Family Health Insurance

What is Family Health Insurance?

Although the National Health Service (NHS) does a fantastic job given the tight resources available, it can sometimes struggle to provide fast care to those who need it.

With potentially long NHS waiting lists, many families can find their lives put on hold when a loved one is injured or falls ill. That’s why it can make sense to consider Family Health Insurance.

• Provides you and your loved ones with high-quality healthcare at the UK’s leading private hospitals
• Avoids potentially long NHS waiting lists
• Offers vital treatments at a time and place that suits you
• Provides parental accommodation when a minor covered by the policy has to stay in hospital as an inpatient

With a large range of plans on offer, there should be something to fit with every family’s requirements and budget.

What Does Family Private Health Insurance Cover?

Family Health Insurance is designed primarily to ensure that you and your loved ones can access fast and efficient medical treatment if diagnosed with an acute health problem.

There are 3 types of treatments that can potentially be covered by a Family Medical Insurance plan:

• Inpatient Treatment
  Treatments that require at least one overnight stay in a hospital bed, such as surgeries.
• Day-Patient Treatment
  Day-patient treatment only require the use of a hospital room or bed during the day and not overnight. Minor surgeries, for example, can fall under this category.
• Outpatient Treatment
  Treatments that do not normally require the use of a hospital bed at all, such as therapies (e.g. physiotherapy), as well as tests and consultations.

Even the most basic Family Health Insurance plans provide full cover for inpatient and day-patient treatment.

This means that if anything serious happens that requires a hospital bed or an overnight hospital stay you can rest assured that the necessary healthcare is there when you need it.

Outpatient treatment, on the other hand, is typically offered as an optional extra for an added premium. However, many families add it to their Health Insurance plan to ensure fast diagnosis of health problems. You can either opt for a level of outpatient cover with a financial limit of between £500 and £1,500 per year or opt to cover outpatient treatment in full.

Cancer Treatment

One of the biggest benefits to having Private Health Insurance is the fact that you get access to cutting-edge cancer treatment, including drugs and procedures that aren’t routinely available on the NHS because of cost.

Other cancer benefits on certain policies include:

• The option to have chemotherapy at home rather than in a clinical setting
• Money to cover wigs and prostheses required as a result of cancer treatment / surgery
• Money to pay for scalp cooling, to reduce hair loss from chemotherapy
• Donations to a hospice should you need to stay in one to receive palliative care
• You may also get access to home nursing for a certain number of days, where a dedicated private nurse will come to your home to check up on you during your treatment.

Do We Need a Family Medical Insurance Plan?

Private Health Insurance can provide valuable protection for you and your loved ones in more ways than you might think. The most notable benefit is, first of all, the reduced waiting time for treatments.

• At the end of March 2018, 2,755 patients waiting to start treatment after a referral had been waiting for more than 52 weeks.
• At the end of March 2018, around 3.84 million patients were waiting to start treatment.
• In 2017/18, the median wait for admitted treatments was 10 weeks.
• Roughly 13% of patients had to wait more than 18 weeks to receive treatment as of March 2018

If you only need a minor procedure, this wait time may not be much of an issue to you.

However, if you or a member of your family are suffering from a debilitating health problem that is affecting quality of life – or, worse, preventing you from working and supporting your family – it is important that you are put on the road to recovery as soon as possible.

With a plan covering you and your loved ones, you don’t have to worry about waiting times.

Once you have been referred for your treatment, you can begin making plans right away and your treatment can be performed in a matter of days as opposed to weeks or months.

Key Benefits of Family Private Health Insurance

As well as covering the cost of your treatments, Family Private Medical Insurance has a range of additional benefits that can improve the quality of your family’s healthcare experience.

Parent Accommodation & Private Rooms

Most Family Health Insurance plans provide around-the-clock visiting hours and parent accommodation, so you can stay close by when your children require treatment.

