Medical Insurance Payments Rise

Sometimes people purchase health insurance but are very surprised when the following year their premiums increase by what seems to be a very substantial amount. Why is this and is there anything that you can do about it?

Most health insurance companies have to put up their prices over and above the rate of inflation but believe it or not some of the reasons for this are actually of benefit to their customers.

Western societies are continuously researching and developing new medical treatments, drugs and procedures. The standard of health care is increasing exponentially and so are our expectations. We want the best and rightly so. The downside is the cost.

According to a Price Waterhouse Cooper report health cost inflation for this year will have been 10%.

Other reasons for the rising cost of healthcare include the facts that the population is getting older. The older the population gets the more the cost of health care rises as we work to sustain quality of life. The cost of a hip replacement has increased from £230 in 1989 to £880 in 2009.

Additionally, according to the Association of British Insurers, each year more and more people claim on their private medical insurance policies.

Worryingly 20 and 30 year olds are likely for the first time in history to have poorer health than their parents. Our lifestyles are unhealthy and this increases our health risks. Insurance companies have to increase their charges in order to satisfy the increased needs of their customers.

The World Health Organisation has predicted that by 2020 cancer rates will be up by 50%. This is alarming and will have a serious impact on what private health insurance companies can offer us.

What can you do?
There are several options if you want cheaper health insurance because your premiums are unafordable:

Shop around and find a similar policy with a different company

Talk to your health insurer. Some companies are flexible. They may prefer to make you an offer rather than loose your business.

Reduce your cover. There are various ways in which you can reduce your cover. Health Insurance News UK can provide you with information on this topic.

Female CEO for Freedom

As reported by Health Insurance News women at the top levels of business are still in the minority. Freedom Healthnet however has a woman, Nahid Salehi as its chief executive officer.

Nahid Salehi launched Freedom Healthnet's private medical insurance policies in 2003 with the aim of providing the best health insurance whilst still keeping costs down.

Freedom provide traditional health insurance cover but instead of paying for your treatment they pay you. And then you can do as you wish with the money.

'We give them the freedom to our clients to choose when and where they want to have treatment. They can go anywhere in the world,' said Ms Nahid.

Currently Freedom offer three levels of cover and are still providing one of the cheapest private medical insurance on the market. You arrange your own treatment which can be at home or abroad. Alternatively you can choose to be treated by the NHS and keep the money to use as you wish. Premium costs are kept low because their administration costs are low.