lists. In other words the failure of the NHS to deliver is directly responsible for the growing popularity of private medical insurance in the UK.

Benefits of Private Medical Insurance Over The NHS

Whereas the shortest waiting period for general surgery on the NHS is 32 weeks, those covered by private medical insurance are able to receive treatment as and when they need it, in a hospital of their choice.

In other words, if you chose to use the NHS for your medical treatment, you are likely to have to wait months before actually receiving the treatment you need.

However, private medical insurance enables you to obtain medical care as soon as you need it and gives you a say over where you have it.

What Does Private Medical Insurance Give You

Private medical insurance covers the cost of private health care and enables those covered to receive the best medical care when they need it. Furthermore, subscribers can chose which hospital they want to be treated in, from the list given to them by their insurance provider.

With private medical insurance, treatments are carried out at a time which is convenient to you, and visiting times are much more flexible than at NHS hospitals. Plus, if you take out a private medical insurance policy, you will find that the quality of accommodation is much higher than in NHS hospitals.

Ultimately, however, the real benefit of private medical insurance is the confidence it gives you that you and your family will be well looked after when you are ill.

What Does Private Medical Insurance Cover Include

Private medical insurance nearly always includes:

•  The treatment of acute medical conditions

•  In-patient or day-patient surgery

•  In-patient tests

•  Hospital accommodation and nursing

Private Medical Insurance sometimes includes:

· Travel health insurance

· Out-patient consultations

· Payment for treatment that you receive as an in-patient at an NHS hospital

· Out-patient diagnostic tests

How To Find The Right Private Medical Insurance Policy For You

There are several ways of finding private medical insurance. For instance, you can compare the different policies offered by the leading private medical insurance providers to see which policy best suits your needs.

Alternatively, there are sites like Private Medical Insurance.org.uk which hunt around for special private medical insurance deals and rates to save you the hassle of looking for them yourself.

These sites contain lots of useful information to help you make an informed decision before buying a private medical insurance policy.

Tim Taverner

Readers please note : You should undertake your own background checks before taking any action on any aspect mentioned in this article. Where the author has mentioned specific product details or given examples of how companies have reacted to specific situations, these should be correct as far as the author is aware when this article was written. In some cases additional background information not mentioned in the article has been used in obtaining the examples. Some examples or quotes may have been taken from information available in the public domain where all the background details may not be available. Insurers do change policy conditions and underwriting approach. They will view each situation on its own merits.

You should be aware that details of the topics written about within the articles can change. Therefore, always check out the current position before taking any action. You should also check that any action you are considering, or any proposed purchase, is suitable for your personal circumstances.