Hi, this is the blog post/feed that I'll use to update on the questions/comments I receive - there are several questions submitted before the live event and these are below. I'll answer them (to the best of my abilities in then new questions and answers will appear in the comments section below and also on Twitter #pmicast.
Presubmitted Questions :
1) Insurers don't want to pay claims
2) What is a chronic condition ?
3) I'm an IFA - how does working with you as an introducer work ?
4) What's the best way of joining medical insurance plan ?
5) I cancelled my cover a while ago - should I rejoin ?
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Answers :
Question 1) Insurers don't want to pay claims
Kind of true I suppose - most insurers are commercial entities so only want to pay 'eligible' claims i.e. ones covered by their plans, I'd characterise the situation more as they want to create a balance of paying for fair claims but most are tough on things that aren't covered. The key is understanding what your plan does and how it is designed to work. Once you do that and have reasonable expectations the plans work well and most people get a lot of value from them.
2) What is a chronic condition ?
This is a medical condition that cannot be cure, only managed or support. Examples would be : diabetes, asthma, rheumatism. All UK insurers have explicit exclusions for these type of problems. They would remain within the purview of the NHS - only exception would be diagnosis of these problems and acute episodes of the chronic condition i.e. flare ups - typically these would be covered so long as the condition wasn't excluded by plan underwriting.
3) I'm an IFA - how does working with you as an introducer work ?
Fairly simple - you pass me the client details and I will contact them as agreed by you and give them advice appropriate to their situation and needs. The client remains yours as part of our formal introducer agreement and you receive a commission share - both initial and renewal (as appropriate) if the client takes up my advice.
There are no charges for a client review.
Happy to discuss specifics with introducers although I don't talk directly about financials in a public forum for obvious reasons - I have a standard deal I offer to my introducers which is very generous compared to some other PMI specialists who work in a similar way. Plus I have 20+ years experience working with IFA's so I tie my style of advice and support very closely in to what IFA's might expect for their clients - process seems to work very well.
4) What's the best way of joining medical insurance plan ?
For a new purchaser, individual or group I'd say easiest nd quickest is the moratorium - forms are simpler, I think more things end up being covered and there is no increased premium cost usually either.
5) I cancelled my cover a while ago - should I rejoin
That's a great start to the event - more questions will follow in the comments sections below.
Q 6 From an IFA contact of mine - who's your favourite PMI insurer ? - as an independent I don't really have favourites. It all boils down to who offers the best service for clients. So with this is mind it's fair to say that smaller insurer can be a bit more client focused but not exclusively. I try to work with insurers individually to get the best deal/support for clients and of course things vary based on which person you talk to within the companies as well - bit of a political answer that one !
ReplyDeleteQ 7 More general one - why do I need medical insurance (I'm paraphrasing) - it's partly a lifestyle issue (convenience/choice) to prevent waiting for NHS waiting lists and also to overcome the perceived shortcomings in the NHS.
ReplyDeleteAs our lives get busier and more complex my clients want the piece if mind that the best in medical care is available as and when they need it.
Comment - personal medical exclusions are those an insurer places on your plan when underwriting. If you have them and think the problem is over or won't re-occur drop me a line - I'll gladly help you challenge them with the insurer and see if we can get them removed (might need a GP report to do this) but could extend the range of your plans cover.
ReplyDeleteQ 8 - rough monthly cost of personal PMI - really depends on the quality of cover, your age and where you are - did some quotes for a 21 year in London yesterday on mid range cover and it came to £ 26 per month with a £ 250 excess
ReplyDeleteQ 9 - Can company schemes have tiered benefits (paraphrasing again) - yep ! It's quite common to have higher benefits within a scheme for directors and lower levels of cover for more junior staff members. Dead easy to do - just ask me for a quote !
ReplyDeleteQ. 10 - Which is best private medical insurance or income protection - well both work in tandem in my opinion - PMI helps when you initially have a medical problem and ensures you don't have to wait for treatment then income protection provides a salary replacement if your medical issues continue or you need to rehabilitate. So the plans work very well together and both are really useful both for personal clients and also companies.
ReplyDeleteQ11. Price of medical insurance has gone up - can I move insurers ? Assuming you're in reasonable health and have no major claims it might well be possible - a review takes two or three days and I usually provide a summary report with the various options
ReplyDeleteQ11b. Just had a call from an existing client whose price has increased at renewal - exactly as described above, they're in reasonable health and we are looking to move them to a new insurer
ReplyDeleteThanks for everyone who got involved and checked out this blog and the #pmicast twitter stream. The live event has now ended but I'll put a full report together and run over everything on the new episode of PMICast out tomorrow all being well.
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