Dec 1 2023
What To Look For When Buying Private Health Insurance
Health InsuranceAre you shopping around for the right health insurance cover for you? Here are 7 things to look for.
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Private Health Insurance
Get a quick on-screen private health insurance quote in minutes and buy online today or simply save your quote for later. Our friendly agents are on hand if you need any help.
Get a quoteWhat is private medical insurance?
Private health insurance (also known as private medical insurance or PMI) is designed to cover the cost of private medical treatment in the event of an acute, short-term, condition that arises after the start of the policy.
Whether it’s an unexpected illness or an injury, your health insurance is there to quickly get you on the road to recovery.
Private medical insurance ensures you avoid long waiting times and gives you access to private medical facilities and private practitioners at a time that suits you.
Simply put, it means you get medical support and financial protection when you need it most. You can find out more about how private health insurance works in our dedicated guide.
Why request private health insurance quotes from Freedom Health Insurance?
We have been providing flexible and comprehensive private health insurance in the UK for 20 years, and pride ourselves on our expertise and our excellent customer service.
Whether you’re looking for personal, business, international or self-pay health insurance, we offer simple and straightforward application process.
We also believe purchasing medical insurance shouldn’t be time-consuming, which is why we offer our customers the option to receive live online quotes and go on to purchase their insurance online.
What types of private health insurance does Freedom Health Insurance offer?
We understand people have different situations and budgets, which is why we offer several types of private health insurance plans you can choose from with different benefits:
These are designed to cover your health and your family’s health, and they usually pay the hospital and consultant directly for your private medical treatment. The level of cover can vary from basic to comprehensive. Find out more about Freedom Elite.
This type of health cover is provided by a company to their employees, often as a taxable benefit. Large company schemes have the advantage of spreading the risk over a number of people and can often benefit from competitive premiums as a result. Find out more about company health insurance.
The health insurance policy for people working and living abroad. These health plans generally provide a comprehensive level of cover and usually include a few extra benefits compared to the UK plans. Some may offer a repatriation benefit, cover for acute episodes of chronic conditions or cover when outside your country of residence. Find out more about Freedom Worldwide.
An alternative to the traditional health insurance policy, this health cover is designed for cost-conscious individuals and families. With this type of plan, you receive a fixed sum of cash which you can use to get treated in any hospital in the UK or abroad as a self-pay patient (paying for treatment yourself). Find out more about Freedom Essentials.
Why Choose Freedom Health Insurance
Personal Service
With dedicated personal service and an easy claims process, our clients have been trusting us as reliable health insurers since 2003 with their private medical insurance plans.
Fast Turnaround
It doesn’t usually take more than 2 working days (or 5 for company policies) from your initial quote to setting up your private medical insurance policy.
Purchase Online
Get a non-obligation quote in minutes and continue purchasing your health insurance policy securely and swiftly online.
What Our Customers Say About Freedom Health Insurance
How does our private health insurance work?
With most health insurance policies, you choose the health benefits you want and pay your premium monthly or annually.
Then, if you fall ill, you should see your GP who may refer you for further tests or diagnosis to a specialist.
This is the moment when you need to get in touch with your private medical insurance provider if you want to get private treatment under your private medical insurance plan.
With Freedom Health Insurance you get a hassle-free claims process, with no claim forms to complete and with a personalised service to support you all the way. You usually deal with the same friendly adviser throughout your claim process, making your experience as smooth as possible.
Find out how much health insurance could cost.
What does our private health insurance cover?
Depending on the plan chosen, a private health insurance policy from Freedom Health Insurance could cover you for:
It can be difficult to know what to look for when buying health insurance. That’s why it’s important to compare different health insurance policies by getting quotes from different providers for different levels of cover so you find the most suitable protection. This will help you compare the costs against the benefits so you can make an informed decision on which private medical insurance cover will be best for your individual needs.
Why we're different to other UK private health insurance providers
There are a few other factors to consider when comparing health insurance products – and this is where Freedom Health Insurance is different.
