No one wants to get ill, but if you are a contract worker and your clients are relying on you, there is even more at stake. Health Insurance offers affordable access to private hospitals, consultants and healthcare, allowing you to skip the NHS queues and receive breakthrough treatments, in superior comfort, and to suit your schedule. 

If you don't get sick pay, Health Insurance can be a much needed peace of mind that you can have access to the best treatment, without the wait, to get you back working and earning as soon as possible.

Policies can be tailored to suit your exact requirements, which is great for getting exactly what you need, but can make the options confusing. Our expert advisers are on the end of the phone to offer free, impartial advice.

 

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What Is Contractor Health Insurance? 

Contractor Health Insurance is Health Insurance for those who contract through a limited company, which provides access to private medical treatment. Your health is arguably your most important asset, but without the sick pay safety-net afforded to employees, it is even more vital to allow you to continue working - and earning - uninterrupted.

Private healthcare provides access to breakthrough treatments and medications and importantly - without the NHS waiting lists. When you take out a policy, you and the insurer agree that should you fall ill or suffer an injury, the policy will attempt to return you to the same level of health you had when you took out the policy. Health Insurance doesn’t pay out a lump sum – instead it usually pays directly for diagnostics and treatment at a private hospital.

 

What Does It Cover? 

All Health Insurance policies are intended for covering acute conditions. These are things that are treatable and can be recovered from, such as cancer, cataracts, or a joint replacement. Usually most policies include the following within their core cover: 

  • Inpatient and day patient treatments  
  • Some outpatient cover (this is variable depending upon your choices) 
  • Cancer cover 
  • Digital and/or telephone-based GP and health support 

Specific Conditions Covered?

If you're fit and healthy when you take out the policy, Private Medical Insurance covers most acute medical conditions. Commonly covered conditions which are of interest to our director clients include:

  • Cancer including palliative care, diagnosis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy
  • Heart disease including aftercare cover
  • Stroke aftercare
  • Sports injuries unless you’re a professional sports person
  • Mental health issues including counselling and psychiatric care
  • Joint replacements such as a hip replacement
  • Cataract operations
  • Complementary therapies such as physiotherapy and osteopathy
  • Alternative therapies including acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, etc.

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Core cover

Health Insurance policies will have a core cover at the heart of the policy. This usually includes the following:

Benefit Details
Inpatient Cover Cover for when you are admitted to hospital and stay overnight.
Day-patient cover Covers you when you’re admitted to hospital and discharged the same day and includes the same benefits as in-patient cover.
Out-patient cover Covers you when you visit a hospital and return home the same day without being admitted – in other words, you’re not given a hospital bed. The amount of out-patient cover included within core cover can vary quite a lot. Some don’t include any as standard.
Cancer Cover  Most private medical insurance policies will offer cancer cover within their core cover. It is one of the most valued benefits of Private Medical Insurance policies.
Digital GPs and health support Most policies offer Digital GPs and telephone support within their core cover offering, to allow you access to prompt and convenient health advice. This is a particularly popular benefit among busy directors.

 

 

Digital GPs 

Digital GPs are a popular benefit of health insurance for contract workers. They can put your mind at rest for those occasions you are concerned about your health, but your schedule does not allow you to attend a doctor’s surgery in person. Digital GPs offer prompt and convenient access to medical advice, some even have 24 hour access from anywhere in the world. Many of the providers offer same day appointments which can be incredibly reassuring. They can usually provide advice as they would in person, as well as providing prescriptions and referrals if necessary. More on Digital GPs here.

Cancer Cover 

Cancer cover is usually included within the core cover of all policiesIt is one of the most valuable benefits of Health Insurance policies; according to Macmillan’s latest research, cancer is the disease we fear the most in the UK. Health Insurance allows you the peace of mind that should you ever be affected by the disease you can have access to breakthrough cancer treatments and superior comfort and choice throughout treatmentIt is important to compare cancer cover between policies as what is included within the core cover can vary. However, most policies will include the following within the core cover: 

  • radiotherapy 
  • chemotherapy  
  • surgery  
  • consultants’ fees  
  • out-patient treatment 
  • home nursing  
  • cash benefits if treated by the NHS 

More on cancer cover here.

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Optional Extras 

In addition to the core cover, Health Insurance usually offers several optional extras - to enhance the cover to suit you, at additional cost. They usually include the following:  

  • Extended outpatient cover
  • Dental and Optical cover
  • Mental health cover
  • Travel cover
  • Therapies cover (such as physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic)

What Does It Not Cover? 

Health Insurance is not intended for covering emergencies or chronic conditions. Chronic conditions are long term illnesses which you won’t recover from, such as asthma or arthritis. Typical things which are not regularly covered by a Health Insurance policy are: 

  • Pre-existing conditions
  • Treatment for Alcoholism or Substance addiction
  • Chronic/long-term conditions
  • Cosmetic surgery
  • Gender reassignment
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Pregnancy and childbirth

If You Have Contractor Health Insurance, Can You Still Access the NHS? 

Absolutely. Health insurance works in conjunction with the NHS to complement it and maximise your health careAs a nation we are lucky to benefit from a publicly funded health service, giving everyone access to treatment at little to no cost. However, the NHS is under increasing pressure and many people now face long waiting lists and delayed or cancelled treatments.  

Access to private medical care means you can avoid the long waiting lists for treatment, in fact you are likely to be seen within a week or so. Health insurance offers you access to a choice of hospitals and treatment times that suit you, with overnight stays normally in a privateen-suite room. For more on the relationship between health insurance and the NHS.

How Much Is Health Insurance? 

Policy prices vary depending on some key factors – these fit into two categories:  

  1. Circumstances (your postcode, ages and current health)
  2. Level of cover (the optional benefits you choose - for example level of outpatient cover) 

These variables mean premiums can vary, but for a quick, no obligation quote, you can fill in the form below.  

Read more about how much health insurance costs and how to make it cheaper in our blog posts.

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Why Compare Health & Life Insurance with us?

Here at Usay Compare, we can help you to compare prices and cover from the market leading UK health and life insurance companies such as Aviva, AXA and Bupa. Our service is completely free of charge and we are totally independent and impartial.

Our unparalleled team of friendly, expert advisers are on the end of the phone, ready to guide you easily through the whole process. They will get to know your unique individual requirements, do all the hard work comparing prices and policies for you; then advise on the best and most cost-effective quote.

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Health Insurance Guides

Below are our in-depth guides to help you decipher the various Health Insurances available and learn more about how they work. Don't forget our advisers are always at the end of the phone to offer free, expert advice should you prefer to speak to someone in person.

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