Dear Who DOESN’T need health insurance?
Yes, these people exist, and surprisingly, there are quite a few of them.
Here are the three main categories who can genuinely do without IPMI:
1. Those who came far too late
Let’s start with the most painful ones. At least twice a month I get messages like these:
– “I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer. Can I quickly get insured?”
– “I’m about to have surgery on my back/knee. I need a policy that gives access to decent private surgeons to do it.”
– “I’ve got a “War and Peace” list of conditions, take a cocktail of medicine every single day, and I’m sick of fighting with the NHS. I just want private care now.”
And as much as I feel their pain and would love to help, at that point it’s no longer a conversation about insurance, it’s a chat about common sense (anyone who knows me personally will confirm that I always say things as they are).
When someone’s got a full War and Peace of medical issues - recent cancer with heart operations, chronic orthopaedics and mental health history on the back of all of these issues – I usually say this – Do. Not. Buy. This. Policy!
No matter what anyone tells you. Save your time and money. Because “that” condition won’t be covered. Nor will “this”one. And definitely not anything related to them either.
I’m sure there will be plenty of “hungry” brokers who would happily sell you such policy, but by the time the exclusions are done, it will not be worth the paper it’s printed on.
What you will be better off doing instead is take the annual premium you were about to spend on it and put it aside, so that when the time comes, you can use it for early diagnostics and private consultations to then head into the NHS with solid results in hand (if continuing privately isn’t an option). Yes, it’ll likely cost more in the long run. Yes, NHS waiting times are painful. But at least you’ll be paying for something that definitely helps, and you will not end up in the situation where the claim is declined for one reason or another and you still end up paying privately and/or using the NHS.
So, if you’re deep in “War & Peace” territory with loads of chronic, past and planned or pending conditions — skip the policy. Honestly.
2. The ones with a ‘black card’
I recently wrote an article about this (mainly psychology behind the IPMI buyers) but I also gave a simple formula to figure out if IPMI is financially and psychologically right for you.
In short, take your monthly net income (dividends; salary; extra perks, such as business lunches, cars, flights — basically, all in) and divide that figure by 10. That’s your threshold.
If a monthly IPMI premium is below that threshold — go ahead. Get the policy. It’s brilliant and worth every penny.
But here’s where it gets interesting:
If even the most premium, bells-and-whistles policy (like Bupa Global Ultimate with US cover for the whole family) costs less than 0.01% of that threshold, then (first of all, congratulations) you’re in a category where there’s quite literally nothing that I can offer you as even a £200,000 cancer bill wouldn’t go noticeable for your bank account. In that case, what these people tend to do is they set up their own home offices, who organise and pay for all medical expenses out of predefine budget you set aside.
That said, there are exceptions to this rule.
Most people in this category haven’t become suddenly rich five minutes ago. They have worked hard for decades to be there and (returning back to the topic) almost all of them already had IPMI for years.
And despite clear ability to afford huge medical bills, they still retain their cover. Why? Because they got used to how things work and that they can delegate this to others (and let’s be honest with each other, it’s also tax efficient to do so as well).
If you are in this category, then let’s grab coffee. Anywhere you like, even abroad. I won’t pitch you to buy anything from me, but I would certainly love to hear your story and how you got where you are and most importantly at what cost (but this is going to be a theme for completely different acrticle).
3. The Marvel mutants
If you haven’t sneezed in 15 years. If the only reason you’ve been into a pharmacy is for a huge box of contraceptives and even if you had an injury, your body has self-health and regenerated like a Wolverine - Seriously. Respect. Live your best life. You might not need a policy right now!
Just know this - statistics is brutal and loves to remind us that the first proper check-up, after a decade of skipping any doctors often comes with a very serious diagnosis.
I won’t go far for an example — my grandad was that guy. At the age 84, he had more energy than I do right now.
10 kilometre walk pretty much every day? - Easy.
Cold water dips every Saturday (including winter and even if it’s -20 outside) - Like clockwork.
He didn’t like any doctors whatsoever (with only one exception – my grandma who serves as a nurse for over 40 years of her life). He never felt sick. Until he did. Diagnosis? Cancer. Three months later he was gone. Three months. That was it. And the scariest bit? Not the diagnosis itself, but how fast it can take even the strongest of us. Illness doesn’t always send a warning shot. No heads-up. No time to prepare with a quality policy, benefit optimisations or anything else.
The takeaway?
I guess you don’t need one. All I would say is that if you want to talk through your specific situation.
Wishing you a happy Friday and an amazing weekend.
