What May Happen if I Continue to Use My Freedom Health Insurance Benefits That s Been Canceled

Private Medical Insurance

Get access to private healthcare when you need it the most with our private medical insurance cover.

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What is private medical insurance?

Private medical insurance (PMI) is designed to cover the cost of private medical treatment for illness and acute conditions that arise after the start of the policy. An acute condition is a disease, illness or injury that is likely to respond quickly to medical treatment which aims to return you to the state of health you were in immediately before suffering any symptoms, or which leads to your full recovery.

Having a private medical insurance policy gives you access to private medical facilities and treatment at a time and location that suits your schedule, giving you confidence that you'll have the medical support and financial protection when you need it the most.

Find out more about how private health insurance works.

Types of private medical insurance

Depending on your situation and budget, there are several types of private health insurance plans you can choose from with different benefits:

• Personal health insurance plans – these are designed to cover your and your family's health, and they usually pay the hospital and consultant directly for your private medical treatment. The level of cover can vary from basic to extremely comprehensive. Find out more about Freedom Elite.
• Business health insurance – this type of health cover is provided by a company to their employees, often as a taxable benefit. Large company schemes have the advantage of spreading the risk over a number of people and can often benefit from competitive premiums as a result. With new Freedom Health Insurance group policies, if you happen to get a cheaper business health insurance quote elsewhere for similar benefits, we will do our best to match it or even beat it. Find out more about company health insurance.
• International health insurance – the health insurance policy for people working and living abroad. These health plans generally provide a comprehensive level of cover and usually include a few extra benefits compared to the UK plans. Some may offer a repatriation benefit, cover for acute episodes of chronic conditions or cover when outside your country of residence.  Find out more about Freedom Worldwide.
• Self-pay health insurance – an alternative to the traditional health insurance policy, this health cover is designed for cost-conscious individuals and families. With this type of plan, you receive a fixed sum of cash which you can use to get treated in any hospital in the UK or abroad as a self-pay patient (paying for treatment yourself). Find out more about Freedom Essentials.

Why Choose Freedom Health Insurance

2-year Fixed Premium

Select this option for any UK private medical insurance plan and your premium won't increase in the second year even if claims are made. Ts&Cs apply†.

Personal Service

With dedicated personal service and an easy claims process, our clients have been trusting us as reliable health insurers since 2003 with their private medical insurance plans.

Fast Turnaround

It doesn't usually take more than 2 working days (or 5 for company policies) from your initial quote to setting up your private medical insurance policy.

Quickly start your health insurance application

Apply for private medical insurance now and we will get back to you with a free, no-obligation health insurance quote for the cover that best suits your needs.

What Our Customers Say About Freedom Health Insurance

How private health insurance works

With most health insurance policies, you choose the health benefits you want and pay your premium monthly or annually.

Then, if you fall ill, you should see your GP who may refer you for further tests or diagnosis to a specialist.

This is the moment when you need to get in touch with your private medical insurance provider if you want to get private treatment under your private medical insurance plan.

With Freedom Health Insurance you get a hassle-free claims process, with no claim forms to complete and with a personalised service to support you all the way. You usually deal with the same friendly adviser throughout your claim process, making your experience as smooth as possible.

Find out how much health insurance could cost.

What our private medical insurance covers

A private medical insurance policy, depending on the options chosen, could cover you for:

• Inpatient and day-patient treatment – medical treatment carried out while you are in hospital. This may have an annual limit or be covered in full and will usually include cover for specialist and hospital fees, diagnostic tests while in hospital and even an NHS cash benefit (paid when using an NHS hospital instead of a private facility).
• Outpatient treatment – includes specialist consultations and diagnostic tests when you are not admitted in a hospital.
• Cancer treatment which usually includes surgery for the removal of cancerous tumorous, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Find out more .
• Mental health care – treatment of acute mental or psychiatric illness.
• Alternative therapies – this refers to treatment carried out by specialists such as an osteopath, chiropractor, acupuncturist, homeopath or podiatrist.

It can be difficult to know what to look for when buying health insurance. That's why it's important to compare different health insurance policies by getting quotes from different providers for different levels of cover so you find the most suitable protection. This will help you compare the costs against the benefits so you can make an informed decision on which private medical insurance cover will be best for your individual needs.

Other private medical insurance options

Apart from the health benefits you can select for a private medical insurance plan, there are a few other things to consider when looking at different insurance products.

