How to Go About Buying Health Insurance

If you’ve done a little research into private health insurance, you may be wondering now how to actually go about buying your medical cover.

You can buy health insurance cover through a broker, an agent or direct from an insurer. These days you usually have a choice about how you purchase your cover. Options include:

• Over the phone
• Online
• In person
• By post

An independent broker will give you advice on policies from various different companies, whereas an agent or insurer will only provide information on their own company’s policies. If you’re unsure of the status of the person you’re discussing insurance with don’t be afraid to ask them who they work on behalf of.

Information you’ll need to give

Before you find out which policy you’re eligible for and exactly what your premiums will be, you’ll need to answer some questions. However, don’t forget most insurance firms can usually give you an instant quote online or by phone and it will usually give you a good guideline on what you can expect to pay.

Before finally signing up for insurance, you’ll usually be asked to fill in an application form either online or by post, or you’ll be asked questions over the phone. Most of the questions will relate to your health as well as basic questions about your age and location etc.

It is essential that you are 100% truthful in any questions that are asked and are not tempted to fib to lower your premiums. If you do, in the event of a claim, you could end up finding you’re uninsured.

Cancellation

Once you have set your health insurance policy up, your provider will post you some documents to sign. You’ll have a fortnight to sign and return them. The documents will also include information on how long you have to cancel your policy if you change your mind.

Tips for buying private medical insurance

• Ensure you understand your policy fully before you sign up to anything
• Don’t be embarrassed to ask a lot of questions until you feel comfortable with your policy
• Make sure you’re clear about what is and what isn’t covered by your policy