Over the years my husband and I have had occasion to claim on Private Medical Insurance (PMI). Depending on our employment at the time and whether it was included in our benefits package we were able to have treatment that we might have had to wait a long time for under the NHS. In one case the keyhole surgery for a procedure wasn’t even available on the NHS which meant that not only could the time of the operation be at my husband’s choosing and he could fit it in with work commitments, the recovery time was much shorter.

If you already have PMI you might be concerned that as you get older the premiums are creeping up? It is definitely worth looking again to see if you can get a better deal.

If you have left behind a job where you had PMI have you considered taking it out for yourself?

If like us you have a scheme for your staff it might be worth checking the market again for a competitive quote.

If you run your own business then you should consider what a lengthy wait could mean for your productivity levels. Having treatment at a time of your choosing can be important if your work is seasonal.

Sometimes as people get older and premiums inevitably go up, policies end up cancelled rather than talk to someone who can help. It can be sensible to self-insure for some treatments which are relatively cheap such as physio or mental health counselling, but you can reduce your cover to the main life threatening conditions that are expensive to treat. This reduces your premium but leaves you with core cover to be seen quickly if there is a serious problem.

We work with a specialist firm to help our clients find the best value PMI. It’s part of our financial planning toolbox for individuals and companies when looking at scenarios such as ill health and disaster planning.

Here’s how we can help,

• A free market review of your existing private medical insurance (PMI)

• Negotiation of significant discounts with your existing provider

• Access to bespoke policies and pricing from the leading providers

• Cover for pre-existing conditions in many cases

• A free claims assistance service to make claiming easy and avoid any issues or disputes

If you are interested in looking again at PMI, talk to your FMB Financial Planner or contact us for a chat via our enquiry page