Death risk: Why you should avoid hospitals on weekends
03 Feb 2012
Cash plans are a cheaper alternative to normal health insurance. You can get a basic health cash plan for less than £10 a month.
In return it pays you cash up to a certain limit when you need medical treatment. The cap on how much you will get back is based on your monthly payments. Exactly what is covered and how much it will pay out depends on your policy.
For example, most policies will give you money towards the cost of dental work, eye tests and glasses, which usually have an annual limit. It will also pay towards the cost of seeing a specialist such as a physiotherapist, chiropractor and chiropodist and a sum towards every night you spend in hospital.
One of the advantages of cash plans is that they are flexible giving you the option of how you spend the amount you are allowed to claim. You usually don't need to get authorisation before seeing a specialist or worry about your claims history as your payments won't increase if you've used it during the year.
The cover is designed to allow you to choose where you want to have your treatment, but remember you will only be able to claim back up to the benefit limit chosen. All you need to do is submit a claim after your treatment and your insurer will refund the cost.
You can add on more cover for major procedures such as surgery for a relatively small additional cost.