In an NHS hospital, accommodation isn’t always available to parents who want to stay with their children. However, this doesn’t have to be the case if you have private medical cover.

In private hospitals, parents with children receiving treatment are provided private rooms where they can stay close to their children while still being able to get much needed rest.

Routine Dental and Optical Benefit

Some plans also provide the option of including routine dental and optical cover to your policy for an additional premium.

While children can receive free cover from the NHS, adults and older children can benefit from inclusive dental and optical cover, helping them keep up with vital checkups.

Appointments to Suit You

Having a Health Insurance for your family allows you to arrange your medical appointments around your schedule rather than the other way around.

You can arrange the time of your treatments, the hospital you receive them in, and sometimes can even pick out your own specialist.

How Much Does Family Health Insurance Cost?

A range of different factors will affect the cost of your policy which are linked to your personal circumstances as well as the policy options you choose.

The cost of Private Health Insurance isn’t going to be the same for everyone because each family is different and will have different needs.

Age

The first and one of the most significant factors is age. Unfortunately with age we tend to get more aches and pains and inevitably require more treatment. The older you are the greater the chance of you claiming on the policy and the more expensive your premiums.

Location

The price of treatments in private hospitals across the UK isn’t always the same. In certain places like London, private treatments tend to cost more than in some other areas around the country.

Because of these differences in price, your living situation will impact the cost of your policy. If your local hospital list contains hospitals that are more expensive than others then you can expect to pay more in premiums.

Health

Healthy or unhealthy lifestyle choices you make will influence how your Family Medical Insurance policy is priced.

If there are people covered by the policy who smoke or have an excessively high BMI, you can expect your premiums to be increased to account for their increased risk of claiming on the policy.

How to Reduce the Cost of Family Health Insurance

It is understandable that parents want the best healthcare for their children, partner and themselves.

However, not everyone is able to afford the best Health Insurance policies, so it can be really useful to understand which areas of cover impact the premium the most and tailor your cover to ensure it is within budget.

Outpatient Cover

One of the biggest factors that will effect the cost of your policy is the level of outpatient cover. You can opt to place a limit on your level of outpatient treatment – either a monetary limit or a limit on the number of consultations / sessions – that are covered or it can be covered in full.

Excess

It is possible to add an excess to your family plan – excesses tend to range from £100-£1,000+.

The larger the excess the more it will reduce your premiums. For example, premiums could be reduced by around 10% if you add an excess of £200.

6 Week NHS Wait Options

With a 6 Week Wait option added to your policy, you agree to have your medical treatments on the NHS if the waiting list for that treatment on the NHS is below 6 weeks. Otherwise you would go private straight away.

Reduced Hospital List

Another option to help you achieve affordable Family Health Insurance cover is to choose a reduced or local hospital list. A reduced hospital list usually means limiting your hospital list to private wards of NHS hospitals or exclusively local hospitals.

Compare 5 Best UK Family Health Insurance Companies

When comparing Family Health Insurance plans it is important that you look beyond the cost of a policy. This is because each provider offers something different that may or may not align with your family’s needs.

Aviva

Aviva is the largest insurer in the UK. Aviva’s PMI offering is their Healthier Solutions product, which you can tailor to your own budget.

• Underwriting
  Full Medical Underwriting / Moratorium / Continued Personal Medical Exclusions
• Excess
  £100 / £200 / £500 / £3,000 / £5,000 per year
• Core Cover
  Inpatient and day-patient / Cancer cover
• Outpatient Cover
  £0 / Reduced (limited to £500 or £1,000) / Full outpatient cover
• Additional Benefits
  Full parent accommodation cover for one parent / Private ambulance cover / Home nursing cover

AXA PPP

Based in Tunbridge Wells, AXA PPP Healthcare has helped people to access healthcare services since 1940.

