Bupa is launching a new type of tailor-made

Bupa launches tailored insurance to fill NHS gaps

Bupa is launching a new type of tailor-made health insurance to capitalise on the public's growing concerns over NHS provision.

Bupa By You is the latest scheme from the medical insurance industry to give policyholders a greater choice of options other than comprehensive cover.

Customers can choose which "core" parts of their healthcare they want to insure privately, from diagnosis through to aftercare, with 12 additional plans on offer to accommodate certain types of illness and injury.

The plan will also offer policyholders a choice of hospital networks to access and the size of excess they want to pay.

This "modular" plan is partly aimed at customers who are uncertain about the quality of NHS services, who can then choose to go private at certain stages in their healthcare, such as if they need a prompt diagnosis.

Bupa says the scheme will also benefit those struggling with money who may find comprehensive cover expensive and needless. For example, it may suit fitness fanatics who only want to insure healthcare for potential injuries.

"It gives a range of options designed to meet the differing needs of individuals and their families throughout their lives," says Natalie Jane MacDonald. "It combines choice, affordability and great service."

Some of Britain's largest medical insurers, such as PruHealth and Aviva, have already brought out similar schemes, although Bupa is the first medical insurer to allow customers to choose which stages of the healthcare process to privately insure.

Customers are advised to carefully check the terms and conditions of modular policies before signing up, as they cover much less ground than comprehensive plans and could be a false economy should treatment be required that hasn't been insured.