National Friendly has launched a new private medical insurance (PMI) product aimed at helping customers navigate the ongoing cost of living crisis.
The product offers four levels of cover to customers aged 18-85 and includes family cover, multi-person discounts and postcode ratings to help ensure fairness of premium, the insurer said.
Designed to complement care provided by the NHS, My PMI affords access to a range of private healthcare services from primary care and diagnostics, including a 24/7 GP as standard, to in- and out-patient treatment.
The latter includes cancer diagnostics, treatment and options for clinical trials, if required. Policyholders can choose where they go for treatment, or National Friendly will help them find the right medical practitioner and book treatment with the provider’s guided option.
The four levels of cover are:
- Level 1 – for quick diagnosis and out-patient treatment only. The cheapest of the four options, offering access to private GPs and consultants, scans, tests and therapies, plus a few minor operations.
- Level 2 – for in-patient or day-patient treatment only. This level pays a £1,500 per person allowance for scans and £1,000 for tests each year, but focuses on more expensive treatments, typically for cancer and operations.
- Level 3 – out-patient and in- or day-patient combined. This level has the same out-patient and diagnostic and treatment cover as level 1, limited to £2,000 or £5,000 each year, plus up to £1m a year in-patient and day-patient cover for operations and cancer treatments.
- Level 4 – out-patient and in-patient or day-patient combined. This level affords the same benefits as level 3, but with no overall monetary limits for out-patient or in-patient treatment. It also has a few additional benefits, with stem cell and bone marrow treatments permitted for cancer, and some value-added benefits such as health checks and taxi fares.
My PMI includes full medical underwriting and a 5-2-2 moratorium option, means that any condition suffered five years before the insurance starts will not be covered until the client has two years of being symptom-free and also has not made a claim for two years.
The mutual will also offer switch terms so the client can continue their existing exclusions and will underwrite on conditions where there has been a consultation in the last two years, or where the client is still waiting for a result.
The policy can be taken out through advisers and direct.
Some cover is better than none at all
Graham Singleton, CEO at National Friendly, (pictured) said the mutual was really pleased to launch the product.
“With the additional pressures brought to bear by the cost-of-living crisis, your clients might want to look at how to continue with PMI cover even if it means giving up some benefits,” he said.
“New clients may want to know how to cover things they’re most worried about at a price they can afford. Some cover is better than none after all.
“And some older clients might want to prioritise access to the latest medical technology and treatments, over cost. Advisers told us that they wanted to be able to offer their clients this kind of flexibility. We listened and we delivered.”
