Hospitals - can you be sure yours is covered?

When you take out a private medical insurance policy, that means they'll pay for any private hospital right? Wrong!

It's important that you chose a cover that's right for you. So lowering the cost of your healthcare sounds like a good idea, until you realise that not all policies cover all hospitals. Equally, you can be left in a position where you're paying extra for central London hospitals but only wanting to be seen by consultants in the North.

So how can you make sure you have the coverage you need without over paying?

Request a hospital brochure from your insurer.

What options are there?

Every insurer is different - they all have different agreements with hospital groups and so which insurer you chose should primarily based on the group they work with. For example, if you live in Scotland, you can have a discount based on the fact you won't be using places in England; or if your nearest hospital is a Nuffield, you can select an insurer that gives discounts on that particular group. To lower the costs further, you can chose to use private wards in Trust hospitals. This isn't something that comparison sites take into account, so please do your research. In some cases, you can reduce your premiums by allowing the insurer to select a hospital for you - commonly referred to as a 'guided option' or 'consultant select'.