The Cheapest Health Insurance

With many families still feeling the pinch of the recession cheap health insurance is something that they are still interested in. In order to find good deals and quicly compare what is available the best way forward is to look on comparison sites such as comparethemarket.com or moneysupermarket.com.

Not all sites carry policies from all providers however so it is worth looking at all available comparison sites to see what there is. With moneysupermarket.com for example Freedom Healthnet provides the cheapest health insurance at £17.98 a month for a 40 year old, non-smoking, man living in Northampton to have Freedom Gold Inpatient medical insurance. Comparethemarket.com however does not use Freedom Healthnet at all.

The advantage of looking on comparison sites is that you can compare like for like policies quickly and easily. Health insurance policies are getting better but they are legal documents which can be quite complicated and detailed.

An alternative method when you are looking for cheap health insurance is to go online to each company and look at what they quote you. It is important to be honest at this stage when you answer questions online so that you get a realistic quotation. Private medical insurance companies will need to ask you several questions online so that they can give you an accurate quote:

• Your age
• Your sex
• Where you live
• Whether you smoke

Some companies also ask you about medical conditions you may have, for example, if you are diabetic. Looking online will enable you to look at each companies documents in order to assess what cover you might need.

The disadvantage of online quotes is that they cannot be totally accurate. On the whole they do not take account of your medical or family history for example, all of which will affect your cover.

Some companies, for example, Bupa, are unwilling to give online quotes as they say that talking to people individually is a better way to assess their needs and therefore to give them an accurate quote.

An alternative way of looking for cheap health insurance is to go to an independent advisor. However bare in mind that they take commission from health insurance companies for selling their policies. Additionally not all independent advisors will know about every policy.

Comparing Health Insurance Costs

The cost of health insurance varies greatly from provider to provider. A lot depends on what the policy is offering. Generally the more a policy offers the more expensive it is. However finding the best private medical insurance for you is about finding a balance between what you can afford and what you would like to be covered for.

Comprehensive Family Health Insurance Comparison
A non-smoking couple (aged 28 & 30) with two children (2 & 7) wanted a £100 excess:

• £126.76 PRU Health Comprehensive
• £109.15 AXA Healthcover Deluxe
• £80.99 with Freedom Diamond Plus Medical Insurance (including therapies)

Mid Range Medical Insurance Comparison
Cover for 36 and 38 year old non-smoking couple:

• £100.49 BUPA Client Choice - £0 excess
• £89.87 AXA Healthcover Plus - £100 excess
• £59.17 with Freedom Gold Health Insurance (Inpatient & Outpatient) - £100 excess

Basic Health Insurance Comparison
Cover for two 33 year old married non-smokers

• £65.36 BUPA Client Choice - £250 excess
• 47.26 AXA Healthcover - £100 excess
• £28.19 with Freedom Diamond Health Insurance (Inpatient only) - £100 excess

As you can see from these comparisons Freedom Health Insurance provides the cheapest health insurance. They can provide lower costs because they work in a slightly different way than conventional private medical insurance. Freedom pay you cash for inpatient procedures so that you can use this money to pay for your own health care. This enables you to negotiate your treatment costs.

There have been several stories noting that health insurance companies pay more for operations and procedures than individuals who seek out private treatment.

Being paid cash directly from Freedom also means that you can choose to keep the money and be treated on the NHS if you are happy with the waiting time you are given. Some people even choose to have cheaper treatment abroad and combine this with a holiday.

It is important whenever you are purchasing health insurance that you research well and read the small print in the policy documents so that you are fully informed of the details of any policy.

Choosing Corporate Health Insurance for Cancer

If you are an employee you may be considering health insurance. If you are considering it or already have a policy for your employees look into the level of cancer insurance they cover.

Cancer is very prevalent in the UK and 90,000 people of working age are diagnosed with it every year. Many companies offer their employees health care insurance. However many are not aware of the level of cancer cover that they have.

The most important thing is to be informed when you are making purchasing decisions and to be aware that not all health insurance for cancer is the same.

