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Tips to Reduce the Cost of Health Insurance

In this article we look at some of the ways you can lower the cost of your health insurance.

1. Adjust outpatient limits or opt to self fund

• While many individuals prefer to maintain outpatient coverage, you can opt to add limits to your outpatient option. Some providers allow you to limit how many outpatient consultations you can have in a policy year for example reducing to 3 per year rather than unlimited can make a big impact in your premiums. This approach allows you to strike a balance between staying within your budget and still having some level of protection. Another option is to take off the outpatients cover from the policy and self fund for these cost only using the policy for in/day patient treatments. This would have the biggest impact on your premium.
  

2. Increase your policy excess

• Increasing your policy excess is the simplest solution to reduce the price of your health insurance.
  

3. Consider a 6-week option

• This clause states that if the waiting list for the treatment you require is less than 6 weeks within the NHS, you will opt for the public route instead of private healthcare. While this effectively reduces the cost of your policy, it does come at the expense of a lower level of cover.
  

4. Scale back your hospital list

• When selecting a policy, the hospital list typically includes a network of private hospitals nationwide. While this may seem advantageous, you're likely to only want to use the hospitals most local and convenient for you.
  

5. Try and play the market, especially during renewal

• Comparing providers is crucial, and you may find significant savings by switching insurers during renewal. We recommend that you speak to a Health Insurance Broker to do this as they are experts in their fields and there are no fee's for their advice. Check out our easy read guide for people thinking of switching providers.
  

6. Pack in the cigarettes

• If you are a smoker, your health insurance premiums, as well as premiums for other insurances like life insurance, will be higher. By giving up smoking, not only will you experience improved health, but your insurance premiums for these products will also decrease.
  

7. Eliminate Add-on cover

• Review your policy in detail to identify any supplementary or optional cover that may not be necessary. Things like dental, theories and mental health may be options you could look to drop.
  

8. Evaluate your underwriting method

• Private medical insurance typically utilises two main types of underwriting: Moratorium and Full Medical Underwriting. Changing the underwriting method can sometimes result in cost savings. However, exercise caution when making this change to avoid any negative impact on your medical history.
  

9. Buy back claims made

• Some insurers allow you to pay back the cost of a claim that you have made in the year before your renewal, providing the claim is complete. This effectively restores your No Clams Bonus. You can speak to your Broker or Insurer about this option.
  

10. Consider letting the insurer help choose your specialist

• Most insurers now offer a Guided Option whereby at the point of claim. The insurer then gives you a choice of pre-approved/Fee-assured specialists for the treatment you required. This can significantly reduce your premiums and means that all of the specialist cost will be met by the insurer in full.
  

11. Seek advice from a Broker

• To ensure you have the best policy at the best price, tailored to your specific needs, it is advisable to consult with a regulated Broker.
  

If you would like to speak to one of our partner Brokers about ways in which you can compare alternatives please Request a Comparison here and we'll do the rest.

Thanks for reading :)