Bupa Fundamental Health Insurance
This plan is a new low cost entry level private medical insurance (PMI) plan which includes:
Full cancer cover.
Or customers can choose to have NHS Cancer Cover Plus instead. This gives a lower premium and cancer is only covered when the treatment is not available under the NHS. Under this option there is no NHS cash benefit paid when treated for cancer though the NHS.
Cancer cover can also be deleted altogether.
Cover for inpatient and day patient treatment.
Outpatient benefits include outpatient surgery, diagnostic scans and tests, up to two consultations a year and up to £350 physical therapy following inpatient ort day patient treatment. Other outpatient treatment is generally not covered.
Three levels of hospital coverage are available. Customers can choose the Bupa Essential Access network or (at higher cost), Extended Choice (which offers more private facilities, and some hospitals in central London) or Extended Choice with Central London (which has most hospitals including most of the major hospitals in London).
Choice of excess from £0-£500.
No claims discount. There are 14 rates, from 0% to 70%. For switch customers, the initial rate depends on their previous claims history. For virgin customers the initial NCD is 65%.
Home nursing up to £600 a year.
Private ambulance up to £60 per trip.
Parent accommodation with child up to age 16.
NHS cash benefit of £50 a night (doubled for cancer treatment).
24/7 helpline.
Switch terms are available.
Exclusions are fairly standard and include overseas treatment, intensive care (unless that is routine post procedure), alternative therapies, accident and emergency treatment and mental health treatments.
Recent research for Bupa found 50% of Generation X (people aged 32-55) said the main barrier to their buying PMI was affordability. Over a third (37%) said they would have PMI if it was more affordable.
The plan was initially launched only through selected intermediaries, but is being rolled out to all Bupa brokers.
Comment: Bupa has long recognised that the PMI sector has to address price rises that typically exceed inflation by some margin every year. So this new plan offers basic cover as standard, with further opportunities to cut premiums (and cover) as needed.
The plan offers much more limited cover than comprehensive PMI (and the premium reductions on any budget plan always look smaller than the reduction in cover), but it covers the basics of PMI, including cancer treatment. Cancer is still a big worry for a many people, even though NHS treatment has improved significantly in recent years. So this plan also offers the option of sticking with the NHS or (as another option) excluding cancer cover completely.
A more restricted or wider hospital network is available, and customers can choose their excess level too. There is a no claims discount (NCD) and such mechanisms look to be becoming more popular again – not least because a high initial discount sounds attractive. But, a high initial NCD can mean paying a lot more if frequent claims are made. So, a 50% initial NCD looks as though you’re only paying half price. But it also means that the price could double if many claims are made. Someone new to PMI (a virgin customer) gets an initial 65% NCD, with switch customers getting an initial NCD based partly on their claims record.
Bupa remains pre-eminent in PMI and its branding should appeal to many of the 37% who want PMI but are concerned about its cost. Fundamental Health Insurance takes them some way towards both affordability and sustainability.
Plus points: Bupa is the market leader and the best know PMI; Low cost entry plan; With a range of options to further reduce cost; Comprehensive cancer cover is included as standard .
Not so plus points: PMI is still too expensive for many ‘ordinary’ people; This plan does not resolve the long term cost of PMI issue; No claims discounts look good upfront but can mean big premium hikes if a lot of claims are made; Customers have to make quite a lot of decisions to optimise the plan to their needs and budget.
Website: http://www.bupa.com.
Rating (max 10): Innovation: 8. Overall: 8 . Gold
Tags: PMI, Bupa