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Medical Insurance

Private Medical Insurance (PMI) covers the costs of many aspects of private healthcare. Although in the UK we are lucky enough to have the NHS, many people now choose to take a private option for certain medical procedures and treatments. This choice is usually in order to avoid long waiting lists or to give the patient the choice of both the hospital and doctor that they see. Private hospital rooms with en-suite toilets are a much sought after and widely advertised benefit. Read more...>

Cover Details

Type of Cover
Do you currently have PMI?
If yes - date policy expires?
What is the PMI insurer?

Your Details

First Name
Last Name
Date Of Birth
Smoker?
House Name / No
Street Address
Town / City
Post Code
Home Telephone
Work Telephone
Mobile Telephone
Email Address

Private healthcare was once seen as only being only open to the rich but with the introduction of Private Medical Insurance (PMI) it is more widely available. However, it generally doesn’t cover emergency treatment.

There are many levels of medical insurance and each offer different benefits. The premiums for medical insurance rely on several factors which include medical history, sex and occupation. A quote for medical insurance will take these factors into account along with the level of cover that you require.

Most medical insurance policies will have exclusions that are not covered such as treatment for drug abuse or alcoholism. In almost all cases HIV/AIDS will not be covered. Cosmetic surgery, pregnancy and also infertility treatment are other areas that will usually be excluded from standard PMI policies. In some cases mental illness and psychiatric care may be covered but that is not a standard feature of PMI.

In most cases pre-existing conditions will not be covered by the insurance for at least two years of no symptoms from the start of the policy, although often that non-cover is for life. Long-term illnesses that do not easily respond to treatment such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis are also not usually covered.

Given the number of exclusions and the complex nature of the cover it is best to compare providers very carefully to make sure that you get the medical cover that you want at a cost that is right for you.

Top Tips

It is possible to take a family policy that will give you a comparative discount
Take care to study all the details of a medical policy so that you don’t assume cover for non-covered conditions
Be truthful about your medical history as inaccuracies could lead to loss of cover
PMI can be a very efficient way of getting speedy treatment for conditions that are low on the NHS priority list