Step 1

UK private medical insurance works in conjunction with the NHS. This helps you receive the necessary treatment as soon as possible.
First of all, you need to approach your GP for an open referral to see a specialist.

Hint 1 - Let your GP know that you have a private medical insurance policy and you would like to receive all necessary treatments and diagnostics privately. This will speed up the process.
Hint 2 - Many insurers offer "Virtual GP" to their clients, so perhaps you would want to use this service instead of visiting your busy GP surgery.
Hint 3 - With serious illnesses, like cancer, the insurer may skip the "open referral" part and send you straight away to the specialist. It is always worth speaking with your health insurance provider to find out if this will be the case with you.

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 as 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).