Individual or Company Health Insurance?
Many employers offer private health insurance as part of your remuneration package. Is it better to take up this offer or to have your own individual health insurance?
Most people in the UK who have health insurance have it through their employer and overall if you can get health cover through work it is usually the best option. There are three main differences between company and individual health insurance:
1) It will be cheaper. You will normally not have to pay anything towards the premium although it is a taxable benefit. Companies can normally negotiate much lower rates for their employees than can be obtained by individuals and this will keep down the taxable amount that you have to pay.
2) A company scheme will be less strict about exclusions. Because policies have to be underwritten en masse there are differences between the policies when it comes to pre-existing conditions. Company policies tend not to exclude these whereas individuals policies certainly do. Chronic conditions are normally excluded on company schemes however in the same way as they are on individual policies.
3) Company health insurance normally covers partners and children of the employee too which is not automatically the case with individual private medical insurance. You would normally have to pay a lot more to include a partner although with some companies children can be included for free.
Problems
Problems arise when people leave their jobs and want to keep some form of health insurance. Most people find that the premiums that they have to pay are much higher than they expected. If you are moving within the same insurance company it may be possible to negotiate better rates and its always worth asking as you never know what could be offered to you.
Most people in the UK who have health insurance have it through their employer and overall if you can get health cover through work it is usually the best option. There are three main differences between company and individual health insurance:
1) It will be cheaper. You will normally not have to pay anything towards the premium although it is a taxable benefit. Companies can normally negotiate much lower rates for their employees than can be obtained by individuals and this will keep down the taxable amount that you have to pay.
2) A company scheme will be less strict about exclusions. Because policies have to be underwritten en masse there are differences between the policies when it comes to pre-existing conditions. Company policies tend not to exclude these whereas individuals policies certainly do. Chronic conditions are normally excluded on company schemes however in the same way as they are on individual policies.
3) Company health insurance normally covers partners and children of the employee too which is not automatically the case with individual private medical insurance. You would normally have to pay a lot more to include a partner although with some companies children can be included for free.
Problems
Problems arise when people leave their jobs and want to keep some form of health insurance. Most people find that the premiums that they have to pay are much higher than they expected. If you are moving within the same insurance company it may be possible to negotiate better rates and its always worth asking as you never know what could be offered to you.
Labels: health insurance, private health insurance, private medical insurance
posted by Insurance News at
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