Healthy savings

O ONE should be paying more than £150 a month for medical insurance, believes Richard Collins from independent adviser Medischeme.

Although policy costs have risen over the past year, partly because of taxation, those in reasonable health should be able to find something to suit both needs and budget. And remember that, as with vehicle or home insurance, it is important to review your policy annually, to see if you can find more competitive cover from your current insurer or from an alternative provider.

Also, as with other types of insurance, where you live can make a difference to what you pay. Premiums for postcodes WD (Elstree, Radlett and Bushey) and HA (Harrow, Pinner, Edgware and Stanmore) are at the higher end of the price spectrum.

When contemplating medical insurance, you first need to decide exactly what you want to be covered for, says Collins. It is not as straightforward as you think. For some, the priority is the eventuality of “big-ticket items” such as cancer. For others, it is peace of mind concerning “speed of service, cleanliness of hospital or a choice of specialist”.

It is difficult to give a ball-park figure, he says “but with a strippeddown policy, a 50-year-old could pay just £50 a month.”

By stripped-down, he means elements such as a reduced list of hospitals — for example excluding large central-London facilities. However, this sort of exclusion could be an issue if you ever need a highly specialised procedure, such as a stem cell transplant, which may be unavailable locally or which may be best carried out at a large centre of excellence.

Another way to economise is to take the “six-week option” for nonurgent treatment. If the NHS cannot accommodate you within six weeks of diagnosis, you are entitled to private treatment. This could knock 25 per cent off the premium with many insurers.

You can also cut costs by having less outpatient cover. If you have no need of outpatient care during the year, you will be quids-in. Even if you end up paying, say £200, for one appointment, you may still be better off.

Another idea is to opt for an excess. No matter how many times you need