My private medical insurance through BUPA is up for renewal and because of a change in job & going direct, the monthly premium has jumped from £27 to £54 per month with £500 excess. I am only 35 this seems a big rip off, but then again have just recovered from skin cancer earlier this year, but that was done through the NHS.
Is paying for private cover a waste of time, or worth it in the long run if you come down with something serious, plus the NHS does seem to be run to a budget nowadays.
Can anyone recommend other PMI companies that are cheaper than above please?

I have BUPA through work. Had an inguinal hernia done to get it done quickly. Was OK, done in a few weeks from initial discussion with GP.

Anything serious they would give you to the NHS. They only like the easy/profitable stuff. Lots of exceptions for stuff like HIV and that; I guess check your cover for limits as your mileage will vary.

Shoulder reconstruction, MRI scan and loads of physio.

I get it free though 😀

I have private healthcare for me and the missus free through work (not BUPA) – I just pay the tax on the benefit in kind.

For that small outlay, it is definitely worth it. £100 excess per year. I’ve used an orthopaedic consultant/surgeon a couple of times now, after big alpine accidents – had an op on my elbow, a load of appointments when I broke my pelvis and lots of top quality physio.

The big difference for me, and blatantly why my company pays for it was the convenience and speed. I had my consultant’s home and mobile phone numbers, could ring him up and arrange appointments on the same day. When I went for the op on my elbow – general anaesthetic, we agreed I needed it, then he asked when I’d like it; “Very sorry, but I can’t do tomorrow, how about the day after?”.

Also, getting x-rays, MRIs etc. – just wander over to the imagery dept. and get it done immediately; no sitting around. I also had a full body bone scan done, which was cool (had to go to a different hospital for this as it is very specialist – radioisotope injection etc.).

Sorry that got a bit rambly… short answer is that I like it, and it is worth the small amount I pay. Would I still get it for £50 per month each? probably not.

Dave

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you thoroughly understand what is and what isn’t covered. You might be surprised to find that problems you would expect to be covered aren’t. Sorry if that sounds obvious!

Had it through work for several years, never used it.

Since moved jobs and don’t have it any more. Really wish I had it now to sort busted collar bone, knee physio, shoulder physio etc more quickly…..Sods law.

It is good for routine minor stuff ans sometimes for more major surgery. Its certainly more convenient. The downside is that if anything goes wrong you are in a much worse place in a private hospital as out of hours medical cover is much lower. personally I wouldn’t dream of having surgery in a private hospital for this very reason.

its also somewhat limited in what it will cover.

I asked a similar question here.
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/should-i-join-bupa
In between the people answering a different question to the one I asked, there’s some helpful information.

Yes, I have AXA but get it as a work benefit, not used it for years then loads last year, two shoulder ops on my displaced clavicle, got my fractured scaphoid fixed and then the wife needed some procedures. On the whole it’s been brilliant, top hospitals and surgeons, the excess is £200 a year.

When I fractured my clavicle my local hospital was overstretched with three major car accidents, couldn’t even xray it for over a week, it was practically compound, a quick call to AXA went private and had emergency surgery that night.

Speaking as someone working in the private health insurance industry, if you have cover through your employer, it’s definitely worth it. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with an individual policy for a few reasons:

1) It’s going to be very expensive
2) You won’t be covered for pre-existing conditions
3) Claims are denied far more often on an individual policy vs a group policy
4) If you get seriously ill, you’ll be punted onto the NHS
5) If you claim, you can expect a chunky premium come renewal time
6) You don’t get any discount for not claiming
7) A lot of serious conditions will be excluded or limited
8) There will be a lot more exclusions or limitations buried in the T&C’s

I used to have it as a perk but when I set up my own company I dropped it as I refused to pay the tax (pay! should get a refund!). I got cancer within 6 weeks, so not my greatest decision.

The wife made some use of it when we had it. She’s also has had stuff done on the NHS and her (and my) treatment has been very good. As long as you’re assertive, well aggressive, the NHS is excellent.

My folks don’t have private cover but pay for private treatment (my mother has had a couple of cancer ops with Bupa). That seems a good deal and very convenient. They’ve spent a lot less on treatment than they would have in payments.

So… I won’t be getting private cover anytime soon but I am aware I’ve saved many thousands not having the cover so I’m relaxed about forking out if I need the speed or convenience.

