Paul and Jemima are both 30 and have stopped smoking as part of their new year's resolution. They are looking to take out private medical insurance in a bid to look after themselves both now and in the future. Paul earns £32,000 as a press officer, and Jemima has worked as a freelance journalist for the past five years earning in the region of £21,000 a year. Their budget is £65 a month each. Paul's aunt was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and he has found there is a history of the disease in the family. Jemima has no medical history, apart from a smoking habit that she has now curbed. What are your recommendations?
Kelvin Lillywhite, Best Advice Financial Planning
The information that Paul and Jemima may consider to be negative on their applications are not problematic at all. Private medical insurance (PMI) is unusual in that very few insurers differentiate between smokers and non-smokers. With most other insurances, they would need to be smoke free for at least a year before they are able to obtain non-smoker rates.
In relation to Paul's family history of breast cancer, many leading providers do not ask about this when looking at applications.
It is possible for Paul and Jemima to both obtain PMI on their budget of £65 each a month. However, they need to consider the quality of the cover as well as the cost, which can vary greatly. While their budget will restrict them from obtaining the very best cover available, they will not be reduced to budget plans.
For £120.17 a month, Paul and Jemima could take out a policy with Standard Life Healthcare. Primecare cover offers access to more than 200 hospitals, and covers a wider range of benefits than budget policies.
It is important that they look at the hospital list to ensure that there is a hospital close to them that they would be happy to be treated in. Primecare offers a range of hospitals throughout the UK, while its leading competitor offers only a fraction of this on its comparable product. Nick Homer, Norwich Union Healthcare
Health Solutions from Norwich Union Healthcare would be a good option. Health Solutions is a no-claims-discount-based modular product that enables different elements of cover to be added or removed from the core product, depending on their requirements and budget. Core cover would cost Paul and Jemima £46.94 a month.
In order to meet their budget, Paul and Jemima could opt for the reduced out-patient cover and benefit (£56.32 a month), and consider adding dental and optical cover (£63.68 a month). If they wanted to extend their cover to include access to central London hospitals, this would increase the cost to £80.58 a month, and accepting a six-week deferment option would reduce the cost to £65.92 a month (or £58.60 a month without dental and optical cover). Paul's premium will not be affected by the history of breast cancer in his family.
Giving up smoking is a great step towards good health, but not always easy to stick to. Health Solutions offers an online personal health manager service that can assess Paul and Jemima's lifestyles and provide personalised plans on how they can improve their health. This, coupled with discounts on gym membership through the 'Get Active' programme, will help Paul and Jemima get fighting fit in 2008 and beyond.Jason Pettit, Bupa
We have assumed Paul and Jemima live on the outskirts of London, and are happy to have access to Bupa's network of private hospitals only - allowing them use of over 180 hospitals throughout the UK. It is great they have committed to giving up smoking, and once they have been smoke-free for two years we could revise their monthly premium to reflect this.
If they join as a couple, Paul will also benefit from the 10% discount available to Jemima on account of her self-employed status. With a monthly budget of £65 each, they have a range of scheme options - all of which would cover cancer treatment at all stages. Bupa is also the only insurer to have accredited networks of specialist treatment centres for breast, bowel and gynaecological cancers, so our members can receive treatment as early as possible at the right place and from a specialist team. This should hopefully allay the concerns Paul may have due to his family history.
Bupa Heartbeat Health Care Select 2, at a cost of £116.60 a month, would cover consultation fees with a Bupa-recognised specialist, diagnostic tests, inpatient and outpatient treatment, £500 each a year for physiotherapy, and psychiatric treatment after two years' membership. If they are willing to cover the cost of psychiatric treatment and consultants fees and therapies before any in-patient or day-patient treatment, then they could opt for Bupa Heartbeat Health Care Select 3 for £75.15.
