Private
health insurance information
Private
Health Insurance cover varies from insurer to insurer. For
general insurers and the large provident associations, PMI
is classified as general business under the Insurance Companies
Act 1982. Policies are issued with the benefits guaranteed
for a year in the same way as motor or household insurance.
At the end of the policy year the cover ceases.The insured
have to decide before the end of their contract year whether
they want to continue to maintain their cover for a further
12 months. This process is referred to as 'renewal'. In practice,
insurers would always offer renewal terms. The insurer could
not decline to renew the policy simply because the experience
of the individual insured was unsatisfactory.
Cancellation
The policy can be cancelled if
~ the
policyholder fails to pay the premium
~ the policyholder dies
~ the policyholder moves abroad
Many people wrongly assume private health insurance will cover
all of their healthcare needs. Unfortunately this is not the
case. PMI normally only covers the cost of acute conditions.
There
is no common accepted term for what are 'acute conditions'
and this can cause some confusion when looking to move your
insurance policy.
Long-term
or chronic conditions are not covered by private health insurance.
Hardly any policies cover private consultations with a general
practitioner or the costs of medical services to treat a pre-existing
condition. This means that cover will not be provided for
an illness or injury from which the customer has already suffered,
or is suffering form, at the time of purchase of the policy.
For a
complete understanding of what is and not covered by a policy
we work to give you clear information and advice before you
make the final decision.
Cool-off period
The GISC code of conduct, which we follow, protects you and
allows you a 14 day cool-off period to review your purchasing
decision with no penalties.
Guarantee
The 14 day cool-off period gives you guarantee in addition
to your statutory rights.
