Private Medical Insurance

BMI Healthcare provides treatment to patients that hold policies with most major Private Medical Insurance (PMI) providers (it does not offer its own medical insurance scheme). The best place for independent advice on PMI is the Association of British Insurers (ABI). All reputable insurance companies are members. The ABI publish a free guide to purchasing medical insurance, designed to help you understand more about how private medical insurance works, so that you can make an informed choice before buying a policy.

The guide has been awarded a Crystal Mark for Clarity, approved by the Plain English Campaign.

If you do opt to take out private medical insurance, do remember to check beforehand that your local BMI hospital would be covered in the scheme.

http://www.abi.org.uk

How to make a claim

Always check with your insurance company whether you are covered for each aspect of treatment beforehand – you are responsible for the bills if your policy doesn’t cover it. Your insurance company will guide you through the process for making a claim. If you are in a company scheme, you will need to check whether you are covered for the treatment you require with the scheme co-ordinator and follow the scheme’s claims process.

Insurance companies require a GP referral letter to be completed before they will consider funding any treatment. Companies then normally request completion of a claim form by consultants or GPs, for which some GPs make a nominal charge.

You will normally need to check cover at each stage of your treatment. For instance if you have an outpatient consultation and the specialist recommends surgery, you need to notify your insurance company. Some insurance policies have limits on such things as outpatient cover e.g. scans, physiotherapy, so it is good practice to keep a check on how much of your cover you have used.