Cash Plans

Overview

If you would like to find out about health plans, and the advantages of health plans, the information in this section will interest you.

More people are recognising the importance of keeping healthy. One part of keeping healthy is having check-ups, paying for preventative care, and routine maintenance of your body.

Everyday health expenses are increasing. These can include dental and optical bills and physiotherapy charges. There is a wide range of alternative treatments and complementary medicines that are becoming popular - but these are not cheap.

What is a health cash plan?

A health cash plan is a low cost health plan that pays cash sums towards the cost of a wide range of treatments. Cash sums are paid if you have to go into hospital, see a specialist, visit the dentist or optician, give birth or require alternative therapies such as homeopathy, acupuncture or physiotherapy. They are geared towards the day-to-day health expenses we all have to meet.

They encourage you to seek and receive early medical investigation and treatment. Helplines and health screening are increasingly common inclusions. Some now offer discounts at selected health clubs. Some offer more specialised benefits which may be tailored towards your particular needs such as benfits for illness at home, aftercare and home help.

Premiums are collected monthly, usually by direct debit.

A low cost health plan may also include or offer other insurance such as critical illness insurance, funeral benefits and accidental death benefits.

Typical advantages of a cash plan

1. No medical required before joining 2. Can be used towards the cost of dental and optical treatment plus many other categories 3. Children are usually included free or charge when one or more of the parents are covered 4. Premiums do not increase with age 5. Unlike PMI, the premiums you pay aren't based on your age or gender, although some providers have upper age limits for new joiners. This means that cash plans can be particularly valuable for older plan holders.

They are not private medical insurance

Private medical insurance pays for treatment and operations performed privately. Health cash complements NHS or private treatment by paying for everyday health treatments. Some people choose cash plans when they would not consider private medical isnurance. Some have both.

Health cash plans were once just Hospital Cash Plans, but they have evolved so much into offering a wider variety of healthcare benefits that it is important to dovetail your health cash and private medical insurances.

Types of cover

There is a huge variety of low cost health plan products. Each provider has their own ideas of what to offer as a basic package and what options to provide. A range of benefit levels is usual so they can meet every pocket.

There are seven main categories:

1. Packages: Where you have a fixed range of cover, with limited choice. 2. Limited cover: Where cover is for a small number of health expenses. 3. Dental: Where cover is limited to dental care - sometimes also including optical care. 4. Plans for the over 50s: Where cover is tailored for those who are aged over 50. 5. Business: For small businesses and the self employed. 6. Choice of Cover: Where you have a core cover, with a wide choice of extra sections. 7. Children: Where cover is only for children.

Restrictions

Cash plans only help with the cost of treatment, not its provision, so you still have to seek out the treatment yourself.

Most do not cover all your expenses, only a proportion, and each benefit has an annual limit. Different plans refund different amounts, usually between 50% and 100% of the bill, up to a pre-set limit. So if your healthcare bills are fairly modest, look for a low-cost policy with low benefit limits but 100% payouts.

Almost all policies have a waiting period of three to six months before you can behin to claim benefits, which rises to ten or twelve months for maternity and paternity claims.

Some plans will not cover expenses relating to any pre-existing medical condition (one which you had before taking out the policy).

Others will exclude any conditions in existence in the two years prior to the start of your policy.

Children

Children are often included free of charge where one or more of the parents are covered.

Another alternative is to take out a policy in a parent's name but just to cover a child. Insurers may not be prepared to do this so it is much simpler to take out a policy for an adult. The premium is not based on age or health, so it is as cheap to take out a policy for an adult and get the children covered free, as it is to pay adult premium just one child.

There are no known 'children only' health cash policies.