Took the other half to a private hospital today for an op. All seems to have gone well and I have got her back same day! I was lucky to have some cover from my employer and the hospital was like a top hotel. Cost about £5000.
Can anyone recommend some private medical insurance? after the superb experience today, I want that peace of mind for the future. A friend recommended Vitality but that's all I got to go on so far.
All experiences and comments welcome.
Cheers.
I get AxAPPP through work and cover the entire family. We've all used it at one time or another and never had a complaint. It is rather telling that you can be told by the NHS there is a 3 month anxious wait for a scan. Ring up AxAPPP there and then get it approved and be done private the next day (all ok thank god) as happened to one of us.
Matt Millard will be the man to talk to on here, if you can contact him he will have the full sp.
Thats his profession
At my company we're with Bupa. We've has reason to use it several times. No complaints. On the contrary, we have been very impressed by the service. It's nice to phone a company and immediately speak to a friendly helpful person. No hassle at all, well recommended.
We have Vitality through work and have been very impressed vs other providers I have used before.
I've claimed for physio work on my knee and had quick and efficient treatment.
They have a strong focus on earning points for doing healthy activity each week, giving free cinema tickets, Starbucks and other things in return for hitting set targets.
They also offer cash back and discounts on things like bikes from Evans, fitness devices, trainers etc etc.
If you take a fitness assessment and non smoking test you earn more points and cashback.
Think my discounted cover through work is c£2k a year for a family of 4, but I have easily had £500 cash back, plus many free trips to the cinema and Starbucks.
Best benefit so far from work and I'd highly recommend them.
You need a broker IMO I use Health on line as with all insurance circumstances change as do premiums for example I was with BUPA and due to a shift in their rates went to PPP for the same cover for less money and quite frankly if you can afford it go for it and as with all insurance buy wisely hence a broker.
Another vote for BUPA we have medical and travel medical with them
WPA are good and have a high level of cover. BUPA are ok but seem to be a bit more restrictive with for example physio . As with any insurance you need to read the small print as to what's covered.
We moved to Bupa a year ago, the experience of the three people that have used it is exactly the opposite to yours, we will be moving it in AprilOriginally Posted by Jim W
+1 for Vitality. The only weak point is they changed their rules on physiotherapy a few years ago; used to be they would cover any provider for full cost. Now you either have to use someone in their network or they only reimburse something like £35 per visit. I tried using 2 different physiotherapists in their network and they were awful.
I have UK Health care through work, seem easier to claim with than Bupa who I had before?
Health Online is owned by PPP. The gold standard are BUPA and PPP, who dominate the market. You then get lesser cover and cheaper options. You get what you pay for. Health Online is a good shout as they lower premiums by excluding some very expensive London hospital groups from the places you can go for treatment and offering caps/flexible cover options. Underlying service model and financial strength of the business is still PPP.
Our FC is also a nurse and see's how all the private health care companies treat their clients.
She says worst are BUPA
Best are WPA
Had Bupa cover through work, injured my calf running and got 10 free Physio sessions. Was in tip-top shape at the end of it.
BUPA have been pretty good when we've needed them in the past and currently (my wife broke a MCL off and ruptured an ACL skiing) seem to be providing excellent, hassle free service.
The last thing you want if you're dealing with an injury/illness is paperwork and BUPA certainly seem to keep it all pretty simple.
M.
Try using a broker- Usay Compare are independent and offer whole of market.
For what it's worth in the industry awards Aviva Health have won Healthcare Company of the Year for the last 3/4 years.
The comment above re Bupa and Axa being the gold standard and the rest a poorer relation is not true. Aviva, WPA and Vitality all offer as good as/better cover.
First time something happens they're good, same thing again and they are much harder to deal with. WPA treat each incident separately. I have experience of both.
My company use BUPA too, but recently "renegotiated" the contract we have and we now have to pay £150 excess for any treatment on the scheme.
I guess it stops the malingerers but it doesn't make allowances for genuine folk who have real problems that need looked at.
Have also used Usay Compare and they helped with the comparison of options, especially when it came to considering pre-existing conditions/options etc. and obviously premiums and excess sums.