No claims discount

Similarly to car insurance, some private health insurance providers may offer an important discount, usually at the start of the policy, to encourage customers to take out their cover. How the 'no claims discount' impacts your premium is often not clear and you may only discover the true premium when you have made a claim and your costs go up significantly.

This type of policy may discourage the insured person from claiming, making the whole point of having the cover questionable. You never know when you may need treatment and the time following a serious illness is not the best time to be facing escalating health insurance costs.

At Freedom Health Insurance, we believe in sustainable and therefore more predictable pricing which can help with your personal budgeting. Because of this, we operate a community rated premium which means that we don't usually increase your renewal premium as a result of you making a claim.

Policy excess

Adding an excess to your private medical insurance policy is a good way of keeping costs down. An excess is the sum of money you agree to pay towards any claims. The higher the excess amount you agree to, the lower your premiums will be.

Some health insurance providers ask you to pay the excess towards each claim, while others, like Freedom Health Insurance, ask you to pay it only once per person per insurance period, regardless of the number of claims you make.

Payment period

Most private medical insurance policies allow you to pay monthly or annually with annual payments often coming with a discount. Freedom Health Insurance offers a 6% discount when paying annually, helping you to reduce the overall cost of your plan.

Hospital lists

Depending on the health insurance plan you want, you may have to choose a hospital list which contains all the private hospitals you can access as part of your cover. These may include NHS private wings or wards, independent private hospitals and private hospital networks.

You should be aware though, that if your chosen consultant does not practice at the hospital on your list, you probably won't be able to use them. Whilst many consultants work in the NHS, not as many treat their private patients in NHS private beds.

With Freedom Elite, you have a good range of hospitals included in our standard hospital list, with only a few of the very expensive facilities in central London and elsewhere listed separately as an option. Our Freedom Essentials policy is a bit different as it pays you a fixed cash benefit for medical treatment which allows you to use any hospital in the UK or abroad for your treatment.

Switching to Freedom

If you have a health plan in place but you are not happy with your cover or maybe you are looking for a better price, contact us. You may be able to transfer to Freedom on the same terms as your current policy.

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Getting a health insurance quote from Freedom Health Insurance is quick and simple. Compare our products, personalise your cover and purchase online in just a few minutes.

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Private medical insurance FAQs

What is private medical insurance?

Private medical insurance is a type of insurance policy which is designed to cover the costs of private healthcare for acute conditions from diagnosis to treatment. Essentially, private medical insurance gives policyholders easy access to medical treatments and facilities.

Here at Freedom Health Insurance, you can choose whether you would like to pay for private medical insurance on a monthly or annual basis.

How do I get private medical insurance?

Here at Freedom Health Insurance we've made getting private medical insurance easy. All you need to do is fill out an online quote form with your personal details, who you want your policy to cover and your health cover choices. We'll then send you a quote for the health insurance policy that best suits your needs and you can continue to complete the online application.

What is not covered by private health insurance?

Private medical insurance doesn't usually cover treatment of long-term (chronic) conditions, where this is focused on keeping the symptoms under control. It also doesn't usually cover:

• Pre-existing conditions that you had before starting the policy
• Emergency treatment
• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Cosmetic surgery
• Organ transplants

For a full list of what's not covered, check the policy documents for your health insurance plan.

Do I need a medical examination before taking out health insurance?

No, you don't. However, you may need to answer some questions about your medical history or we might need to contact your GP. We'll always tell you if that's the case. Just give us a call and we'll tell you if we need more information before giving you a quote.

Can I get private health insurance with a pre-existing condition?

Private medical insurance does not generally cover pre-existing conditions; however, some conditions might be covered after 2 years if you had no symptoms, treatment or medication in that period, depending on your underwriting.

What is an insurance premium?

An insurance premium is the amount you pay monthly or annually for your health insurance policy. Your premium is reviewed once a year and it could change depending on factors such as your age or medical inflation. We usually won't increase your premium for making a claim.

Can I still use the NHS if I have private health insurance?

Yes. Private health insurance is not meant to replace the NHS, but to work alongside it as some things are not covered by private medical insurance (such as emergency services or pre-existing health conditions). For more information see NHS vs Private Healthcare.

Read more FAQs

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Source: https://www.freedomhealthinsurance.co.uk/health-insurance

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