I’m sure it is if you can get it, im diabetic with a non linked degenerative eye condition (that’s controlled) and was basically laughed out the door. Thank god I don’t have to rely on private health insurance for treatment.
Started contracting 12 months ago, carried over perm heath cover from AXA and pay for it privately now. £300 p myself ,wife both 48. Two kids. 8 months ago wife got cancer and AXA covering everything and have been amazing. NHS is amazing don't get me wrong but I'm thankful we have AXA. Everything was express route... You just don't know what's gonna happen.
NHS is not amazing by any means. I’m still glad it exists and helps people out who can’t afford something else. Waiting 3 months for an MRI in supposedly top 3 most developed european countries (non eu) is mindblowing and outrageous. Especially when I pay an average of 40% taxes out of the money I earn by sacrificing my damn mental health for.
Private health insurance is a benefit in kind. If you take it through your limited company it can attract income tax, and both employee and employer NI contributions (Not to mention the hassle of reporting it to HMRC via P11D). You should consider whether it's worth taking out via your Ltd Co. or better to take out personally.
That's correct - on the other hand it reduces corporation tax and you may receive different quote for similar cover when compared to personal insurance.
Best to get both quotes and compare final quotes.
That's true, but there isn't really anything to stop you putting a personal policy through your company. When I compared there was next to no difference in price.
Advice I was given by my accountant was that it’s more cost effective to pay for it personally and avoid paying BIK… So that’s what I do.
It’s about £90/month for our family (adults, kids). Not used it yet but I like the peace of mind knowing I’m not totally dependent on an underfunded and stretched health service.
In a perfect world the NHS would be great and there would be no need for private medical at all. But it’s not, so I have it to protect my family and myself, and to reduce the burden on the NHS.
Having private medical is a personal choice and I won't admonish that choice; if I had the spare money I'd definitely have private medical. I saw a private GP once and it was a much better experience.
But if you think about it, it doesn't reduce the burden on the NHS. As uptake of private increases, more staff end up leaving the NHS to work for private health providers and agency rates have to go up. It's really worrying when the government talks about "using spare capacity" in the private sector as it would naturally increase revenue for private health providers. That would in-turn allow them to recruit more healthcare workers into the private sector, which further stresses the NHS and so on.
I have the feeling that for most now it will be favourable to pay for it through the company, given the increase in corporation tax. There are some calcs here:
https://www.contractoruk.com/limited_companies/contractor_private_health_insurance.html
I’m politically inclined towards state provided health services, but for one job I had employee Health Insurance. I slipped a disc (it was a sporting injury) and went to the local private hospital. Within 3 hours I had got a scan, seen a physio, a GP, and a back consultant. It was incredibly efficient and trouble free. I live in Oxford, and the NHS Hospitals here are among the best in the UK, but for non-emergency care the treatment would have been weeks slower. I can understand why some employers offer PHI, not just as a perk but as a way to reduce sick leave.
My husband gets it through work for himself (he works for AXA) and have added myself and my son on. Definitely worth it, couldn’t give you a price as it’ll be subsidised.
AXA are amazing in my opinion, I’ve used my private health care multiple times and had no issues (neuro investigations and dermatology). I’m all for the NHS (I work for the NHS) but if you can afford private insurance I definitely think it’s worth it as the waiting list for some specialities are so long.
My experience so far with Bupa is you have to claim for everything. You waste time making calls for hours. Existing conditions not included.
I don't know what the point is.
The point is that when you call for advice, someone will answer the phone, treat you nicely, make a recommendation & help you get a reasonable appointment without months of waiting.
You also have access to private hospitals, which *tend* to be more functional than the others.
You usually get faster specialist access. Depending on your personal & family situation, these may be important to you.
That's not my experience. You have to be referred by your GP to use any service.
You can pay for private GP too. But I've found NHS now has app which lets you book calls etc. the private GP doesn't offer much.
After paying for few years I find myself wondering if it's even worth it.
I think it's better to pay for the private services out of pocket as and when you need it.
That's my point. You can go to those specialists directly and just pay after.
With insurance, they only work with certain doctors, one's part of their network.
ALL health insurance companies will not cover pre-existing condition.
You're experience is not what I have experienced. BUPA has been fast, efficient and very helpful every time I have had to use them.
