If you have ever had insurance of any type you are probably used to seeing an increase in premium each year. Whether it is house insurance, travel insurance or motor insurance, it is very rarely that we receive a renewal offer where the premium has gone down. So why do health insurance premiums increase?
Health Insurance is no different to any other policy and there are a number of factors that contribute to the increase in premium.
Increase due to age
Every year we get older. That is a simple fact of life and unfortunately as we get older the risk of us becoming unwell increases. Our age affects the amount of money we pay for our health insurance cover here in the UK.
Increase due to medical inflation
Medical inflation is not the same as the standard rate of inflation in the UK. Medical inflation takes into account the cost of having medical treatment in hospital. As the development of medical treatments and equipment advance and the technology and access to certain medications increase, the cost of medical inflation will rise to take all of these elements into account.
Claims
As a consumer, unless you have a protected no-claims discount on your policy, any claims you make will affect the amount that your premium increases at renewal. You may be in a position where your insurer will allow you to “buy back” any claims to re-adjust the renewal offer. A great option when it comes to smaller claims. Unfortunately this is not available from all insurance providers at this time.
A change in your postcode
If you have moved house and your postcode has changed, this may make your renewal offer seem particularly high. Moving from Chelmsford to Maldon and remaining in Essex would have a minimal effect (if any). If you originally lived in Edinburgh and moved to Enfield this change of address will likely contribute to the increase.
The addition of a new baby
Congratulations if you have had a baby in the last 12 months. Some health insurance companies will allow your new-born to be added to your cover free of charge until your renewal date. This means that your membership status will change to either single parent or family at renewal. Your health insurance premiums will then increase accordingly.
Working with a health insurance broker such as SMP Healthcare could help you to combat the rise in your annual premium.
We can never guarantee that we would be able to obtain a cheaper premium for our clients. We perform an annual market review and work out exactly what has caused your premium increase. By doing this, there is every chance we may be able to help you find a more competitive quotation. We may also be able to negotiate a discount from your current provider if you really are happy where you are.
We would never recommend a change of insurance company if this would jeopardise your cover for pre-existing conditions or for conditions you are due to have treatment for. On the reverse of this we would always recommend that you compare policies available. We want your health insurance premiums to stay as low as possible.
If you would like to speak to one of our experienced team, please get in touch:
Telephone: 01245 929129/ 0800 047 0127
Email: lianne@smphealthcare.com