Tesco's Health Insurance - Find Out Why Initial Reviews Are No Good
January 2007
Tesco has just introduced a private medical insurance policy called unsurprisingly ‘Tesco Health Insurance’. But the initial comments coming from the experts are not particularly favourable. This article looks at why.
Tesco Health Insurance
- Claims to combine cheapness with simplicity
- Bought over the phone or online without the need to complete a complicated medical questionnaire
- Tesco states that a 45 year old man living in Leeds would pay around £45 a month for Tesco Premium cover whereas this would cost around £61 for similar cover from BUPA and £69 using Norwich & Union’s Fair & Square policy
- A no claims bonus feature is offered where discounts of up to 55% over 4 years are available
- Note that there is an automatic excess of £100 with each policy (basically if you claim for anything you’ll have to pay the first £100 – this can add quite a bit if you claim regularly)
- Tesco will offer two levels of premium –
- Core – Offers in-patient, day patient and out-patient cover as well as scans, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy
- Premium – Includes the above as well as up to £1,000 in additional out-patient treatments
So What’s The Problem
The gist of the argument is that health insurance does not land itself well to mass marketing, fill out the one form and you’re all covered etc. This unlike say Car Insurance where everything is pretty simple - model of car, value, where you live, how old you are, any points etc.
So the experts are worried that by filling out the one form there could be complications if the person starts claiming. Insurance companies after all love to try and wiggle out of paying if they can and complications due to settling medical claims might not just be excessively expensive they might be critical.
The experts also point out that with such a simple form to fill out people may not realise and have a clear understanding of what is and what isn’t covered.
Conclusion
Overall the Tesco policy is not bad but its simplicity seems to offer some negatives. As mentioned before some insurance policies lend themselves well to being mass marketed but others are altogether more specialised and Health Care Cover falls into this category.
So for many people it’s best to seek some sort of advice when looking to buy medical insurance but then that can lead to overpaying as it’s usually in the interest of the ‘advisor’ to sell the most expensive products. And don’t forget ‘scare’ tactics are great selling motivators as in ‘if you’re not covered for X, Y or Z disease then both you and your loved ones might suffer in the future’
Our advice is therefore simple, if you want the best medical insurance at the most competitive price always contact a number of providers and then compare their policies and prices against each other - List of Health Insurance Providers
See Also
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