Private health insurance – is it worth coughing up?

"I’ve cheerfully paid up for the last 35 years and recognise the upsides. At least in theory, if you are able to afford it, private health insurance allows you to be checked out by a consultant in days rather than months – particularly, right now, when the NHS is overstretched to breaking point, and long-overdue for a roots and branch rethink. 

I pulled out of a long relationship with BUPA shortly after my mother died, which was a while ago now. 

The police had got in touch to pass on their concerns having picked her up three times for driving to the shops at 3am, when the high street was silent. Alzheimer’s was taking its cruel grip. We sold the family home and placed her in the care of a BUPA nursing home. I fell for BUPA’s glossy brochure with one photograph of a chef dressed up his smart white toque, and another of a glass of wine in a smart private room. These snaps eased my immense sense of guilt. On Saturday mornings, I would collect mum at pre-arranged times, and she would be all dressed up and waiting for me. However, one day I decided to test the system and turned up unannounced. I sidestepped security and reached my mum’s private room to find a handsome man in her bed. 

My mother was blankly gazing out of the window. I asked her “Who the hell is he?” She responded “I’ve no idea though he’s always there.” I don’t often get cross though this event triggered a blazing row with the manager who explained the said gentleman was suffering from dementia, and it was impossible to stop him wandering into other rooms. My mother died shortly afterwards from pneumonia. I stomped and switched insurers.

I was attracted to Vitality for several reasons. They were about 20% cheaper and once again I got hooked by their seductive advertising that promoted preventative care and a healthy lifestyle that all seemed like me. At the time they offered an Apple Watch for free. This interacted with a cloud-based tracking system that awarded points each week. Like all men, we were born with an innate attraction to all forms of gadget, post discovery of the splendid novelty inside our underwear. 

I continue to exercise intensively for five times a week for 30 minutes, which is a lot. This propelled me to their top ‘platinum’ grade, which is almost impossible to achieve. In many respects I should have been their ideal customer. My private health insurance renewed on 1st June each year and the premiums had steadily risen over the years to the princely sum of just over £400 per month - just shy of £5,000 pa. I have always suffered from mild asthma. I say mild, as I had been using my inhaler about once a month during sporadic flare-ups. In the current financial year I’d not made any claims until November 2022, when I asked to see my consultant who wanted to charge Vitality a modest £180 (3.75% of my annual premium). I rang the claims line to have the sum pre-authorised which was instantly declined on the grounds that I had a 'chronic condition' - they had paid up in previous years so this was a change of heart. I paid the £180 privately.

I put in a formal complaint and was told that under their clearly stated terms and conditions, they could take eight weeks to respond – a disgrace by any professional standards. After a whopping ten weeks had passed, I complained again to explain that I had still not received any response. At this point, I was told that “my claim had never actually been refused” and that it had “simply not been accepted”. 

Bring on the laughing gas. 

Now into the realms of the Kafkaesque, I instructed my broker to euthanise my contract, and I cancelled my direct debit. Vitality then sent me a string of letters demanding a new mandate. I explained that I had cancelled the contract. They retorted that they had not received any notification, despite previously acknowledging the instruction.

Vitality has freely admitted that the original call handler was ‘inexperienced’ and that, like their competitors, they continue to suffer from 'an acute inability to recruit quality staff'. That's not what a high fee paying customer wants to hear.

So a couple of weeks ago I switched to 'self-insuring', alongside a private doctor scheme called ‘Doctorcall' at £80 per month that allows unlimited almost instant home visits and video calls. It’s not the same as private health insurance though suits me and my not terribly chronic condition well – and I am finding it so much less of a pain. And if I ever needed some more serious operation in a hurry, I can still pay for this on a private patient basis using exactly the same consultants as had been offered through the private health system.  What's not to love?

And as for Vitality, in my personal opinion, they are a hospital case."