Freedom Health Insurance [Review]

Who Is Freedom Health?

A family-run business since 2003, Freedom Health Insurance is an independent insurer based in sunny Poole, Dorset.

Freedom Health is passionate about providing a caring approach to personal protection. They offer insurance for UK residents and those living abroad under its “Worldwide” plan.

They are one of few providers who offer ‘No location-based pricing’ which means they don’t base cost on your postcode.

Freedom’s Health Insurance

Freedom Elite is the company’s main Health Insurance offering.

However, it also offers Freedom Essentials (which we discuss further down), which operates slightly differently. This provides a fixed cash benefit with no annual limit for eligible inpatient and day-patient treatment rather than a traditional Private Health Insurance plan. An International plan is also available (see below).

Elite Policy Overview

Freedom Elite provides full coverage for eligible inpatient and day-patient treatment as standard. This is part of its core cover.

You then have the option to add outpatient cover to your policy for an additional premium. Read more about the difference between inpatient and outpatient cover here.

Key Benefits

• Breakthrough cancer drugs and therapies
  Access to cutting-edge cancer drugs and treatments, even when they’re not approved for NHS use due to cost, as standard
• 24 / 7 digital GP access
  Use Freedom’s GP24 smartphone app or call a dedicated number to make an appointment with a virtual GP
• Free cover for younger children
  After paying an extra premium to add your first child to your policy, you can include additional children free of charge.

What Does Freedom Elite Cover?

Freedom Elite is Freedom Health’s premium plan, with a broad range of benefits included in their core cover. It pays in full for eligible hospital fees, specialist fees and diagnostic tests when you’re admitted to a hospital for inpatient or day-patient treatment.

Inpatient and Day-Patient Treatment

Inpatient and day-patient treatment involves all medical care requiring a hospital bed. This might be overnight (inpatient) or just for the day (day-patient). This most commonly, but not exclusively, involves surgical procedures.

Outpatient Treatment

All medical care not requiring a hospital bed. This is an optional extra on a Freedom Elite plan for an additional premium.

Outpatient Limits

If you add outpatient cover to your policy, you can choose whether Freedom pays for eligible outpatient treatment in full or limit coverage to £1,500 per policy year.

Alternatively, you can simply opt for core cover, which offers little outpatient care, to access Low Cost Health Insurance.

Cancer Care

Cancer cover is one of the most valuable elements of any Private Medical Insurance policy. It pays for diagnosis and treatment of cancer, including offering access to drugs, treatments, therapies and procedures the NHS may not yet offer due to their cost.

Freedom Elite includes cancer coverage as standard.

End of Life Care

If your cancer becomes terminal, Freedom covers end of life or palliative care in full when used to relieve pain or other symptoms of end-stage cancer.

Special Features

Some aspects of Freedom Elite that sets it apart from other plans:

• Pregnancy Complications
  You’re covered for any pregnancy complications from day one of your policy, as standard
• Unlimited NHS Cash Benefit
  There’s no limit to the amount of times you can be paid for staying at an NHS hospital (each of which you can claim £200 per night or £100 per day)
• GP-Referred Diagnostics
  Get referred for further tests by your GP without having to see a specialist (only available when you add outpatient cover).

Optional Extras

Should you wish to, you can also choose to add the following optional extras to your policy for an additional premium:

• Alternative Therapies
  Pays in full for GP and specialist referred acupuncture, chiropractic therapy, homeopathy, osteopathy and podiatry. If your GP refers you, Freedom will only pay for six sessions of treatment.
• Mental Health Cover
  Pays in full for inpatient and day-patient treatment of psychiatric conditions for up to 45 days. It also covers up to £2,000 of outpatient treatment.
• Private GP, Dental and Optical
  Refunds up to £300 for routine dentistry (checkups, scaling and polishing, extractions, fillings, crowns etc.); up to £600 for treatment of accidental dental injury; up to £200 towards routine eye tests and the cost of prescription glasses / contact lenses; and up to £300 for visits to a private GP. All payments are subject to a £50 excess.

Are There Any Exclusions?

Freedom’s Health Insurance exclusions are fairly standard to those across other providers. For example, they include:

• Emergency medicine
• HIV / AIDS
• Alcohol / substance abuse
• Allergies / allergic disorders
• Chronic conditions
• Birth control
• Cosmetic / weight loss surgery
• Intensive care
• Dialysis
• Take-home drugs / dressings
• Gender reassignment
• Infertility treatment
• ‘Normal’ pregnancy and childbirth
• Pre-existing conditions
• Screening, monitoring and preventative treatment
• Sleep disorders
• Organ transplants
• Treatment of varicose veins.