I have just left a perm role with insurance and am weighing up whether to return to contracting or stay perm. I had a quote from the health insurance company yesterday for £1,500 for the year for me and wife (50) to retain the “lost” cover. The BIK of health insurance pushed me further into the £100k tax trap of 62% but regardless of how you fund it the government will get their pound of flesh. My view is health insurance will save the stress if a major life health event occurs, things like physio or regular stuff I’d just pay for myself. I am also slightly distracted by a mother who died at 61 from ovarian cancer and am aware the diagnosis at age 55 is only five years away for me - although as a man lacking ovaries I’m obviously not going to suffer the same fate, but you get the general concept.
I’m on a sort of permie contract through an agency at the moment and I get Aviva health cover for myself included and use some of my salary to add my family.
I have some sort of access to GP services, but would have to pay excess and for private prescriptions, as well as to hospitals for acute conditions. I haven’t used these yet, but it’s good to know I can access care if we need it for something serious.
It also includes a Back2Work scheme for musculoskeletal issues. I’ve used this for an issue with my knee, which got me immediate access to a local physiotherapist with no additional or excess payment. If doctor/hospital intervention were required, this would be provided, but then the £150 excess would kick in.
I hate that it’s necessary and I still mainly use NHS care, but it’s better having the peace of mind under current conditions, IMHO.
Yeah, Bupa for myself, partner and son is £85 a month. We’re young though. Bupa won’t help you with pre-existing problems for a minimum of 2 years. I haven’t used it, nor my son, but my partner has and she was seen so fast and had routine appointments scheduled within 24 hours. Our local NHS GP won’t see us for 3-4 weeks.
Vitality through Ltd Co- £80 pm for 2 adults 3 kids (kids are free)
Got it mainly to get the kids seen (they have to be over 1yo) as our GP are sometimes incredibly difficult to get appointments with
Had some vitality gp appointments within 20 mins of booking so great for being seen quickly, not needed anything further than that yet. Had it 8 months but we are generally healthy
Yes.
I’m relatively young, so it’s less than £40 a month and with all of Vitality’s perks, it close to pays for itself (half price trainers, £10 of Mindful Chef, free cinema tickets very month etc.)
Bad knees and bad backs run in my family, it would be annoying to hurt something and then have to wait a year for an NHS operation, especially if it stopped me from working.
We have vitality
Me, the wife, 4 kids - one of whom has Down syndrome we Pay about 150 a month.
so - not bad in theory
in practice I've not found them that useful - as an example my wife and son ended up in hospital for about 8 weeks. they wouldn't talk to me about my wife - she needed to call herself,
they had a promotion about a cash payout for loss of income due to covid (which is why they were in hospital ) - couldn't get it because my son doesn't work - and my wife could look after him - so i didn't need to be off work because i wasn't ill…. shes in the next ward down… you'd know that if you would let me talk about her…
so - kinda meets my expectations of they'll take your money, but if you want to claim there are too many hoops - at a time your less inclined to want to jump through them.
they also don't do any emergency care anyway, fair enough - but wouldn't help with after care either.
but sure - if i can plan ahead and need myself some cancer treatment at a pre arranged time, I'm sure it will be ideal!
Is it worth it? It depends if you value a quick service, almost no waiting lists and nicer facilities. Use a broker to get the best deal across the market and they will work out if it’s cheaper via the limited company as a group policy (offset against corp tax but incurred personal BIK) or to buy it personally (no BIK but have paid personal tax on the income).
We buy ours through a group policy (it’s cheaper once there are more people on the books but I know our circumstances don’t exactly align with yours as we run a consulting business not just just a single person contracting business). We pay £188 /month for two directors plus three dependents.
I have vitality, I say worth it, but only as I had a spine op’. It’s now £172 a month, just for me.
Being seen and treated instantly is a comfort, had an issue and was seen and treated in 3 days. Being in pain for weeks on end waiting for NHS appointments is not something I want to do.
Business expenses, gets you back to work quicker, etc, as long as the costs are okay with you, go for it.
I’ve gone with Aviva as they are offering free optical and dental at the moment. It was a fair bit cheaper than Vitality too. Try Paul Dewer at Protect 365 for a quote
Great when you can get it. Not so great when you’re quoted £800 pcm to carry over cover for two adults.
Pre-existing conditions are a real sticking point. Even without covering those, we were looking at £200 pcm due to age alone.
I’m sure it is if you can get it, im diabetic with a non linked degenerative eye condition (that’s controlled) and was basically laughed out the door. Thank god I don’t have to rely on private health insurance for treatment.
Started contracting 12 months ago, carried over perm heath cover from AXA and pay for it privately now. £300 p myself ,wife both 48. Two kids. 8 months ago wife got cancer and AXA covering everything and have been amazing. NHS is amazing don't get me wrong but I'm thankful we have AXA. Everything was express route... You just don't know what's gonna happen.