Some of the cheapest health insurance policies offer scant cover and few offer a comprehensive policy that protects your employees at all stages of their cancer. Most private medical insurance policies have limits.

There are various questions that you need to ask:

• Is cancer covered?
• Is there a time limit on the policy?
• Can we extend the cancer cover?
• Can employees extend their cover individually?
• Are any treatments excluded?
• If an employee has had cancer already, will they be excluded from the policy?
• Where would employees with cancer be treated?
• Does the policy provide additional benefits, for example counselling, complementary therapies, anti-nausea and steroid medication, wig provision, ?

All health insurance policies should have a specific section which explain their cancer cover. As an employer you need to have an understanding of what is covered and what is not.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) requires each provider to show an example of a cancer scenario to help explain their cover. This is a useful tool in understanding what is covered and what is not. Ask the insurer to show you their example.

Above all inform yourself of the best options for you and your employees and have a comprehensive understanding of the policy that you choose.

Cheap Health Insurance

There are different ways to cut down on your health insurance costs. Companies offer several specific products which are more limited in their scope but which offer more affordable cover but another way to cut costs without loosing lots of cover is to look for the cheapest health insurance possible.

Freedom Healthnet Ltd offer a cheaper alternative to other health insurance companies. The data below shows a comparison of costs between Freedom and other well known insurers.

Comprehensive Private Medical Insurance
Age	Freedom Diamond Plus + All options	Standard Life Primecare Plus	BUPA BUPACARE	Norwich Union Solutions	PRU Health Comprehensive
30	£38.17	£85.83	£50.61	£51.62	£40.34
40	£52.24	£106.56	£63.54	£66.68	£53.69
50	£71.70	£137.19	£80.39	£84.58	£72.31
60	£106.18	£188.43	£113.07	£118.88	£105.96
Mid Range Private Medical Insurance
Age	Freedom Diamond Including outpatient cover	Standard Life Primecare Saver	Health On Line Essentials Mid Range	Pru Health Essential	AXA PPP Health Cover Plus	Secure Health Care Plus
30	£25.04	£57.76	£33.74	£41.66	£36.69	£47.72
40	£34.27	£72.26	£41.73	£54.08	£48.83	£56.90
50	£47.03	£95.52	£58.57	£69.05	£65.76	£70.94
60	£69.64	£144.14	£86.32	£97.63	£96.36	£101.87

Freedom is able to offer such cheap insurance because it works in a slightly different way to most medical insurance companies. When you make an outpatient claim Freedom pay you directly for the costs of your treatment. It is then up to you to arrange where and with whom you are treated. The joy of this scheme is that it enables you to stay with the NHS if you are happy with their waiting times and you are then free to use the insurance money is which ever way you please.

Another option is to seek cheaper treatment abroad. Health tourism is on the increase and many people combine their procedures with a recuperation holiday. If you are unwise to not seek treatment at all however and use the money for something else then Freedom Healthnet Ltd will not cover you again.

Another plus point of choosing this type of health insurance is that being a private patient with cash in your pocket enables you to shop around within the independent sector. Recent reports suggest that private medical establishments charge insurance companies more for treatments than they do their independent customers.

Health Insurance Statistics

We all love statistics. They can provide an awful lot of information very succinctly. When it comes to medical insurance it is in consumers best interests to see who is providing what, what claims are being made and how many of them are being upheld.

There has been pressure on the health insurance industry to provide transparency, particularly since there has been much public criticism of companies who appeared to refuse cover that individuals believed they were entitled to.

Pressures for transparency can only be good for the consumer and have led to better regulation of the industry. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has now published a non-disclosure code of conduct that states that consumers must be treated fairly in the processing of claims where non-disclosure is an issue. The ABI has 96% of British insurers within its membership.

Disclosure is a term in private health insurance which refers to the obligation of the buyer to reveal accurate details of their medical and lifestyle background. Non-disclosure, failure to disclose information, is taken very seriously by health cover providers who can invalidate a claim if their customers are found to have been withholding information.

