Long waiting times have traditionally been one of the main reasons that people in the UK opt for private medical insurance to be seen in a much shorter time at a private healthcare clinic. In the past few years however, the NHS has made significant improvements in cutting their average waiting times but it seems that this news has not affected some people’s attitudes towards the health service. According to one of the latest surveys, less than one in five people (18 percent) were satisfied with the waiting times for operations in the UK. The research, carried out by The Economist Intelligence Unit found that this lack of contentment was much higher in the UK than in the United States where 30 percent of people were satisfied with the waiting times.


Illness is not something you want to drag out for a long time. Once diagnosed, you want to be treated in the shortest time possible and get back to work or your normal daily activities. Even though NHS waiting times have been reduced, you may still have to wait for up to 18 weeks and this is too long for some people. One quarter of the British people who took part in this study said that they would be willing to pay to reduce these waiting times. Three quarters also said that they would like the option to choose where they want to be treated and which doctor they would like to see but over half said that they weren’t encouraged to do so. Freedom Healthnet highly values this choice and has no hospital lists unlike some private health insurance providers which means that there are even more options available.

Almost three times the amount of companies are now offering their employees a permanent form of private medical insurance than this time last year. That is according to some of the latest research from Hewitt Associates who found that over two thirds (67 percent) of companies now offer private health cover as part of a flexible benefits scheme for their staff compared to just 23 percent in 2008. The annual flexible benefits survey found that health screenings was the top employee benefit, followed by dental care. These results show that despite the recession, employers are still recognising the importance of looking after the health of their staff as a long term investment rather than a short term cost. Just some of the advantages to a company of providing health benefits like private health insurance are attracting a higher calibre of staff and reducing the cost of days lost to sickness each year.


Some people do not realise that there are many types of private medical insurance, as well as different levels of policy on offer. Cash plan private health cover pays out a cash lump sum to the patient to put towards the cost of private healthcare, or if they wish to be treated on the NHS they can use the money to cover other costs like travel expenses. But why decide to opt for cash plan private health insurance for your employees? Firstly, it is the most cost effective form of health cover so a company can still provide their staff with this highly regarded and appreciated benefit but at a low premium. Secondly, there are no hospital lists which means that if your employees commute in to work from further afield they will have an even wider choice as to whether they would rather be treated nearer to home or work. By making this more convenient choice they may be able to recover in a quicker time in a more comfortable environment to them.

In the second part of Freedom’s look at 2009, we continue to look at some more of the exciting prospects and challenges for the healthcare industry in the coming year.

Genetic testing has been emerging more and more over the past decade, with the possibility of it being used in every day diagnosis becoming increasingly likely. It has not come without controversy, and ethical issues have meant that the introduction of new methods of testing has been slow and careful. But for the first time, it looks like the market for genetic testing may take off, as costs have dropped significantly, making them much more widely available particularly to those people with private medical insurance. These developments mean that people can get their entire DNA mapped out, so that genetic diseases such as Alzheimer’s can be identified on a person’s genome. Personalised medicine is something that is also in the pipeline for the coming year, meaning that side effects from drugs are much less likely. However these will be expensive, and people may get a quote for private medical insurance to allow them access to these treatments.

Technology is likely to be a big factor in the way that patients experience healthcare in 2009. The increased use of the internet, in particular social networking sites has allowed patients to interact with each other. Patient forums such as patientslikeme.com are also becoming more and more popular meaning that the way people receive medical information is changing. Blogs, like this one offered by Freedom, are also providing an alternative source of information. 

A new disease classification index known as ICD-10 will be introduced in 2009. ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) is a way of coding many different healthcare problems such as diseases, symptoms, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases as defined by the World Health Organization. This will have two impacts. Firstly, it will be a costly transition for health institutions that some with limited funds (like the NHS) may struggle with, meaning that private health care companies may come out on top. However, it will allow the tracking of new procedures and diagnoses so that there may be a better standard of healthcare and treatments available for those with private medical insurance and NHS patients alike. 

When people leave companies or retire, their health insurance plans often stop and they have to get a new policy for private health insurance. Many find that they have to go with a new insurer to keep the costs down as their premiums could double or triple with some providers when coming out of a group insurance scheme into a private one. The reason for a disparity between employee and private medical plans is that with company health insurance there is a substantial discount given for a group of people being covered. Additionally, the PMI cover could be paid by your employer, leaving you to only pay the insurance premium tax (IPT). With Freedom, our company medical schemes start from 3 individuals + so a family business or start-up business can be covered by a private health plan. We also offer family health insurance as well as individual. With our family medical policy, it covers all of your children (to age 25 whilst in full time education) for the same cost as one child, hence giving you savings there immediately.

Also, some insurance providers do not want to continue with the client when they leave the company and make them 'restart' their policy - so that the client has to take a policy with a 2 year moritorium on cover for conditions treated in the past 5 years, or similar. With Freedom Healthnet, you can switch from your Freedom company policy to a Freedom individual policy without having to go through this.

With Freedom Health Insurance, we have a switching system which provides for individuals who retire or who leave their employer but who wish to carry on with their private medical insurance. Contact the Freedom team for details 08703 50 40 30.

Alternatively, our instant quick quote for medical insurance will show you how little your premium could be with Freedom Healthnet - quoted in The Independent as the most competitive comprehensive insurance policy over the likes of Bupa and AxaPPP.

The Association of British Insurers, the ABI, published guidelines this month which updates the glossary of terms used in all private medical insurance policy documents. A number of organisation types have been consulted in the generation of this definitions of medical terms including the PMI industry, the ABI and the cancer charity, Cancerbackup.
The objective of this is to ensure clarity for consumers to ensure that customers fully understand the terminology used in their insurance policies and so they have a better understanding of what is and what is not covered, particulary when it comes to health insurance cover for cancer. Freedom has always tried to ensure clarity on its policy documents and our glossary of insurance and medical terms on the website supplements our comprehensive definitions in our brochures, which are sent out to clients upon request.
With about 6 million people covered by private medical insurance in the UK, it is important that we work towards clearer definitions and helping our clients to be fully informed about their health insurance cover.

Following lowered prices by health insurance companies, customers are slowly returning to private medical insurance cover according to The Daily Mail's article Private Health Revival 24 June 2007 written by Stephen Womack. This is just one of a flurry of insurance articles being highlighted by the press at the moment as criticism of the NHS intensifies and the issues with health insurance in the states reach a climax.

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The ABI, Association of British Insurers, released figures that showed the numbers of people taking out private health insurance increased last year, after declining in previous years. 110,000 extra health policies were taken out in 2006 with 5.88 million people in the UK now covered for health care either via an individual health insurance or a corporate medical insurance policy which provides employee health cover.

Medical insurance companies have been working to drive down the cost of health insurance, excluding certain longer-term medical conditions or eliminating unnecessary extras. Often these longer term conditions are covered amply by the NHS and private treatment is not essential.

Freedom's low cost policies, one of which was highlighted in a health insurance article in The Independent recently as the most competitively priced comprehensive insurance policy, provide basic cover through to a comprehensive policy with extras that include alternative therapies.

With so much going on within the private health insurance industry at the moment, we wanted to ensure that we were keeping a record of interesting developments that affect us all. An information blog was the most appropriate medium for our team to reflect on, comment upon and generally digest the latest health insurance news.

Utilising our talented and dedicated staff, we will endeavour to bring you stories, news and PMI facts plus latest information, videos and images associated with the medical insurance industry.

Please note: the views expressed within this information blog are those of individuals and are not representative of the company.