How Much Does Freedom Elite Cost?

There’s no one-size-fits all when it comes to Freedom Health Insurance cost, as what you’ll pay depends on your unique situation, and the level of cover you’re after. The factors that’ll have the biggest impact on the cost are:

• Your age (the older you are, the more you’ll pay)
• If you include family members on the policy
• If you add optional extras

However, you can bring down the cost of your Freedom Elite policy by paying yearly instead of monthly (6% saving), and choosing a bigger excess. You can also get the best policy for the right price by working with our Drewberry experts.

We live and breathe insurance at Drewberry, and have great relationships with the top providers. Plus, our advice is totally free, and you won’t pay us a penny for arranging your policy. Call 02084327333 or email help@drewberry.co.uk to discuss your options.

Freedom Health Elite Need-To-Knows

Before setting up a Freedom Health Insurance policy there are some core things you should consider. These include:

How Easy Is It To Get Treatment?

If you become ill as a Freedom Health policyholder, the first step is to visit your GP who’ll then refer you for diagnosis or further tests. It’s at this stage that you’ll contact Freedom Health to access your private medical treatment.

What Hospitals Are Covered?

Freedom Health Insurance has a large list of hospitals and private medical facilities across the UK and abroad. When you take out a policy with Freedom Health, you’ll be asked to choose a list that suits you. Some hospitals are more expensive than others, so opting for access to a wider array of private facilities increases your premium.

You can choose either Freedom’s standard list or pay extra to access the “London Plus” list. View Freedom Health’s full hospital list (Elite plan).

Do I Have to Pay Towards My Treatment?

Only if you choose an excess. Freedom Health offers the option to add an excess (a sum of money you pay for treatment before your insurance kicks in), and the higher your excess, the lower your monthly premiums.

You can choose to pay between £0-£1,000 on a Freedom Health Insurance policy. You’ll pay your excess once per policy year, meaning you can claim for multiple eligible conditions in a single policy year and only pay your excess once. Read more about Health Insurance excesses.

What Are The Underwriting Options?

When you apply for Health Insurance, you have a choice of how you want insurers to underwrite your policy. Health insurance underwriting is the insurer’s process of checking your current health to decide if they’ll cover you, and how much it’ll cost. Freedom Health Insurance offers two main underwriting options:

• Full medical underwriting: You disclose your complete medical history when you take out the policy
• Moratorium underwriting: You won’t be asked for any medical details until you submit a claim.

It can be tricky to know whether to choose full medical history or moratorium underwriting, as they’re two very different options which can impact the way your policy is shaped. Plus, the best option will completely depend on your circumstances, so call us on 02074425880 or email help@drewberry.co.uk to get fee-free, fully-protected advice from our Drewberry™ experts before making a decision.

Are Any Additional Benefits Included?

Another important factor to consider when choosing any Health Insurance policy, is whether or not it comes with any additional benefits. Freedom includes the below (not all are available on all policies):

• Virtual GP Service
  When you purchase any of Freedom Health’s UK health insurance plans (excluding Freedom Worldwide), you’ll gain free and unlimited access to a Virtual GP service, available 24/7, 365 days a year.
• Private ambulance
  Covers transportation in a private road ambulance in full where medically required.
• Home nursing
  Pays towards at-home nursing care in full for up to 13 weeks, where it’s recommended by a specialist and immediately following an eligible inpatient or day-patient procedure.
• Dental surgery
  Pays for reinserting a tooth dislodged in an accident; removal of jaw bone cysts; extraction of impacted teeth; and apicectomies to remove the tip of the root of a tooth and treat surrounding infected tissue.
• NHS cash benefit
  If you opt to have NHS inpatient treatment for a condition eligible under your Health Insurance, Freedom pays you a benefit of £200 for each night spent as an NHS inpatient. Freedom also offers a benefit of £100 for each day spent as an NHS day-patient for treatment eligible under your plan.
• Baby bonus
  A cash benefit of £150 for each child born after the start date of the policy.

As a Freedom Health Insurance customer, you benefit from their “No location-based pricing”, meaning you won’t pay more just because of where you live.

Joseph Toft
Health and Wellbeing Expert

What Other Plans Does Freedom Health Insurance Offer?

Alongside their Elite product, Freedom Health offers two other plans: Freedom Essentials and Freedom Worldwide. We’ll explore each in more detail below.

Freedom Essentials

A budget-friendly option

Freedom Essentials is Freedom Health’s cost-effective plan. You receive a fixed cash benefit to pay for your eligible inpatient and day-patient treatment (rather than the insurer paying hospitals directly).