Experienced WPA, BCWA and now Simply Health (2 for 1 deal), over the last few years and all ok when it came to treatment, in patient episodes etc.....so far.
Switched from private to NHS. Had private cover for family through employer for many, many years. Pretty hopeless when there was anything really wrong. A thumbs up for the NHS (except for the GP's receptionists)! Yes, I agree it could be more efficient, every time I visit the hospital I'd like to whip out Visio and do a bit of process reengineering, asset utilisation, etc.
I had BUPA family cover with a previous employer - around 3 years ago I had a high PSA score, and the local GP suggested a prostate biopsy at the local NHS butchers.
Not bloody likely - I called BUPA, and within 3 days had an appointment to see a Prof at Christie hospital, one of the three leading prostate specialists in the UK.
BUPA were outstanding, at a stressful time they sent me pre-approval authorizations by email within 5 minutes, and payment was all taken care of without any involvement from me.
One issue to check carefully is the exclusion of pre-existing conditions - my new employer has a scheme which precludes existing prostate or diabetes treatment.
Thankfully, my Christie hospital Prof was happy to take me on as an NHS patient. I get the same excellent standard of treatment, but have to wait two months, rather than two days !
Last edited by W124; 5th March 2016 at 23:29.
I've always had excellent service from AxaPPP.
Just as a slight thought for another option:-
find a company you like, get a quote, instead of paying them, pay the money into a savings account. If you're unwell in the first few years then you have the NHS to fall back on. Within a few years there will be a pice pile of cash, then just pay straight private. No limitations, no exclusions.
The fun part is you can swap continually between private and the nhs based on the wait and the expense, told it's 6 months for an outpatient appointment, ay £150 go private seen that week, need blood tests, go to the nhs as they'll be free and the same speed, you get the idea
Also never have anything serious done or be seriously unwell in a straight private hospital, they are manned by a very junior doc all alone at night, if the shit hits the fan, he just calls the consultant if he needs other specialities he has to phone them up and get them in, and if you're really unwell you get transferred to the NHS for ITU
Use the private wings of NHS hospitals, the cover at nights and weekends is so much better, there is always a medical reg and itu in the building 24/7, if you need ITU it's just in the building rather then trying to do an ambulance transfer with a deteriorating patient.
The trick is to look when the doctors do, minor things, outpatients private hospital, anything major private wing of nhs hospital
Before my other half was diagnosed with MS there was a period where they thought it may be a brain tumour. BUPA let her have one scan and then would not fund any more exploration. BUPA seems fine if you just need the odd massage, but I wouldn't rely on it if you actually get sick.
I am covered by Cigna, and the level of cover allows me pretty much anything from any doctor. This coverage has a co-pay of ~£1k a year for the whole family. This is a bargain with baby #2 arriving in a month and since pregnancies are covered we've booked into the Lindo Wing. I got a new dental implant and have an MRI and CT scan on my dodgy hip next week.
All of this I could have had on the NHS (except dentistry), but with private I get 08:00 appointments with a few days notice so miss no work and the food at the Lindo Wing is in a different world to the slop at NHS hospitals.
One thing to watch out for... Many years ago I had BUPA family cover through the company. When I eventually came to use it (a minor operation for my wife) I was surprised to get an invoice from the anesthetist (the amount was for about a week and a half's wages, in fact) because my BUPA cover didn't extend that far. Given the fact that he was only there for about an hour I thought it was a bit rich and argued it, but both he and BUPA waved two metaphorical fingers in my direction so I had to pay up. The moral is... find out what they will and won't cover. As always you don't know how good your insurance is until you put in a claim.
Rob
Thanks Goat, not checked in for a while but it is indeed what I do. Hope you are well,
Cheers
Matt
Great unless you have had my situation where my late wife back in 2007 went into a well known private hospital in London for a simple pacemaker install which due to unforeseen circumstances went belly up and the final bill was north of 750K paid in full by our insurers.Agreed a lot of private hospitals who are good for the minor stuff are useless if things get major and a good NHS Hospital with a private wing is probably the best option.
If you are considering private health insurance get professional advice and always try and buy the best as there is no substitute for it when the sticky stuff hits the fan.
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