Hi, I’m currently recovering from falling off my bike. im going to pay privately for any treatment or surgery that I might need. This situation has got me thinking about health insurance in case something else happens in future. I’m not really sure what to look at and what the policies may offer. I think basically I would want cover for private medical bills. Anyone got any advice? Do such policies cover illness aswell as injury ? Cheers

Why are you going to pay for surgery privately? The only reason to do that would be if it is cosmetic ??

I’m thinking timescales more than anything so I can get driving, working and riding again as soon as possible. Obviously if the wait for any surgery I might need isn’t long with the NHS then I wouldn’t pay privately.

I have a £10 a month policy with http://www.totallysportsinsurance.co.uk/links.php

They cover me for broken bones etc.

I have income protection for my mortgage etc which kicks in after 2 months.

The TSI policy will cover me along with a decent Credit card limit until I need to claim on the IP.

Not seen one for illness specifically but it depends on how you define it.

I think standard Bupa or whatever health insurance would cover this, be aware that premiums may be loaded based on the sports you do. I have a friend who fractured his collarbone in a motorbike crash at the NW200 last year, he was plated up and racing at TT 2 weeks later.

I’m lucky to have private medical through a work scheme which has no problems dealing with the results of MTB, Skiing and motorcycle accidents!

No PMI covers medical bills etc. Income replacement covers illness etc. Depending on what cover you want it can be very expensive and will only cost a maximum 75% of salary.

It can cover inability to work after an accident ands the definitions on what injuries are covered are tightly defined and generally cover loss of limbs, sight either on a temporary or permanent basis.

You then get in to any or own occupation-that is do you want cover for not being able to do your own job or not. For example if you’re a surgeon do you want cover for if say you lost the use of a hand and couldn’t operate any more or would you be happy if you were covered only if you couldn’t do any job at all (you could for example still be an office bod in this scenario).

Cover for just being ill-even long term-is available but is very expensive and would be subject to extensive underwriting.

Illness cover is more commonly seen on a group basis (that is bought by a company to cover all their staff, generally as a benefit).

PMI is pretty simple but unless you’re prepared to spend ££££££ any preexisting conditions would be excluded. It is still quite expensive in any event.

If you’re seriously looking at income protection I’d suggest seeing an insurance broker as it can get pretty complicated.

I’ve only ever had either as part of my overall package at work.

Happy to answer any other questions. Have just finished a project developing a training package on this stuff and it’s reasonably fresh in my mind!

@nwmlarge – thanks for that, I’ll check out TSI

@momo – I had a look at bupa and on first glance it seems that you wouldn’t be covered for emergencies, I don’t know how that’s defined though.

@dannybgoode, when I’ve spoken to private physios and a private hospital this week, they’ve asked me if I have insurance. What type would they be meaning if you’re saying medical bills wouldn’t be covered?

I had a look at bupa and on first glance it seems that you wouldn’t be covered for emergencies, I don’t know how that’s defined though.

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #

Emergency = unplanned.

AFAIK there are no private emergency hospitals. If you get squashed by a bus you can’t get taken to BUPA rather than your local NHS trauma centre.

If you broke your wrist, it was put in a cast, you get told it needs to be plated then you’re then in a position to get in touch with a private hospital and sort out an appointment with a consultant, who might offer to operate sooner than the NHS can. You didn’t plan on breaking your wrist, but the surgery itself is booked in and planned in advance of you turning up. And then if anything goes horribly wrong the private hospital will send you back to the NHS to fix you up again.

I use to have full private health cover through work for me and my family (it included my kids with my ex also).

We used it a few of times.

Now I don’t have it, we just use the NHS and pay cash for private as/when.

Insurance to pay out for loss of earnings is expensive, very expensive and limited on earnings/payouts.