There’s no annual limit to the cash benefit, and any surplus cash that’s left over after payment is yours to keep. Freedom Essentials is a great option if you’re looking for cheap Health Insurance that still offers decent support.

Optional Extras

In addition to the core cover, you can add a number of optional extras to the Freedom Essential plan. This includes:

Special Features

Some aspects of Freedom Essentials that sets it apart from other plans:

• If you use the NHS for any eligible treatment, you’ll still get 50% of the cash benefit to spend however you like.

What’s Not Covered?

• Complications following treatment you’d received overseas
• Accident and emergency (A&E) visits
• Pre-existing Conditions
• Chronic Conditions.

How Much Does Freedom Essentials Cost?

There’s no one-size-fits all to this, as what you’ll pay depends on your unique situation, and the level of cover you’re after. It can be hard to know where to start, but luckily our advice is totally free, and you won’t pay us a penny for arranging your policy. Call 02074425880 or email help@drewberry.co.uk to discuss your options.

Freedom Worldwide

For those who live and work abroad

As the name suggests, Freedom Worldwide is Freedom Health’s international plan, covering people who’ve moved abroad, or are living/working outside of the UK temporarily. It offers cover for overseas healthcare costs for individuals and families.

Special Features

Some aspects of Freedom Worldwide that sets it apart from other plans:

• You don’t have to be a UK expat to take out the plan. Most nationalities are eligible
• Avoid currency exchange fees by paying premiums and receiving benefits in either Pound Sterling (£), American Dollars ($) or Euros (€)
• Easily transfer to the Freedom Elite plan when you return to the UK.

It’s important to note that the Virtual GP Service is not available with this plan.

How Much Does Freedom Worldwide Cost?

What you’ll pay depends on the level of cover you’re after. There are five different levels of Freedom Worldwide, and they all offer different tiers of protection. They range from Bronze (just the essentials such as hospital stays), up to Diamond (fully comprehensive cover).

It can be hard to know what’s best for you. Luckily, we live and breathe insurance at Drewberry. Plus, our advice is totally free, and you won’t pay us a penny for arranging your policy. Call 02074425880 or email help@drewberry.co.uk to discuss your options.

Freedom Health Insurance: Our Verdict

We’re nearing the end of our Freedom Health Insurance review. So, is it a good provider? We’ve compiled the pros and cons.

The Pros 👍

Freedom includes these as standard with Health Insurance:

No Postcode Premium

Freedom Heath doesn’t price its plans based on your postcode, so you won’t pay more if you live in or around the major cities like London.

Cash For NHS Usage

If you opt to have NHS inpatient treatment for a condition that would otherwise have been covered under your policy, Freedom Health will pay you £200 for each night spent as an NHS inpatient, and £100 for each day spent as a day-patient. You can spend this however you like.

Decent Child Pricing And Baby Bonus

If you have three or fewer children, you’ll only pay for one child on a Family Health Insurance plan, while getting cover for them all. Freedom Health also caps their charges at four children, so you’ll still get competitive deals even if you have a big family. Plus, you’ll get paid £150 for every child born while you have your policy.

Physiotherapy Included With Outpatient Cover

Unlike some providers, Freedom Health includes physiotherapy as part of its outpatient cover. Other UK Health Insurance providers usually charge an extra premium for this.

45 Days of Psychiatric Inpatient Care

With the psychiatric care optional extra, Freedom Health pays in full for up to 45 days of inpatient mental health care. This is one of the longest periods of inpatient mental health treatment available on the market.

Annual Payment Discount

Freedom offers a discount on premiums of up to 6% if you pay your premiums annually rather than monthly.

The Cons 👎

No Claims Discount Not Offered

Unlike most other insurers, Freedom Health Insurance doesn’t offer a no claims discount.

No Six Week NHS Wait

Unlike other providers, Freedom Health doesn’t offer the six week NHS wait option, which would otherwise be a way of keeping costs down.

Limited Diagnostic Outpatient Tests

Freedom Health Insurance limits outpatient diagnostic tests such as X-rays and blood tests to £750 per policy year, even if you have full outpatient cover. Most providers cover these in full when you add outpatient care.

Compare Health Insurance Quotes And Get Expert Advice

As you can see, when you’re looking to compare private medical insurance there are a lot of different variations in cover that need to be considered. With so many factors and a lot of different terminology at play, it can be tricky to do an accurate like-for-like comparison between providers.

That’s where we come in. Our Drewberry experts live and breathe insurance, and have great relationships with the top providers. We take the time to listen to your situation, and figure out which provider and policy is best for you.

We’re a friendly bunch, so give us a call on 02074425880, or email help@drewberry.co.uk to chat through your options.

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