Healthcare for contractors

A guide to private healthcare for freelance contractors

Contracting has many benefits, including plenty of freedom and flexibility. But, that comes at the cost of not getting paid if you don’t work.

Therefore, one thing that is not ideal when it comes to healthcare is delays. Delays are a common occurrence with NHS healthcare. By going private, you can rest assured that treatment will be much quicker, meaning if you fall ill or suffer an injury, the time out of work can be reduced.

How do you get access to private healthcare?

To get access to private healthcare, a monthly or annual fee is paid. Should you get sick or injured, you can make a claim and the policy will pay out accordingly for what is covered.

Here’s an exploration into the benefits of having private healthcare for contractors, and the best and most cost effective way to find the cover that suits you.

What are the benefits of private healthcare?

Here in the UK, we’re proud of the National Health Service (NHS). The NHS provides the majority of healthcare to the nation – so why would anyone in the UK need private health insurance?

The reality is that in recent years the NHS has come under significant strain. Factors like a rise in population, lack of funding and the increase in life expectancy has resulted in longer waiting times, lack of choice and limited treatments. Private healthcare offers you:

Shorter waiting times
Specialist drugs & treatments
Access to private hospitals
Quick access to a GP service

Medical history disregarded underwriting is the most highly sought after private medical insurance product. Unlike all other types of underwriting your medical history is completely ignored, so you won’t receive any nasty exclusions or find yourself not being covered for something you’ve had previously.

Understandably this is a popular product but insurers simply cannot afford to offer the product to everyone. Currently there are only 3 ways you can access medical history disregarded underwriting:

From birth
Company Policy
Continuing a company policy privately

Healthcare for contractors – tips

With multiple healthcare providers on the market, it can be difficult to know where to start when deciding the best option.

How do you know which one to choose?

The answer depends on a variety of factors. However, when looking at suitable cover for contractors, it’s important your healthcare provides the following:

A decent level of outpatient cover, to provide access to tests, scans and procedures not requiring a hospital bed
Access to therapies, such as physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic treatments
Treatment in a good range of private hospitals and clinics.

If you’re not sure exactly what makes a good health insurance policy, Procorre can provide advice on selecting a healthcare policy. As a Procorre Partner, you can get access to high quality healthcare packages.

Advantages

Equality – Everyone is treated the same, regardless of whether they’ve had eight previous medical conditions or none at all. This levels the playing field and allows everyone equal access to the treatment they need, without the unfairness of exclusions restricting the access of people with an extensive medical history.
Peace of mind – You can be safe in the knowledge that if you or a family member on the policy has to be rushed into hospital, there’ll be no complicated claims assessment process to worry about. Your medical history won’t come into it at all so decisions can be made quickly by your insurers, causing you less stress.
Everything is covered – With no exclusions or previous medical history to debate over, essentially everything can be covered, provided of course it meets the general terms and conditions of the policy.
Easy to understand – Unlike the moratorium which can be difficult for policyholders to get to grips with, medical history disregarded policies are relatively simple.
No forms – There are no complicated and time consuming forms to fill in, either when you take the policy out or after you’ve made a claim. This means you won’t waste time visiting the doctor to get a claim form filled in, so you’ll save on their charges too.

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