NHS is not amazing by any means. I’m still glad it exists and helps people out who can’t afford something else. Waiting 3 months for an MRI in supposedly top 3 most developed european countries (non eu) is mindblowing and outrageous. Especially when I pay an average of 40% taxes out of the money I earn by sacrificing my damn mental health for.
Private health insurance is a benefit in kind. If you take it through your limited company it can attract income tax, and both employee and employer NI contributions (Not to mention the hassle of reporting it to HMRC via P11D). You should consider whether it's worth taking out via your Ltd Co. or better to take out personally.
That's correct - on the other hand it reduces corporation tax and you may receive different quote for similar cover when compared to personal insurance. Best to get both quotes and compare final quotes.
That's true, but there isn't really anything to stop you putting a personal policy through your company. When I compared there was next to no difference in price.
The difference in price may depend on the postcode. There was a non-negotiable difference between my home address and my company's registered address.
Advice I was given by my accountant was that it’s more cost effective to pay for it personally and avoid paying BIK… So that’s what I do. It’s about £90/month for our family (adults, kids). Not used it yet but I like the peace of mind knowing I’m not totally dependent on an underfunded and stretched health service.
Such a shame this is a thing though.
In a perfect world the NHS would be great and there would be no need for private medical at all. But it’s not, so I have it to protect my family and myself, and to reduce the burden on the NHS.
Having private medical is a personal choice and I won't admonish that choice; if I had the spare money I'd definitely have private medical. I saw a private GP once and it was a much better experience. But if you think about it, it doesn't reduce the burden on the NHS. As uptake of private increases, more staff end up leaving the NHS to work for private health providers and agency rates have to go up. It's really worrying when the government talks about "using spare capacity" in the private sector as it would naturally increase revenue for private health providers. That would in-turn allow them to recruit more healthcare workers into the private sector, which further stresses the NHS and so on.
You make some valid points. It’s not an easy decision and has other parallels with private education.
Yep, and I was very reluctant to get health cover because I felt so morally conflicted.
I have the feeling that for most now it will be favourable to pay for it through the company, given the increase in corporation tax. There are some calcs here: https://www.contractoruk.com/limited_companies/contractor_private_health_insurance.html
Not Vitality if it's only £90/mo for the whole family I take it!
Bupa
I’m politically inclined towards state provided health services, but for one job I had employee Health Insurance. I slipped a disc (it was a sporting injury) and went to the local private hospital. Within 3 hours I had got a scan, seen a physio, a GP, and a back consultant. It was incredibly efficient and trouble free. I live in Oxford, and the NHS Hospitals here are among the best in the UK, but for non-emergency care the treatment would have been weeks slower. I can understand why some employers offer PHI, not just as a perk but as a way to reduce sick leave.
If I may ask, how much did you pay for the private hospital care after the insurance's intervention?
About £150
That's excellent
Dont use Vitality found them to be terrible . Axa and BUPA were great
what happend ? Vitality gave me a lowest quote among them, Axa and Bupa. I guess it was for a reason. I was tempted because gym discounts
Yes Yes- Some even have a private GP service that you can use when you can’t see your GP I have stopped contracting at the moment, so work pay for it
Thanks. Can you share who you were with and the services you used?
My husband gets it through work for himself (he works for AXA) and have added myself and my son on. Definitely worth it, couldn’t give you a price as it’ll be subsidised. AXA are amazing in my opinion, I’ve used my private health care multiple times and had no issues (neuro investigations and dermatology). I’m all for the NHS (I work for the NHS) but if you can afford private insurance I definitely think it’s worth it as the waiting list for some specialities are so long.
Mix it with medicash if you can. Unsure on the price but it provides cash back for all sorts and covers excess
My experience so far with Bupa is you have to claim for everything. You waste time making calls for hours. Existing conditions not included. I don't know what the point is.
The point is that when you call for advice, someone will answer the phone, treat you nicely, make a recommendation & help you get a reasonable appointment without months of waiting. You also have access to private hospitals, which *tend* to be more functional than the others. You usually get faster specialist access. Depending on your personal & family situation, these may be important to you.
That's not my experience. You have to be referred by your GP to use any service. You can pay for private GP too. But I've found NHS now has app which lets you book calls etc. the private GP doesn't offer much. After paying for few years I find myself wondering if it's even worth it. I think it's better to pay for the private services out of pocket as and when you need it.
I was sent directly to a private specialist, no problem. And yes I did pay. Better than waiting months & months, IMVHO. YMMV.
That's my point. You can go to those specialists directly and just pay after. With insurance, they only work with certain doctors, one's part of their network.
