Are private health insurers ripping off older people?

Taking out private health insurance is costly, but are older people being penalised unnecessarily?

You might be considering taking out private health insurance for yourself or for an older relative, or you might have just been sent a renewal notice. If this is the case, beware. It can cost someone in their 80s around £200 for private health, but once you have a plan, this can rise dramatically. One case recently showed that an 83 year old woman, who had taken out a policy for less than £200 two years ago, received a renewal notice informing her that she now had to pay almost £600 a month. The documentation which accompanied the note was complex and the lady in question was in a state of panic about why the premium had risen so dramatically and how she was going to pay.

What do older people do if they don’t have family to help then with such issues?

In the example above, the older lady in question had a daughter to help. She called the health company, in this case BUPA and waited for over thirty minutes just to get through. She was then told that her mother’s no claims had been reduced by 10% for every £250 claimed, which meant that in just two years, having claimed only £1600 in that time, she had no discount left and so her premiums had increased seven fold. BUPA then informed the daughter that. if her mother paid an excess on her policy, the annual premium would reduce to just over £5000, but if she cancelled the policy, she could start a new one paying just over £2000 per year. However, by taking out a new policy, the mother’s medical history had to be provided all over again, as BUPA refused to use the details they already held.

Older people and existing customers are discriminated against

So the situation appears to be that, if you are an existing customer, you lose your no claims bonus very easily and premiums shoot up astronomically. If you are a new customer, you pay thousands of pounds less. If you are an older person who does not have the energy to call and take the health companies to task, you just pay the increased premium or cancel the policy. If you are up to calling them, or have family to help you, you have to wait on the phone for hours and have convoluted conversations about the possible options. This takes far more than one phone call. In the case of this example, it took five calls and the final one to cancel the old policy and take out a new one took one hour and forty seven minutes. You need stamina to get through this process.

Renewals need to be simplified for older people

The system does not work for older people, but for the benefit of the health companies and there are many other industries guilty of the same issue. Companies should make it fair, quick, easy and affordable for older people to renew private health and other services. It is unfair to push up premiums so high, whilst offering new customers much lower premiums. The system is convoluted, the phone lines too slow and it is too easy for the companies to hide behind all the red tape of underwriting excuses. This is not fair to older people or their families.

Top tips to get the best price for health insurance

• Shop around for the best deals
• Use comparison sites
• Don’t accept the renewal quote if it increases with questioning why
• Ask how much it will be to cancel the existing policy and take out a new one instead
• Ask about adding an excess to reduce the monthly premium
• Keep notes of your medical details, as these will be required if you renew and GPs charge to give you a copy of your records