These factors include:
No claims discount
Like car insurance, some private health insurance providers may offer a ‘no claims discount’ which means that when you make a claim, your costs could go up significantly.
At Freedom Health Insurance, we choose not to offer a "no claims discount" as we believe in sustainable and therefore more predictable pricing which can help with your personal budgeting.
Policy excess
Adding an excess to your private medical insurance policy is a good way of keeping costs down. An excess is the sum of money you agree to pay towards any claims. The higher the excess amount you agree to, the lower your premiums will be.
Some health insurance providers ask you to pay the excess towards each claim, while others, like Freedom Health Insurance, ask you to pay it only once per person per insurance period, regardless of the number of claims you make.
Payment period
Most private medical insurance policies allow you to pay monthly or annually with annual payments often coming with a discount.
Freedom Health Insurance offers a 6% discount when paying annually, helping you to reduce the overall cost of your plan.
Hospital lists
Depending on the health insurance plan you want, you may have to choose a hospital list which contains all the private hospitals you can access as part of your cover. These may include NHS private wings or wards, independent private hospitals and private hospital networks.
You should be aware though, that if your chosen consultant does not practice at the hospital on your list, you probably won't be able to use them. Whilst many consultants work in the NHS, not as many treat their private patients in NHS private beds.
With Freedom Elite, you have a good range of hospitals included in our standard hospital list, with only a few of the very expensive facilities in central London and elsewhere listed separately as an option. Our Freedom Essentials policy is a bit different as it pays you a fixed cash benefit for medical treatment which allows you to use any hospital in the UK or abroad for your treatment.
Switching to Freedom
If you have a health plan in place but you are not happy with your cover or maybe you are looking for a better price, contact us. You may be able to transfer to Freedom on the same terms as your current policy.
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Start a new quote
Getting a health insurance quote from Freedom Health Insurance is quick and simple. Compare our products, personalise your cover and purchase online in just a few minutes.
Get a quotePrivate medical insurance FAQs
What is private health insurance?
Private health insurance is a type of insurance policy which is designed to cover the costs of private healthcare for acute conditions from diagnosis to treatment. Essentially, private health insurance gives policyholders easy access to medical treatments and facilities.
Here at Freedom Health Insurance, you can choose whether you would like to pay for private health insurance on a monthly or annual basis.
How much is private medical insurance?
The cost of private health insurance varies due to a range of factors, such as the policyholder’s age and the type of health insurance policy selected. Find out more about how much private health insurance costs or get a quote here.
How do I get private health insurance?
Here at Freedom Health Insurance we’ve made getting private health insurance easy. All you need to do is fill out an online quote with your personal details, who you want your policy to cover and your health cover choices. You will be provided with a quote and you can buy online.
What is not covered by private health insurance?
Private health insurance doesn’t usually cover treatment of long-term (chronic) conditions, where this is focused on keeping the symptoms under control. It also doesn’t usually cover:
- Pre-existing conditions that you had before starting the policy
- Emergency treatment
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Cosmetic surgery
- Organ transplants
For a full list of what’s not covered, check the policy documents for your health insurance plan.
Do I need a medical examination before taking out health insurance?
No, you don’t. However, you may need to answer some questions about your medical history or we might need to contact your GP. We’ll always tell you if that’s the case. Just give us a call and we’ll tell you if we need more information before giving you a quote.
Can I get private health insurance with a pre-existing condition?
Private health insurance does not generally cover pre-existing conditions; however, some conditions might be covered after 2 years if you had no symptoms, treatment or medication in that period, depending on your underwriting.
What is an insurance premium?
An insurance premium is the amount you pay monthly or annually for your health insurance policy. Your premium is reviewed once a year and it could change depending on factors such as your age or medical inflation. We usually won’t increase your premium for making a claim.
Can I still use the NHS if I have private health insurance?
Yes. Private health insurance is not meant to replace the NHS, but to work alongside it as some things are not covered by private health insurance (such as emergency services or pre-existing health conditions). For more information see NHS vs Private Healthcare.
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