Health insurance guides

Health insurance can be confusing. So we’ve created these guides to help.

Understanding health insurance

Our guides explain health insurance in general. They don’t describe Bupa policies.

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Transcript

Who are you?

Hello, my name's Ed Reed. I've been at Bupa for 16 years.

Come and ask me about health insurance, what you're covered for,

and any other questions you might have.

What is health insurance?

Health insurance or private medical insurance,

often referred to as P M I is an insurance product that can cover

the cost of private treatment, anything from physiotherapy,

the smaller things to the larger things like cancer and everything in between.

And you can pay monthly or annually.

And health insurance is there for any new conditions that arise after the policy

has started.

How does health insurance work?

So health insurance works. It starts off if you have a problem, an ailment,

you would need a GP referral and you can either get a GP referral via your N H

S gp or you can use our digital GP app. Once you have a referral,

you would give us a call and speak to one of our friendly advisors who would

talk you through everything from your policy limits,

if you have an excess who and where to pay your excess.

And we can also help you find a consultant to see.

Once you have the consultant you need to see, you'd give them a call,

book your appointment. At the point that you've called us,

we'd give you an authorization number so we would pay bills directly.

Once you have seen the consultant,

you could then give us a call for any further treatment, but it's really,

really easy.

You just need to give us a call once you've got that referral and we will talk

you through everything to help you.

What's the difference between health insurance and the NHS?

Everybody has access to the N H s.

You would keep your N H Ss GP and in an accident and emergency situation,

again, you'd use the N H Ss.

Where it's really different is the access or speed of access to

consultations, your treatment, your diagnosis, and your care.

It's also convenient in the sense that you can pick your own appointments around

your schedule, and that's a really big factor.

What does health insurance cover and what cant it cover?

Health insurance covers any new conditions that started after the policy

starts. For any conditions that started before the policy starts,

they wouldn't be covered.

There are also general exclusions that apply to all of our policies,

and a few examples of the general exclusions are pregnancy, cosmetic surgery,

and chronic conditions.

And a chronic condition is a condition and that can't be cured,

and that would just be maintained. Two examples are asthma and diabetes.

You would typically use the N H S A full list of our general exclusions can be

found on our website.

How can I get a quote, does this take long?

You can get a quote online. That's the quickest way to get a quote.

If you know what it is you want,

you don't need to talk through any of the options. You've done your research.

Then you can get a quote online and you can actually buy online as well. If,

however, you do have questions and you want to run through your medical history,

and you've got questions maybe about some of the options that are available at

hospital lists and excesses, et cetera,

you're able to give our friendly team a call and they'll be able to talk you

through everything.

Will I have access to private GP's?

Yes, you will have access to private gps.

You can access the private GPS via our digital GP app.

You are able to speak to GPS over video or on the telephone.

You can access them night and day and 24 hours a day

and it's unlimited appointments.

If you do want to see a GP face-to-face, you're able

to use our pay as you go service.

This isn't included in your policy,

but full details can be found on our B website.

Can I use my cover straight away?

You can use your cover straight away.

You can speak to a nurse on the Anytime Healthline.

You can also speak to a GP on the digital GP app.

If you do need to make a claim straight away,

we may need a medical report from your gp.

And health insurance is designed to cover new conditions after the policy

started.

Does health insurance cover A&E?

No health insurance doesn't cover a and e.

It's because there isn't facilities in private hospitals.

If you have an accident in emergency situation,

then you need to call 9 9 9 or use the one service.

If you following an accident in emergency situation,

there may be times that the private medical insurance will be able to help you

in a follow-up situation.

Can I cancel at any time and will I be charged to do so?

Yes, you can cancel at any time. If you are thinking about canceling,

please give us a call.

What does out-patient cover mean?

Outpatient cover is well means when you don't occupy a bed in a

hospital, so you're not a day case or an inpatient.

Outpatient can consist of consultations, physiotherapy,

or mental health therapies.

You have different outpatient limits that you able to choose from.

You can cap the outpatient limit. You can have full outpatient,

or you can exclude it altogether and use the N H Ss for your diagnosis.

When you call us up to pre authorize your claim,

we can talk you through the limits that are available because if you are capping

your outpatient limit,

please bear in mind that that may only cover a few consultations.

What is treatment and care, and what does it cover?

Treatment in care is a policy option that is more cost

effective than our full comprehensive cover. It will cover,

you have access to the digital gp, so you could use that to get a referral.

The main difference is that consultations and diagnostic tests of the

diagnosis side would be covered via the N H Ss.

Once you've been diagnosed with a condition and you need treatment and care,

you would use the policy to cover an operation In a private hospital,

you have a full therapies limit.

So we've covered physiotherapy or mental health therapies,

and once you've had your operation,

we would cover any follow-up consultations within six months of that treatment

and care.

How much does health insurance cost?

That's a really good question and one we get asked a lot.

It depends on a few factors. One of the factors is your age,

so as you get older, you're more likely to make claims.

Also, your lifestyle can affect the price.

How many people you have on your policy, the policy makeup.

So whether you have a comprehensive policy or your excesses,

there's various different options that you can pick to adjust the price.

The best thing you can do is you can go on our website or you can give us a call

and speak to our friendly team who can go through all the options with you.

Will the cost go up every year?

Yes, it's likely the cost will go up each year.

There's a few reasons for that.

The first reason would be age. So as you get older,

you are more likely to make claims, your risk goes up.

Another factor would be medical inflation.

So that is the advancement in technology of drugs and

treatments. And then another factor would be claims.

Claims can affect the cost of your policy.

At each renewal,

you have the option to review the cover and look at cost options,

and you can give our friendly team a call who can take you through those

options.

What is a pre-existing condition?

Preexisting condition is a symptom or a medical condition that you

had prior to joining us. To give you an example,

if I've got a mobile phone and I crack the screen and I don't have insurance for

it, and I try to get insurance,

that insurance wouldn't cover the crack screen As part of the cover,

you can speak to a nurse or a GP about preexisting

conditions.

If you have any questions about any preexisting conditions or to find

out what is or what isn't covered, please give us a call.

Can I pay extra to have a pre-existing condition covered?

You can't pay extra to have a preexisting condition covered as part of the

cover. You do have access to a nurse or a digital gp,

and if you've got any questions about what is and what isn't covered,

you can give us a call.

Bupa health insurance is provided by Bupa Insurance Limited. Registered in England and Wales with registration number 3956433. Bupa Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Arranged and administered by Bupa Insurance Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales with registration number 3829851. Registered office: 1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7HJ.
© Bupa 2024

Anytime HealthLine is provided by Bupa Occupational Health Limited. Registered in England and Wales with registration number 631336. Registered office: 1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7HJ. Bupa Anytime HealthLine is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority.

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