In my cardiac department I would say it’s a complete waste of time.
I would say it is good for smaller stuff with long waiting lists & ortho stuff.

For one non emergency knee operation – i had the scan and op within the week going private. I was told 6 months on the NHS. I’d hope waiting times have come down, but the time factor alone is worth it.
I see most insurance as covering a worst case scenario. With health insurance its the other way around – better for minor stuff with long waiting lists.

I organise my Company policy and for what its worth i think my premium also went up when i hit the 35 bracket. As noted lots of small print including length of time for any one claim and of course i don’t expect to be covered on my knee. The tax on it is not that bad. Would i get covered on personal insurance? Probebly would purely for the time element.

I have some AXA thing through work and it is brilliant. I don’t have to pay anything, I just go to the doctors and tell them I want a referal, then off I go to the physio or whatever and it doesn’t cost me a penny.

If I have been doing a load of running and fancy some sports massage type stuff I can go and get that done for free, and because it’s paid for by work I can have my appointments in work time and no one seems to mind.

I used to get it FOC through work and now pay through my wife’s Group policy.

For the sorts of injuries you get MTBing/Skiing/climbing/running it’s been fantastic. I had a collar bone plate a couple of years ago within 48hrs of busting it and was back on the bike within 10 days happily handing my triangular bandage back to the NHS 🙂

However, when it goes wrong, they do defer to the NHS. I had a post opp DVT and was rushed into NHS care, the local BUPA hospital wasn’t even considered.

I pay £36/month for the privilage and will happily continue to do so just for the speed of access to non emergency care for the sports injuries we encounter.

“Is paying for private cover a waste of time, or worth it in the long run if you come down with something serious”

Mrs FD is a NHS Surgeon and her opinion is that yes if you can afford private health care then go for it as it will help you get seen quicker than it would through the NHS if it is a relatively minor complaint. However if she was seriously ill she would say NHS every time.

The pitfalls of private are that if you have an op in a private hospital and it goes wrong they will dial 999 and get an ambulance to take you to the nearest hospital as they dont have full facilties in a private hospital. Also make sure that the private doc still does NHS work. If they do not or do very little, then their skills are not likely to be the most up to date.

“plus the NHS does seem to be run to a budget nowadays.”

I know that many PCT’s are now changing the criteria of what surgery etc will be given the go ahead and what wont. One near me recently put a hold on all hip replacement referals, so tuff look if you hip hurts a bit and needs replacing..

The choice is yours at the end of the day. The quality of care WILL NOT be any better, if anything slightly worse in Private land for serious stuff, just it will be nicer food, no chav in a bed next to you, Sky TV and everything will be done quicker.

Agree mostly with the above my and GF pay about £100/month she has had all that back in 3 knee surgeries, last one was a quick op Consult Monday, Op Thursday.

Only way to get seen that quick on the NHS is to arrive in an ambulance with bits hanging off

Thanks for all the helpful feedback. It sounds like the individual policy option has some drawbacks versus the company group policy, although they have agreed to carry on the pre-existing condition.
One option BUPA gave was for a Local HospitalCare policy instead of a BUPACare policy, which saved around £10, but you could end up in a partnership network hospital? Not sure if this is just slang for back in the NHS hospital where you would be if you hadn’t gone private & paid £500+pa?

One thing which was very good about my own cover, I got hospitalised last year for 5 days after contracting typhoid in china. My work scheme coughed up £150 a night for the NHS cash benefit 🙂 paid for my summer holiday so it wasnt all bad.

Been on the work scheme for a few years but not had to use it yet, plenty in the office have though (so much so they insisted on a £100 excess from a couple of years ago). Not sure I’d pay £54 a month though…

when I had my heart op at leeds the guy in the bed beside me was paying for his. he said he ‘d been with bupa for donkeys and they would do the op( same surgeons etc just at the private hospital) but he declined and paid the nhs for the op as that was where the best HDU and ICU care was..

given it 10 yrs ago as a work benefit, resented the tax, total waste of time. then i crashed my bike a few times and needed a shoulder op and as others say, all so convenient, a few wks from GP to overnight stay, unlimited physio, brilliant.

For people doing a semi dangerous sport it is probably a good idea. who wants to miss a whole summer’s riding because of NHS queues?