An Introduction into Health Insurance

Dec 1
08:15

2011

John Waugh

John Waugh

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Health Insurance is insurance which is used to cover the costs that can occur when receiving medical treatment. The most common type of health insurance is known as Private Medical Insurance (PMI). The insurer will weigh up the overall risk of health care being needed by an individual and develop a premium that will be needed to be paid in order to be insured.

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These premiums are what you need to pay the insurer to be covered and are usually available to be paid in monthly or quarterly instalments. They can also be paid in full if you wish. Premiums usually only cover 12 months at a time as insurers like to review the agreement annually to cover medical cost rises in the industry.

Private health insurance is provided by private sector medical and insurance companies which are non-government funded. These insurance companies are separate from the government funded National Health System (NHS) through public taxes.

Private health insurance runs side by side the NHS and is used by roughly 8 percent of the population in the UK. Private health insurance doesn’t necessarily replace the NHS but is seen more of an add-on or top up of services available on the NHS. PMI can also provide access to health care options not always immediately available through the public system.