6) Excess
When you make a health insurance claim the 'excess' refers to the amount you have to pay upfront yourself before the insurance company will pay out. Paying more or less excess will affect the amount you pay for your monthly health insurance premium and paying extra is one way in which people can keep down the costs of their health cover. Each provider offers a different range of options when it comes to paying an excess. Some companies offer policies where you do not have to pay any excess at all.
Why do you have to pay an excess?
Firstly, excesses do help to keep your health insurance premium down. It means that you have to pay something if you need to make a claim but overall when you are not making a claim your premiums are reduced. The more excess you pay the cheaper your insurance will be.
Having an excess also stops people making claims small claims for things that could easily be cleared up by the NHS. This helps the insurance company to keep costs down. This is one reason why some people are against excesses as they feel that it might stop people seeking medical attention when they need it particularly as small health issues could be an indicator of something more serious.
How much excess will I have to pay?
Excesses normally start at £100 but the amounts vary from provider to provider. Most range from £100-£500. Some companies offer policies with no excess.
Some providers offer a one level excess. Freedom Healthnet for example, who offer one of the cheapest health insurance policies on the market, ask for a £100 excess on each claim.
Some companies offer very large excesses. Sometimes these medical insurance policies pay unlimited amounts for treatments costs and care should you become ill. The monthly premiums are then kept very low.
How much less will I have to pay for my premiums?
The discounts offered vary from company to company. Below is a selection of quotes from various health insurers for a 40 year old man who is in good health and has a healthy lifestyle.
Bupa's Select Heart and Cancer Care
This policy has several excess options available: £100, £150, £200, £250, £500, £1,000 or £2,000. Bupa do not give online quotes for their health insurance plans.
PruHealth: Comprehensive Plan
0 excess: £71.16
£100 excess: £68.47
£250 excess: £64.45
£500 excess: £60.43
£1000 excess: £53.38
AXA PPP: Comprehensive Cover
£100 excess: £48.06
£200 excess: £44.08
£500 excess: £40.52
XS Health
This provider offers large excess contributions which significantly lower your monthly premiums.
£1,500 excess: 19.08
£3,000 excess: £11.71
£5,000 excess: £7.21
With this company once your treatment costs have exceeded your limit WPA will cover the cost in full for all eligible treatment for a further 12 months. This kind of policy is usually only recommended to healthy individuals who are not expecting to make any claims.
The most important thing to consider is whether you would be able to pay for a large excess should you become ill. If not, then you are better off budgeting with higher monthly premiums. If you have savings that you can dip into the higher excess policies may be for you but if you will struggle to pay the excess then this is not the right type of policy for you.
Why do you have to pay an excess?
Firstly, excesses do help to keep your health insurance premium down. It means that you have to pay something if you need to make a claim but overall when you are not making a claim your premiums are reduced. The more excess you pay the cheaper your insurance will be.
Having an excess also stops people making claims small claims for things that could easily be cleared up by the NHS. This helps the insurance company to keep costs down. This is one reason why some people are against excesses as they feel that it might stop people seeking medical attention when they need it particularly as small health issues could be an indicator of something more serious.
How much excess will I have to pay?
Excesses normally start at £100 but the amounts vary from provider to provider. Most range from £100-£500. Some companies offer policies with no excess.
Some providers offer a one level excess. Freedom Healthnet for example, who offer one of the cheapest health insurance policies on the market, ask for a £100 excess on each claim.
Some companies offer very large excesses. Sometimes these medical insurance policies pay unlimited amounts for treatments costs and care should you become ill. The monthly premiums are then kept very low.
How much less will I have to pay for my premiums?
The discounts offered vary from company to company. Below is a selection of quotes from various health insurers for a 40 year old man who is in good health and has a healthy lifestyle.
Bupa's Select Heart and Cancer Care
This policy has several excess options available: £100, £150, £200, £250, £500, £1,000 or £2,000. Bupa do not give online quotes for their health insurance plans.
PruHealth: Comprehensive Plan
0 excess: £71.16
£100 excess: £68.47
£250 excess: £64.45
£500 excess: £60.43
£1000 excess: £53.38
AXA PPP: Comprehensive Cover
£100 excess: £48.06
£200 excess: £44.08
£500 excess: £40.52
XS Health
This provider offers large excess contributions which significantly lower your monthly premiums.
£1,500 excess: 19.08
£3,000 excess: £11.71
£5,000 excess: £7.21
With this company once your treatment costs have exceeded your limit WPA will cover the cost in full for all eligible treatment for a further 12 months. This kind of policy is usually only recommended to healthy individuals who are not expecting to make any claims.
The most important thing to consider is whether you would be able to pay for a large excess should you become ill. If not, then you are better off budgeting with higher monthly premiums. If you have savings that you can dip into the higher excess policies may be for you but if you will struggle to pay the excess then this is not the right type of policy for you.
Labels: cheap health, cheapest health insurance, excess, health insurance, medical insurance, monthly health insurance premium
posted by Insurance News at
2:14 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home