Yes, these people exist, and surprisingly, there are quite a few of them.
Here are the three main categories who can genuinely do without IPMI:
1. Those who came far too late
Let’s start with the most painful ones. At least twice a month I get messages like these:
– “I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer. Can I quickly get insured?”
– “I’m about to have surgery on my back/knee. I need a policy that gives access to decent private surgeons to do it.”
– “I’ve got a “War and Peace” list of conditions, take a cocktail of medicine every single day, and I’m sick of fighting with the NHS. I just want private care now.”
And as much as I feel their pain and would love to help, at that point it’s no longer a conversation about insurance, it’s a chat about common sense (anyone who knows me personally will confirm that I always say things as they are).
When someone’s got a full War and Peace of medical issues - recent cancer with heart operations, chronic orthopaedics and mental health history on the back of all of these issues – I usually say this – Do. Not. Buy. This. Policy!
No matter what anyone tells you. Save your time and money. Because “that” condition won’t be covered. Nor will “this”one. And definitely not anything related to them either.
I’m sure there will be plenty of “hungry” brokers who would happily sell you such policy, but by the time the exclusions are done, it will not be worth the paper it’s printed on.
What you will be better off doing instead is take the annual premium you were about to spend on it and put it aside, so that when the time comes, you can use it for early diagnostics and private consultations to then head into the NHS with solid results in hand (if continuing privately isn’t an option). Yes, it’ll likely cost more in the long run. Yes, NHS waiting times are painful. But at least you’ll be paying for something that definitely helps, and you will not end up in the situation where the claim is declined for one reason or another and you still end up paying privately and/or using the NHS.
So, if you’re deep in “War & Peace” territory with loads of chronic, past and planned or pending conditions — skip the policy. Honestly.
2. The ones with a ‘black card’
I recently wrote an article about this (mainly psychology behind the IPMI buyers) but I also gave a simple formula to figure out if IPMI is financially and psychologically right for you.
In short, take your monthly net income (dividends; salary; extra perks, such as business lunches, cars, flights — basically, all in) and divide that figure by 10. That’s your threshold.
If a monthly IPMI premium is below that threshold — go ahead. Get the policy. It’s brilliant and worth every penny.
But here’s where it gets interesting:
If even the most premium, bells-and-whistles policy (like Bupa Global Ultimate with US cover for the whole family) costs less than 0.01% of that threshold, then (first of all, congratulations) you’re in a category where there’s quite literally nothing that I can offer you as even a £200,000 cancer bill wouldn’t go noticeable for your bank account. In that case, what these people tend to do is they set up their own home offices, who organise and pay for all medical expenses out of predefine budget you set aside.
That said, there are exceptions to this rule.
Most people in this category haven’t become suddenly rich five minutes ago. They have worked hard for decades to be there and (returning back to the topic) almost all of them already had IPMI for years.
And despite clear ability to afford huge medical bills, they still retain their cover. Why? Because they got used to how things work and that they can delegate this to others (and let’s be honest with each other, it’s also tax efficient to do so as well).
If you are in this category, then let’s grab coffee. Anywhere you like, even abroad. I won’t pitch you to buy anything from me, but I would certainly love to hear your story and how you got where you are and most importantly at what cost (but this is going to be a theme for completely different acrticle).
3. The Marvel mutants
If you haven’t sneezed in 15 years. If the only reason you’ve been into a pharmacy is for a huge box of contraceptives and even if you had an injury, your body has self-health and regenerated like a Wolverine - Seriously. Respect. Live your best life. You might not need a policy right now!
Just know this - statistics is brutal and loves to remind us that the first proper check-up, after a decade of skipping any doctors often comes with a very serious diagnosis.
I won’t go far for an example — my grandad was that guy. At the age 84, he had more energy than I do right now.
10 kilometre walk pretty much every day? - Easy.
Cold water dips every Saturday (including winter and even if it’s -20 outside) - Like clockwork.
He didn’t like any doctors whatsoever (with only one exception – my grandma who serves as a nurse for over 40 years of her life). He never felt sick. Until he did. Diagnosis? Cancer. Three months later he was gone. Three months. That was it. And the scariest bit? Not the diagnosis itself, but how fast it can take even the strongest of us. Illness doesn’t always send a warning shot. No heads-up. No time to prepare with a quality policy, benefit optimisations or anything else.
The takeaway?
I guess you don’t need one. All I would say is that if you want to talk through your specific situation.
Wishing you a happy Friday and an amazing weekend.