Private Medical Insurance Cover

What is Private Medical Insurance Cover?

Private Medical Insurance (PMI) provides cover for individuals who wish to seek private medical treatment outside the NHS when they are ill.

This gives the individual the choice of specialist consultant, the hospital and the timing of the treatment. Unlike critical illness insurance and permanent health insurance, the contracts are renewable on an annual basis and premiums increase with the age of the client.

When looking at cover, it is useful to know that treatment is categorised in the following way:

• In-patient is when you go to hospital for private treatment or investigations and stay for one night or more.

• Day-patient is sometimes referred to as day-care or day-case. This is when you go into hospital for private treatment or investigations however not required to stay in hospital overnight.

• Out-patient is when you receive treatment or investigations of which you do not need to stay in hospital, as either an in-patient or day-patient.

There are a large variety of schemes available from low-cost budget plans offering limited cover, to those that offer wide ranging cover and benefits. Please note that some illnesses and treatments will never be covered.

Find out more in our Private Medical Insurance Guide

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