When you begin looking at private medical insurance for the first time, how do you know that you have found the best family health insurance? There are so many options available and so many ways to buy it. As this is something you want to ensure you get right, what can you do to be confident in the choices that you have made?
Think about who you want covered?
You need to make sure that you can obtain the best family health insurance for all of the family. In the UK we have access to some of the best health insurers who offer great value family policies.
Family health insurance is available in the following ways:
- Child only
- Individual adult
- Single Parent
- Couple
- Family
For clarity, the membership status is not necessarily a persons marital status. You could me married but have a single parent health insurance policy in place.
Child only cover:
You may not even be aware that this is an option available to you. If you are limited on budget but want the peace of mind that your children have cover then this could be the answer. Child only policies are low cost but offer the same fantastic private treatment options. Not all insurers will offer a child only policy.
Individual adult:
Buying a policy just for yourself makes the process super easy. You know your medical history and you know which benefits are a priority. All of the insurers on our panel offer individual adult policies and as they are modular, you can really tailor the cover you buy. If you are in the higher age group, there may be some insurers who have limits on the age of joining their policies. This does not apply to all insurers.
Single parent:
Single parent cover is available in the UK and could be one parent, one child or one parent, five children. The key here is to ensure that the cover you choose is suitable for all of you. If you have older children to consider, it may be worth looking at a stand-alone policy for them. Your health insurance broker can help you work out which option will provide the best family health insurance for you.
Couple:
As a couple your benefits would be the same. If you wanted to have higher or lower benefits than your spouse or partner then you would need to split your policy. As an example, one of you may want cover for mental health benefits and the other may not. You could save money by looking at the policy on an individual basis.
Family:
Finding the best family health insurance for you, your spouse and children can be done easily. Regardless of how many children you have, you will be able to look at all the providers to see who will offer you the best solution. Older children will often be charged an adult premium. Looking at single cover once children are 21 might be a good idea.
What happens in a divorce or separation situation?
If you have a family or couple status health insurance policy you will need to look at your options. Most situations of this type will result in the adult members living at different addresses. Children may live with one parent or they could have shared custody. In this situation we would establish which parent would keep the children on cover. Membership would be split accordingly. You would be able to remain with your existing insurer or possibly switch to another provider. This would be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Which insurance company offers the best family health insurance policy?
This really is open to interpretation. What is best for one family will not be the same for another. Insurers such as Vitality Health offer a good modular policy with a variety of add-ons. Vitality also provide their members with rewards and discounts as part of their cover. Then if you look at a smaller, more specialist provider such as The Exeter, they are dedicated to providing excellent service and cover for consumer health and protection products. You may prefer to work with a smaller insurer who really focus on their members.
Underwriting options
We have looked at underwriting in detail before. By looking at your medical history a specialist broker can easily point you in the right direction. There are pro’s and con’s on both options and although many people look at moratorium underwriting as there is no medical history declaration at the start, this is not always the best option. For people with minimal or no pre-existing conditions, taking full medical underwriting ensures that you know what is covered from the start. No surprises therefore when it comes to making a claim for you or your family members.
How SMP Healthcare can help you find the best family health insurance?
Our team of advisers have worked in the health insurance market for many years. We work closely with our clients to ensure we find them the right policy first time. Each year we provide you with a full market review from our panel of providers. You can then compare the health insurance cover that is available. Based on your own requirements, we give you our recommendation and if you want to proceed with the policy, we help you do the paperwork too! From the start of your policy to the renewal date, our team are available to help you with any queries you have. If you are working to a budget, we will do everything possible to find you a great policy that also suits your finances.
We want to ensure you find the best family health insurance based on your own needs and budget.
When it comes to the renewal of your policy, we provide the same service, no fees, no fuss just unbiased, independent advice and good old fashioned customer service.
You can see what our clients think on Trust Pilot: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.smphealthcare.com
Which insurance companies do we work with?
When it comes to finding the best family health insurance we work with a number of insurers in the UK including:
- Aviva
- AXA Health
- Bupa
- Cigna
- The Exeter
- Freedom Health Insurance
- General & Medical
- National Friendly
- Vitality Health
We would love to help more people find the best policy for their family so if you would like more information please get in touch:
Email: enquiries@smphealthcare.com
Telephone: 01245 929129 / 0800 047 0127