Know you can afford private medical insurance but wondering whether it’s really worth it? Read this.

Many people have already turned to alternative sources of care to relieve the burden on the already overstretched NHS. But some still recoil in horror when they see the numbers that flash up on private medical insurance calculators.

Here’s the thing: these people are most probably the ones who were never going to take out private medical insurance.  They will continue to rely on the NHS for care and who’ll never experience the benefits of going elsewhere.

The simple reason? They just can’t see the value. (Either that or they really don’t have the income for it, anyway.)

But if you’re in the fortunate position of being able to afford private medical insurance, you’d be crazy not to wonder whether it’s really worth it.

To get to the bottom of the question, you’re better off not looking at costs and comparison charts, and instead ask yourself, “what would private medical insurance mean to me?”.

Because, really, the answer does all depend on you.

The real question is: how much do you value your own needs?

When it comes to speed, choice and comfort, there’s no comparison between choosing to go private or using the NHS; private healthcare is going to win every time.

That’s not to say that you won’t get an excellent level of care on the NHS. Of course, the likelihood is that you will. But what you can’t guarantee is how long you’ll have to wait to get that care. That’s because:

• Waiting lists for diagnostic tests are at their longest since 2008.
• Four thousand more people now turn up to A&E departments every day than they did five years ago.
• The current waiting list for consultant-led treatment stands at 4.57 million people (that’s 44% more than in 2015!).

With private medical insurance, you won’t wait

If you get ill or injured and choose to rely on the NHS for your healthcare, you’ll be risking sitting in the queue behind those 4.57 million people to get treatment.

And when you’re unwell, the only thing you’re going to want to do is to get better quickly.

Doesn’t happen when waiting lists are that long (which means it rarely happens on the NHS at all).

And that’s why private medical insurance is such a no-brainer for anyone who values their own needs highly. It’s the only way you can feel genuinely secure about the idea of injury or illness hitting. 

With private medical insurance, you’ll minimise loss of earnings too

When you avoid the lengthy waiting lists that the NHS is sadly infamous for, you don’t just feel better quickly, but you’re much more likely to get on with life.

If you’ve fallen ill or sustained a severe injury, the chances are you’ll be unable to work.  You will not only suffer from pain or discomfort but with a lower monthly income too. And that means that life could change – not just for you, but for your loved ones also.

You’re more than likely to save money on private care through insurance

Compare the benefits you’ll experience when you have a private medical insurance plan with the actual price of operations.  You will see that it’s not just a feel-good-factor you’re getting; it’s quite the bargain too.

So-called “self-insurers” who rely on their savings to cover the cost of private care as and when they need it could see themselves paying as much as:

The big question that only you can answer

So what is your answer? Do you want to feel safer knowing that you’ll never have to wait to get treatment, should you need it?

Do you want guaranteed access to the ideal drugs for your condition, whatever it might be?

Do you want to sleep more soundly at night knowing that you won’t turn your loved ones’ lives upside down if you get ill or injured?

If you can see the value in having peace of mind for the rest of your life, the next step is simple.

To make sure that you get the right private medical insurance policy for your needs, you’ve got to speak to an advisor. These people don’t work like regular insurance salesmen; think of them more like mortgage advisors, because they don’t want to sell you the wrong thing.

When you talk to a private medical insurance broker, you’ll match the right policy to cover your exact requirements. You can add in the extras that’ll push your peace of mind to the max. And you can home in on the right, affordable price while you do it too.

But before you do that, get a rough idea of the amount you might expect to pay for your private medical insurance premium with this simple calculator.