• Underwriting
  Full Medical Underwriting / Moratorium
• Excess
  £100 / £250 / £500 / £1,000/ £2,500 / £5,000
• Core Cover
  Inpatient and day-patient / radio/chemotherapy / Optional mental health cover
• Outpatient Cover
  Standard or Full
• Additional Benefits
  Full cover for parent accommodation for one parent / Full private ambulance cover / Limited cover for children’s speech therapy

Bupa

Established over 60 years ago, Bupa is a UK household name. Bupa Health Insurance has two tiers of over: Comprehensive (full inpatient and outpatient care) and Treatment & Care (inpatient-only). Both options include mental health cover as standard.

• Underwriting
  Full Medical Underwriting / Moratorium
• Excess
  £0-£500
• Core Cover
  Inpatient and day-patient / Radio/chemotherapy / Mental health cover
• Outpatient Cover
  Paid in full or with optional limits of £500 / £750 / £1,000
• Additional Benefits
  Full parent accommodation cover for one parent / Full therapy cover / Full private ambulance cover

The Exeter

Founded in 1927, Exeter Family Friendly is a mutual Friendly Society with over 60,000 members. The Exeter’s Health Insurance policy is known as The Exeter Health+, which includes mental health cover as standard.

• Underwriting
  Full Medical Underwriting / Fixed moratorium / Rolling moratorium / Continued personal medical exclusions
• Excess
  £0 / £100 / £250 / £500 / £1000 / £3,000 / £5,000
• Core Cover
  Inpatient and day-patient / cancer cover
• Outpatient Cover
  Paid in full or with optional limits of £500 / £1,000
• Additional Benefits
  Full parent accommodation cover for one parent / Full private ambulance cover / Full home nursing cover/ Full manipulative therapy cover

Vitality

Vitality (formerly PruHealth) launched in October 2004 as a joint venture between Prudential and South African health insurance provider Discovery. Vitality has an innovative approach to health insurance in their Vitality plan, rewarding you with points and reduced premiums for healthy living.

• Underwriting
  Full Medical Underwriting / Moratorium / Continued personal medical exclusions
• Excess
  £0 / £100 / £250 / £500 / £1,000 once a year or once per claim
• Core Cover
  Inpatient and day-patient / cancer cover
• Outpatient Cover
  Paid in full or with optional limits of £500 / £750 / £1,000 / £1,250 / £1,500
• Additional Benefits
  Full parent accommodation cover for one parent / Full private ambulance cover / Full home nursing cover / Limited weight control surgery cover / 21 days rehabilitation cover.

Get Expert Family Health Insurance Advice

Why Speak to Us…

We started Drewberry because we were tired of being treated like a number and not getting the service we all deserve when it comes to things as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.

• There is no fee for our service
• We are independent and impartial
  Drewberry isn’t tied to any insurance company, so we can provide completely impartial advice to make sure you get the most appropriate policy based solely on your needs.
• We’ve got bargaining power on our side
  This allows us to negotiate better premiums for you than you going direct yourself.
• You’ll speak to a dedicated expert from start to finish
  You will speak to a named expert with a direct telephone and email. No more automated machines and no more being sent from pillar to post – you’ll have someone to speak to who knows you.
• Benefit from our 5-star service
  We pride ourselves on providing a 5-star service, as can be seen from our 2149 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5.
• Gain the protection of regulated advice
  You are protected. Where we provide a regulated advice service we are responsible for the policy we set-up for you. Doing it yourself or going direct to an insurer won’t provide this protection, so you won’t benefit from these securities.
• Claims support when you need it the most
  You have support should you need to make a claim. The most important thing when it comes to insurance is that claims are paid and quickly. We are here to support you during the claims process and make sure it’s as smooth and stress free as possible.

We are here to offer impartial and, most importantly, fee-free Health Insurance advice.

If you want to talk through your options to make sure you are looking at the most suitable cover then don’t hesitate to pop us a call on 02084327333.

Nadeem Farid
Head of Employee Benefits at Drewberry