NHS aims to provide anyone with appropriate treatment within 18 weeks of referral. Financial constraints and the rising cost of advanced treatments have created a climate, in which the shape of publicly funded healthcare has increased unease and doubts. Those seeking peace of mind and the best possible medical care options should consider private medical insurance, which offers speedy access to high-quality diagnosis and specialist treatments and surgeries when you need them the most. As well as the advantage of fast-track appointments, which bypass enormous queues in NHS, health insurance also brings you a choice of added luxuries of your own private room with en-suite facilities and many more, including family visits at any time. In addition, during your private hospital care, you will have access to a much-enhanced range of all of the latest drugs and advanced medical procedures to ensure you always receive the most effective treatment for your condition.

When you are considering taking health insurance, you will quickly notice that instead of listing all possible medical conditions, insurance companies simply divide the policy into a group of benefits. If you need to stay in hospital overnight, then all of the expenses related to this stay will be found under inpatient benefits. Things like theatre cost, intensive care cost, drugs, dressing etc., will all fall under inpatient benefits. This means that no matter which condition you are claiming for, whether it’s heart surgery, kidney stones or knee replacement, if the surgery is required and the claim is eligible, then all of the expenses related to this surgery will fall under inpatient benefits.

When you are considering taking health insurance, you will quickly notice that instead of listing all possible medical conditions, insurance companies simply divide the policy into a group of benefits. Let's face it, not every visit to the doctor will end up with surgery. In fact, early diagnostics can altogether avoid the viability of having surgery as the condition may just be treated with drugs or few physio sessions. If you need to see a primary or specialist doctor, no matter what condition you are claiming for, all expenses related to this visit will fall under outpatient benefits. Things like the initial consultation, MRI, CT, PET scans, blood tests, x-ray or any other treatment which does not require you to stay in the hospital overnight will fall under outpatient benefits.

Cancer is a serious illness. In fact, according to cancerresearchuk.org, there are more than 166,000 cancer deaths in the UK every year. That's more than 450 every single day.
Health insurance will not only help you cover radio and chemotherapy but also provides cover for biological therapies, stem cell therapy, and even experimental treatments in certain scenarios. Cancer cover is one of the major reasons why more and more people considering taking health insurance.

Excess is the amount you have to pay if you decide to make a claim on your health insurance policy. It's a way of you accepting a small portion of the risk in return of reducing your monthly premium. The higher your excess, the lower your monthly cost will be. Unlike in many other types of insurance, excess on health insurance work slightly differently. It’s called excess per year. This means that no matter how many claims you make during the year, you only need to pay an excess on the very first claim you make, rathar then every time you claim. You also have an option to have no excess at all.

Step 1 – Approach your GP for an open referral to see a specisilt.
Step 2 – Once you have the referral, you need to contact your insurer. If this is your first claim, most likely, it will take slightly longer than any further claims. This is because your health insurer will need to access your medical records and assess the situation.
Step 3 – Once your health insurance provider has assessed the information, they will get back to you with the outcome. If the claim is eligible, they will suggest the closest private facilities to you and, in certain circumstances, even book an appointment on your behalf. All you need to do is to visit this private specialist at the agreed time.
Step 4 – Once the necessary treatment completed, your health insurance provider will pay directly to a specialist or a private hospital. You don't need to worry about covering the bill yourself and then reimburse this from your insurer. Depending on your chosen cover option, you may need to pay the excess at the point of making a claim (if you have selected this option to reduce the monthly cost of your health insurance).

Life insurance is an insurance product that gives your family financial protection if you pass away. Ask yourself - Will they be able to cover the mortgage and maintain their living standards when you are no longer around? If the answer is no, then you may want to consider taking this policy. Life insurance is typically taken to cover a certain period of time (term), either when you still have an outstanding mortgage or when your children are financially dependent on you. It can also cover a hefty inheritance tax, which is currently 40% in the UK. The prices start from as little as £ 5 per month.

Critical illness cover is an insurance product that pays out when you are diagnosed with a critical illness. One of the great aspects of this cover is that the funds you receive in the event of a claim do not count as income, and therefore you are not paying tax on it. This policy can be taken alongside life cover or on its own.

Income protection is an insurance product that covers your essential outgoings if you cannot work due to sickness or injury. In general, income protection policies can be divided into two categories – short-term and long-term covers. A short-term policy gives you an income for a limited time only, for example, 6 or 12 months. Long-term policies pay out for a substantially longer period, typically right through to your retirement or even longer.