Claims complaints are said to have declined in the last year due the non-disclosure guidelines which were developed in response to calls for more transparency from health insurance providers.

Insurers are said to have had mixed reaction to the idea of publishing statistics. Critical Illness cover statistics have been published for some time in the UK and not everyone from the industry is happy with the reaction they have received. Alison Turner-Holmes, head of marketing at Scottish Provident, said: ' I do believe that media focus on the percentage of declined claims has, if anything, been detrimental.'

However the sharing information with the general public can only be good for consumers and will enable them to make informed choices when they come to choosing a provider. It is expected that there will be increasing pressure on providers to 'reveal all' as the pressures of the current recession will mean that people will be looking for the cheapest health insurance that gives them the best cover. Companies which seem to payout on claims less than others will rightly be the subject of consumer scrutiny.

Product Focus: Freedom Healthnet

Health Insurance News UK provides you with up to date health insurance news including information on the cheapest health insurance available. Today we will be focusing on Freedom Healthnet (who consistently come up on searches as cheap medical insurance providers) and looking at their best medical insurance policy, Diamond Plus Comprehensive Medical Insurance.

The most interesting aspect off all Freedom's medical insurance policies is that they offer you cash and instead of paying for inpatient treatments themselves, you arrange to pay for your own treatment. With this cash you have more freedom to choose:

Choose exactly where you have treatment (this could include overseas),
Choose who performs the procedures
Choose to be treated by alternative therapists
Choose to stay with the NHS and keep the cash
Choose a time of your convenience
Choose to barter over the cost of your treatment

The Diamond Plus Comprehensive Medical Insurance is Freedom's top product.

In-Patient Annual Benefit
There is no annual benefit limit with this policy. So no matter how often you need to be seen, you will be covered. The policy covers you for:

-hospital charges, nursing fees, medical expenses, ancillary charges and prescribed drugs and medicines
-CT scans, tests, X-rays and MRIs
-Oncology tests, drugs, consultants fees
-Pregnancy complications (after 11 months of cover)
-Physiotherapy

The cover also includes the use of a private ambulance should it be needed and parent accommodation for an insured dependent child until the age of 14. This is particularly important if you wish to travel to a better hospital which may not be near your home.

Out-Patient Cover
The same applies to out-patient cover: there is no annual limit. Outpatient treatments are normally settled directly to the hospital by Freedom. Things covered are:

-Specialist consultations and treatment fees
-X-rays, diagnostic tests and proceedures, pathology
-Radio and chemotherapy, CT scans, MRI
-Up to £500 of physiotherapy treatment

The Diamond Plus policy can be upgraded with a choice of three add-on options:

Choice 1: Alternative Therapies
-GP referrals to - physiotherapists (an additional £500 on top of your outpatient physiotherapy cover), osteopath, Chiropractor, Acupuncturist, Homeopath, Chiropodist/Podiatrist
-Your level of cover is £1,000 per policy year with up to a maximum of 6 referals from your GP

Choice 2: Psychiatric Care
-Full In-patient cover up to a maximum of £10,000 a year
-Outpatient cover £1,500 each policy year with an excess of £100 per claim

Choice 3: Rehabilitation Benefits
-Home Nursing - full cover for 28 days
-Recuperative Care - Up to £1,000 per claim
-Specialist second opinions - 1 per claim

There is a compulsory £100 excess per person per claim although you can increase your excess in order to reduce your monthly premiums.

Exclusions to the Policy
-Dental Treatment
-Accident and Emergeny
-Pregnancy and infertility
-Treatment for chronic conditions
-GP consultations
-Drug, solvent and alcohol abuse
-HIV/AIDS
-Cosmetic surgery

Examples of Costs
32 year old non-smoking man or woman - £33.52
42 year old non-smoking man or woman - £45.83
52 year old non-smoking man or woman - £63.70

These costs were taken from comparison site moneysupermarket.com and do not include the add-on options. They were the cheapest medical insurance policy prices when compared to others on the site.