Stephen, 25, lives at home with his parents in Esher, Surrey. He recently started his first job at a large London-based merchant bank and he is now considering taking out health insurance. He enjoys good living and regularly visits the pub after work. He also smokes about 20 cigarettes a day. Besides that, Stephen is currently taking flying lessons. However, he is in good health. What private medical insurance cover would you recommend?
Phil Taylor, Preferred Medical
There are two elements of the recommendation that I can make before further discussion with the client. The first is that at the age of 25 there is little point considering anything other than a comprehensive plan, as the saving he would make by opting for a budget or mid-range scheme would be insufficient for the additional risk.
Secondly, in view of his location I would recommend a policy covering provincial hospitals and the modestly priced hospitals in London, rather than considering a scheme covering the expensive central London ones.
Having made those decisions I would suggest to Stephen that he should consider three plans; one from Pruhealth, one from Health-on-line and one from Legal & General.
PruHealth's comprehensive plan is slightly more expensive than the other plans because Stephen smokes.
However, the cheap gym memberships and the incentives to give up smoking and lead a healthy lifestyle to reduce future premiums may be just right.
The premium would be approximately £40 a month, depending on various other lifestyle questions.
If the PruHealth plan is not suitable or if he would like a cheaper scheme, I would recommend either Health-on-Line if he is comfortable with a compulsory £100 excess or Legal and General without an excess. Both offer good levels of cover at approximately £33 a month.
Dave Priestley, PruHealth
Stephen has a busy and sociable lifestyle and no doubt one of the core reasons for him taking out private medical insurance is so he can maintain that lifestyle if he gets sick.
While he is in good health at the moment there are elements of his lifestyle – specifically smoking and drinking – which pose a serious health risk and may result in claims later (or maybe not so much later) in life.
With this in mind, access to low cost screening would be a valuable way of monitoring his health and picking up any issues early.
Through its partnerships, PruHealth can offer discounted health screens, as well as discounted smoking cessation courses and gym membership too.
For instance, if Stephen wanted to join Cannons or Holmes Place he could get access for just £25 per month.
And through PruHealth's Vitality rewards programme the more Stephen uses the gym, or does any other healthy activity, the more he could bring his premium down the following year if he does not claim.
For example, if Stephen would wish to quit smoking, the same reward system from PruHealth could help act as an incentive.
When choosing which level of PruHealth cover to go for, Stephen should opt for comprehensive cover, because it has unlimited outpatient cover – and for younger people for whom sporting injuries are quite common this is valuable.
Because of his age, his first year premium for comprehensive cover would be affordable at £44.23 a month – and in following years if he lives a fairly healthy lifestyle it could come down further.
If he wanted to opt for a lower level of cover he could go for essential cover, which has a limit of £600 outpatient cover. This would cost him £35.30 a month. Alternatively, if he wishes to spend less money he could opt for our core cover, which would be £28.68 a month.
Jason Pettit, Bupa UK Membership
Stephen's age and current good health make this possibly the best time to take out private medical insurance (PMI).
The absence of any pre-existing medical conditions will provide him with valuable peace of mind that there are no specific medical exclusions to his cover, over and above the general policy terms.
Living life to the full has everything to be said for it, not least when you are 25. Moreover, and in a very practical sense, Stephen's passion for flying will not load his PMI premium.
The best advice for Stephen would be to combine two very worthwhile elements of wellness and healthcare into his life.
Firstly, he should consider PMI to ensure he has access to a prompt diagnosis if he is unwell and, if necessary, treatment by an appropriate expert in clean and comfortable surroundings.
But staying fit and healthy should be an important life goal for Stephen as well.
By joining Bupa Fitness Connections, Stephen should easily find a Bupa-approved health and fitness club and could be entitled to a discount on the joining fee and a reduced monthly membership fee. He would also be entitled to a 10% discount on Bupa Heartbeat PMI cover.
Factoring in this discount, comprehensive PMI cover – Bupa's Heartbeat Health Care Select 2 – would be just £43 a month or around £31 a month with a £250 annual policy excess.
Alternatively, by funding any consultations himself prior to any in-patient or day-case treatment the cost would reduce to around £29 a month or £21 with the same excess if he opted for Bupa's Health Care Select 3.
Taken together, both his PMI cover and health and fitness club membership should cost him much less than currently smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
