Case study

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James, 46, is a newly qualified IT programmer who earns around £35,000 a year and lives with his mother in the suburbs of London. He works on a freelance basis and would like to take out private medical insurance. James lives a relatively healthy lifestyle but does not go to the gym. He has never smoked but enjoys drinking with his mates on a Saturday night. He can afford £100 a month. What would you recommend?

Stephen Walker, Medical Insurance Services

Although James can afford to spend £100 a month on a private medical insurance (PMI) policy, he can find good basic comprehensive cover for a good deal less.

BCWA is a well-established company that has an excellent track record regarding claims and service levels. Their modular personal health policy will enable James to choose the benefits he requires. The policy operates on a managed care concept using BCWA's Service+ system. Full cover with options 1, 2, 3 and 4 would cost James, as a non-smoker, £48.25 a month, while dental cover can be provided at an additional monthly premium of £7.80, £11.27 or £14.73 depending on the cover required.

A different, cost-effective approach to PMI is provided by the National Deposit's Healthcare Deposit Account. National Deposit offers a choice of premiums ranging from £20 to £200 a month. The level of cover provided depends how much you want to pay. A monthly premium of £80 will provide maximum annual medical cover of £40,000, plus dental and optical cover of £1,200. Half of each monthly premium will be put into James' own personal deposit account. If he needs to make a claim, his deposit account will pay 10% of the cost (rising to 25% at age 65). If James rarely needs to claim, the money in his personal deposit account is available for him to withdraw if he wishes. A top-up option at £5.00 a month will give James an additional £20,000 of medical benefit to call upon in the first five years if the money in his deposit account is not sufficient for him to claim the full benefit available. Premiums are not affected by age or inflation so will remain affordable and secure. Dave Priestley, PruHealth

As a non-smoker PruHealth will reward James with a discount on his first year's premiums. This means for £100.35 a month James could have the full reassurance of top quality cover offered by our comprehensive plan, plus access to our London hospital list. By answering a further four questions about his current state of health, James could increase this first year discount by up to 30%.

By taking part in the unique Vitality Programme, James could also reduce his future premiums. We offer four reward statuses: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The more points James earns, the higher the status he could achieve. Depending upon this, and whether or not he claims, James could receive 25%, 50%, 75% or even 100% of his current premium towards the cost of his following year's cover.

While going to the gym is one way of earning points, James can still enjoy the benefits of Vitality without doing this. There are a range of ways he could earn Vitality points, including going for a walk wearing a pedometer, buying fresh fruit and vegetables, downloading healthy meal plans and attending a health screening. As a non-smoker, James could earn 150 points straight away. By registering with our online members' zone and completing his Personal Health Review, he could earn a further 150 points. Just by doing these three things, he would have earned 300 points and be over a quarter of the way to achieving silver status resulting in 50% off his renewal premium.Liam Kennedy, Standard Life Healthcare

James is in a good position as he can organise private medical insurance (PMI) to suit him as an individual and as a businessman. Standard Life business healthcare will cover his needs even though he has no staff, and the built-in flexibility means he can remain as a sole trader or employ staff and still benefit from affordable and wide-ranging cover.

As a freelancer, it is important for James to have access to a GP 24/7 so he does not have to lose work time if he has a simple non-urgent medical need. Within his budget he can cover himself for outpatient treatment for up to £1,000. Many people who have largely sedentary jobs benefit from additional therapies such as chiropractic, osteopathy and acupuncture, all of which can be included.

He will find the confidential online health and wellbeing service very practical and he can also have up to two consultations with a dietician. James will have access to a range of private hospital and NHS facilities offering speedy treatment, comfortable accommodation and all the care and expertise he would need to return to work.

There are many possible variations but, if James opts for a limit on outpatient and additional therapies costs or goes for a full refund, depending on whether he chooses to pay no excess or up to £100, his premiums could be between £67.50 and £87.65 a month. Of course with business healthcare he can keep it for himself or let any future staff choose their own options to suit each individual or job type.

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