Private medical
cover, considered
properly.

Usually not at the outset - private medical insurance is designed for conditions that arise after cover begins. But how an insurer treats your medical history depends entirely on the underwriting route chosen, and if you are switching from an existing policy, the cover you have already earned can often be carried across rather than lost. This is precisely where advice earns its keep: we will tell you honestly what will and will not be covered before you commit to anything.

Private medical insurance is generally designed around acute conditions - those that respond to treatment and can be resolved - rather than emergency care or the ongoing management of long-term conditions. Every policy draws these lines slightly differently, and part of our job is to show you exactly where yours would sit, in plain language, before you buy.

Almost never. UK insurers underwrite by declaration: either you answer questions about your medical history, or cover begins on a moratorium basis with no questions asked at all. Each route has real consequences for what is covered later - we will explain the difference and recommend one, with our reasons.

Immediately to within a few days in most cases. If you already hold cover elsewhere, the timing of a switch matters more than its speed - moved properly, at the right moment, you keep the benefit of the underwriting you have already built up.

That choice is one of the main reasons to hold private cover - and one of the biggest levers on price. Wider hospital lists cost more; guided options cost less. We will show you precisely what each option means for where, and by whom, you would be treated.

Nothing. We are paid a commission by the insurer, and only if you decide to proceed. It makes no difference to what we recommend - independence means the advice comes first, and where a less expensive policy differs from the one we suggest, we will tell you how.