5 Essentials you should know about private health insurance

The UK’s National Health Service is the envy of nations worldwide. As we’ve seen in last couple of years, it was second to none getting us through the pandemic.

Covid-19 and other factors have led to inevitable knock-on effects; the number of people on a waiting list for hospital treatment rose to a record 7.7 million in August 2023.

If you or someone you know has been waiting for treatment, you’ll know it’s not just the wait for the procedure. It’s a wait to see the specialist for the first time, a wait for scans and a wait for results too. Of course, things can happen quicker, but the uncertainty can be just as debilitating as the medical problem itself.

With private health insurance, operations are performed in a private hospital, and your procedure would be scheduled whenever is convenient for you. You’d usually recuperate in your own en suite room.

But in addition, you’d get your initial consultation, diagnostic scans and tests done just as promptly, with your results received swiftly too. Plus, like other insurance policies, it’s always on standby, so you can get the quality care we all dream of.

Private health insurance puts you in the driving seat when it comes to your treatment, so you are not left wondering what happens next and when. And what’s more, there’s time. Time not wasted, time not paused, not being slowed down or putting your life, activities and opportunities on hold while waiting for a diagnosis or treatment. All things you can’t really put a price on.

There are a couple of things worth noting about private health insurance. While policies generally don’t cover you for pre-existing medical conditions, you can call upon it for any new healthcare treatment in the future.

And it only covers approved, planned procedures – it does not, and cannot, cover accident and emergency treatment which is always carried out by the NHS.

Having private healthcare doesn’t just mean the operation’s quicker, the initial referral to a specialist, scans and results are too.

Good cover comes with added extras that are free to use and don’t need a claim form, such as unlimited calls to a 24/7 GP helpline.

Check to see how little it could cost to include a partner or child on your policy – it could be cheaper than separate ones.

Don’t forget to use your cover! You may be able to claim for treatment that’s no longer routinely offered by the NHS such as mole removal. Mention you have cover when you visit your GP.

Get it when you are well! Cover is generally for things you haven’t had yet, so you won’t be able to claim for pre-existing conditions or concerns.

Saga Health Insurance, provided Bupa Insurance Limited, gives people over 50 the ‘magic wand’ to initiate fast-tracked scheduled treatment and more besides, such as sparing them the anxiety of a long and uncertain wait.

As soon as a GP mentions referring you to a specialist, you’d call the claims team straightaway. You can see a consultant at a time and hospital of your choice; the same goes for further tests and treatment. You could be done and dusted in the time it would take for a normal specialist appointment to come through, which in Saga’s neck of the woods is a 12-week average wait for a first out-patient appointment in orthopaedics, one of the top three sources of claims.

With Saga there’s plenty of choice when it comes to health insurance, with four levels of cover to suit you and your budget. Start your quote journey today by answering four easy yes/no health questions.

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