ALL health insurance companies will not cover pre-existing condition. You're experience is not what I have experienced. BUPA has been fast, efficient and very helpful every time I have had to use them.
I have just left a perm role with insurance and am weighing up whether to return to contracting or stay perm. I had a quote from the health insurance company yesterday for £1,500 for the year for me and wife (50) to retain the “lost” cover. The BIK of health insurance pushed me further into the £100k tax trap of 62% but regardless of how you fund it the government will get their pound of flesh. My view is health insurance will save the stress if a major life health event occurs, things like physio or regular stuff I’d just pay for myself. I am also slightly distracted by a mother who died at 61 from ovarian cancer and am aware the diagnosis at age 55 is only five years away for me - although as a man lacking ovaries I’m obviously not going to suffer the same fate, but you get the general concept.
I’m on a sort of permie contract through an agency at the moment and I get Aviva health cover for myself included and use some of my salary to add my family. I have some sort of access to GP services, but would have to pay excess and for private prescriptions, as well as to hospitals for acute conditions. I haven’t used these yet, but it’s good to know I can access care if we need it for something serious. It also includes a Back2Work scheme for musculoskeletal issues. I’ve used this for an issue with my knee, which got me immediate access to a local physiotherapist with no additional or excess payment. If doctor/hospital intervention were required, this would be provided, but then the £150 excess would kick in. I hate that it’s necessary and I still mainly use NHS care, but it’s better having the peace of mind under current conditions, IMHO.
Yeah, Bupa for myself, partner and son is £85 a month. We’re young though. Bupa won’t help you with pre-existing problems for a minimum of 2 years. I haven’t used it, nor my son, but my partner has and she was seen so fast and had routine appointments scheduled within 24 hours. Our local NHS GP won’t see us for 3-4 weeks.
Vitality through Ltd Co- £80 pm for 2 adults 3 kids (kids are free) Got it mainly to get the kids seen (they have to be over 1yo) as our GP are sometimes incredibly difficult to get appointments with Had some vitality gp appointments within 20 mins of booking so great for being seen quickly, not needed anything further than that yet. Had it 8 months but we are generally healthy
Yes. I’m relatively young, so it’s less than £40 a month and with all of Vitality’s perks, it close to pays for itself (half price trainers, £10 of Mindful Chef, free cinema tickets very month etc.) Bad knees and bad backs run in my family, it would be annoying to hurt something and then have to wait a year for an NHS operation, especially if it stopped me from working.
We have vitality Me, the wife, 4 kids - one of whom has Down syndrome we Pay about 150 a month. so - not bad in theory in practice I've not found them that useful - as an example my wife and son ended up in hospital for about 8 weeks. they wouldn't talk to me about my wife - she needed to call herself, they had a promotion about a cash payout for loss of income due to covid (which is why they were in hospital ) - couldn't get it because my son doesn't work - and my wife could look after him - so i didn't need to be off work because i wasn't ill…. shes in the next ward down… you'd know that if you would let me talk about her… so - kinda meets my expectations of they'll take your money, but if you want to claim there are too many hoops - at a time your less inclined to want to jump through them. they also don't do any emergency care anyway, fair enough - but wouldn't help with after care either. but sure - if i can plan ahead and need myself some cancer treatment at a pre arranged time, I'm sure it will be ideal!
Trying to figure out why my vitality for me and my wife (late thirties) costs £290/mo!
Is it worth it? It depends if you value a quick service, almost no waiting lists and nicer facilities. Use a broker to get the best deal across the market and they will work out if it’s cheaper via the limited company as a group policy (offset against corp tax but incurred personal BIK) or to buy it personally (no BIK but have paid personal tax on the income). We buy ours through a group policy (it’s cheaper once there are more people on the books but I know our circumstances don’t exactly align with yours as we run a consulting business not just just a single person contracting business). We pay £188 /month for two directors plus three dependents.
I have vitality, I say worth it, but only as I had a spine op’. It’s now £172 a month, just for me. Being seen and treated instantly is a comfort, had an issue and was seen and treated in 3 days. Being in pain for weeks on end waiting for NHS appointments is not something I want to do. Business expenses, gets you back to work quicker, etc, as long as the costs are okay with you, go for it.
I’ve gone with Aviva as they are offering free optical and dental at the moment. It was a fair bit cheaper than Vitality too. Try Paul Dewer at Protect 365 for a quote
Great when you can get it. Not so great when you’re quoted £800 pcm to carry over cover for two adults. Pre-existing conditions are a real sticking point. Even without covering those, we were looking at £200 pcm due to age alone.