These days we’re more aware than ever before of the rising need for health insurance. The cost of medical attention can be high in certain countries, and even if you’re covered by your nation’s health system, such as the UK’s NHS, then if you need to go private, you will still need insurance. Basically, going without is a risk that isn’t worth taking.
Because of that fact, there are countless insurance companies out there who will happily give you a policy, but the cost could be higher than you can afford. If you have any existing medical conditions, you need to declare these at the time of arranging a policy, because if you aren’t totally honest and then you need to claim, you could find yourself with a null and void policy. Honesty is always the best advice, even if it drives up the cost of your insurance a little.
So, how can you find insurance that doesn’t cost the earth, but covers you for everything you need? Here are five tips you might like to take on board.
1. Only buy the cover you need. When you start looking at policies you’ll see that everything and its auntie is covered in the major policies, but do you really need it? Ask yourself what you actually do require, and only buy a policy that covers you for that. Obviously the less cover, the lower the price and vice versa.
2. Shop around. Head online to a price comparison website and look at the prices there. Ask for some quotes, which is easily done via email, and find out where you’re looking at the cheapest option.
3. Check what you’re already covered for. If you have any cover anywhere else, you need to see what it is you’re covered for, because you don’t want to be covering yourself twice! For example, do you have health insurance that comes as part of your work contract? These are important things to find out.
4. Don’t accept the first offer. We mentioned about shopping around, but when you finally whittle your choice down to a couple of companies, don’t jump at the first offer, and instead be a little clever. Ask if there is any way they can reduce the premium, and say you had a quote a little cheaper from elsewhere. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!
5. Think about more than the initial payment. It’s no good going for the cheapest policy just to say you have insurance, because if you do that you’re likely to be paying for a policy that has a huge excess cost. In the event of a claim, you’re going to be out of pocket. Instead, go for a policy that balances cost and excess, to reduce cost in the long run.
Finding a quality, cheap health insurance policy is simply a case of shopping around and looking at all your options.
