The Exeter Health Insurance Review

The Health Cover me plan includes:

• Unlimited in-patient, day-patient and out-patient treatment
• Health Cover for Me offers comprehensive cover that doesn’t limit in-patient, day-patient or out-patient treatment.
• Unlimited cover for cancer – including access to all clinically approved drugs
• Unlimited cancer cover includes pioneering treatments such as biological and hormone therapy.
• No time or financial limits for treatment or consultations
• No penalties for making a claim
• Manipulative treatment

Health Cover for Me includes costs of physiotherapy, osteopathy, podiatry and chiropractic treatment as an out-patient.

The Health Choices for me plan

Personalise your Health Choices for Me plan by choosing options from 3 cover modules below:

Out-Patient

• Unlimited Consultant and specialist fees. Diagnostic tests such as X-rays, ECGs and pathology tests at any hospital on the Hospital List. Please note that CT, MRI and PET scans are included as standard under Essential Cover. No benefit for diagnosed cancer conditions as these are included in the optional Cancer Cover module below.

Cancer Cover

• Unlimited. Extends the scope of benefits under Essentials Cover (such as surgery and scans) to include treatment for diagnosed cancer and adds unlimited benefit for oncology and specialist consultations for cancer.

Manipulative Treatment

• Unlimited
• Costs for physiotherapy, osteopathy, podiatry and chiropractic treatment received as an out-patient.

The Essentials for me plan - options to reduce your premiums

This essentially provides customisable cover as outlined in the above option but it allows you to reduce your costs by you paying for diagnostic consultations with health professionals while the policy will pay for subsequent treatments.

Please note, as with all health insurance quotes, the above benefits are subject to conditions and requirements.

You may also be able to vary them based upon your own personal requirements (e.g. for specific hospitals) and that may affect the cost of your cover.

What the plans don't include

The Exeter, as all health insurance providers, typically do not cover pre-existing conditions and they also exclude a range of other conditions and treatments from cover.

A summary of those is provided here and it is always advisable to read the policy’s conditions carefully to be sure that they’re aligned to your needs.

Their cover will typically exclude (this list is not exhaustive): 

• Emergency treatment - emergency treatment is dealt with by the NHS and you are not covered until your consultant has decided you can transfer to private facilities and you have authorisation from The Exeter
• Ongoing or long-term conditions (chronic) - if The Exeter believe that the condition for which you need treatment is chronic, they will pay for the initial investigations leading to a diagnosis and the treatment needed to stabilise the condition for a maximum of 3 months. They DO NOT consider cancer to be a chronic condition.
• Age - the age at which you can apply depends on the application option you choose. If you apply using the full medical underwriting or standard moratorium option, you can join as a main applicant between the ages of 18 and 79. For switch underwriting you must be between 18 and 70 and for fixed moratorium underwriting you must be between 18 and 65. Once you are a member there is no age limit.
• Outside UK residents and treatment outside the UK
• Fee Schedule – there is no limit on some plans for total fees paid but there is a statement relating to the maximum fees The Exeter will pay specialists for the treatment they provide to you.
• Treatment by your GP, optician or dentist
• Sight, hearing or dental disorders
• Out-patient drugs, dressings and medical aids
• Renal dialysis
• Major organ transplants
• Mental & psychological treatment
• Treatments in nursing homes
• Convalescence & rehabilitation
• Preventative screening procedures, treatment & tests
• Self-elected treatments
• Cosmetic and plastic surgery, bariatric and weight loss surgery
• Pregnancy and fertility
• Complementary treatments other than those specified
• Professional sports injuries
• Learning and developmental disorders
• Experimental treatment.

Existing Medical conditions maybe excluded

Pre-existing conditions - depending on the application option you choose, pre-existing conditions will either be excluded from cover for the duration of your policy or for the ‘moratorium’ period of your policy.

Unlike most insurers, The Exeter offers a fixed length moratorium. Which means that benefits will not be available for treatment of any condition suffered if you had symptoms, medication, treatment or advice in connection with that condition in the five years before the start of your policy.

However, they will cover a pre-existing condition two years after the start of your policy, even if it has recurred during that two year period.

Please note: If you apply using Fixed Moratorium, your premiums will be higher. All applicants must be 65 years or younger.

Can I switch my exiting health insurance to The Exeter?

Yes you can using either of the following 2 options:

Continued Moratorium: This lets you continue with your existing medical insurance plan's moratorium period should you still be in it - if you have exceeded this period then you will receive immediate cover of benefits.

Continued personal medical exclusions: this option allows you to switch health insurer but exclude any existing medical exclusions - you will need to provide evidence to The Exeter.

An example of health insurance costs

The following is provided to help you compare health insurance quotes (correct as at June 2017).

Health Cover for Me - £131.63 per month

Heath Choices for Me - £66.71 per month

Health Essentials for Me - £57.25 per month.

All the above contain a £250 excess. Figures based upon a 50-year-old non-smoking male living in the South East of England who is 1.83m tall and weighs 100kg.

The prices may vary significantly depending upon which additional options and excess levels you select.

That needs to be considered when you’re trying to compare health insurance quotes.

Some key benefits of The Exeter Health Insurance Plan

• Very simple options
• No penalties for making claims
• Unlimited cover in cost terms (subject to certain definitions)
• Easy to understand and simple inclusions/exclusions
• The Exeter also offers a number of membership benefits, such as:
• Exeter Assist  - offering confidential support and guidance on a wide range of issues, from relationship concerns to worries about debt.
• GP Helpline  - a phone and webcam service providing information and advice about your health concerns or those of your family.
• Private prescription service  - a follow-up to the GP Helpline, providing a hassle-free way of receiving medication, without a trip to an NHS doctor.