What's the point of getting health insurance if you are a UK resident??

Question

Is it so that you can get better treatment at private hospitals?? Why would someone purchase health insurance in the UK?

Answer 1

IN case if you’re not happy with the service and “Waiting Times” provided by the NHS. The accent is made on the waiting times and also on the quality of service, example: possibility of catching MRSA or probabilities of getting operation done on the health kidney, rather then on the badly one

Answer 2

You might want to be able to choose when you get your operation instead of waiting for months.

You might want to go into a hospital that was clean and properly staffed.

You might want to ensure that you can get treatment rather than have the NHS say "no that drug that will save your life is too expensive"

The NHS is stretched to breaking point. Do you want to trust your well being to a failing system?

Answer 3

The main benefit is speed of referral - as well as quality of hospitals.

If you are self-employed then it will be important that you get treatment quickly so that you can get back to work. Similalry many employers realise that if they can get their sick staff back to work quicker then it will beenfit their business

Answer 4

If you were in Canada there would be some services not covered by government insurance. Are there any of those in the UK?

Answer 5

To be honest, it's not really necessary for a UK resident to have health insurance as our national health service is more comprehensive than most other countries.  Only about 7% of the population have health insurance, and even then most of those have the premiums paid or subsidised by their employer.  For example, many companies provide health insurance to their senior executives as it could disrupt their business if they are sick for too long.

However, it is there for people who want it.  The main reasons for buying it are that the policyholder has a greater choice of a specialist consultant, the hospital and the timing of the treatment.