Over 65 Health Insurance

Health Insurance Over 65 

Whether you’re preparing to put your feet up during a well-earned retirement, or you plan to continue working for many years to come, it probably goes without saying that you have a higher risk of developing a medical condition or disease when you’re 65 than you had when you were 35 or 45, and that condition could scupper any of those plans you’ve been making. 

While health insurance for those over 65 doesn’t give you a better or more professional level of medical treatment in these scenarios than you’d receive from the NHS, this type of policy can sometimes help to speed up the diagnosis and treatment process. 

Compare health insurance for over 65s 

Is health insurance a good idea for the over 65s? 

Well, if you’re worried about the possibility of developing a medical condition, and the waiting times you might face if and when you require treatment for that condition, then this type of private health insurance might be a good idea no matter your age. 

But if you’re over 65 then this type of insurance could prove even more invaluable, since your risk of developing a condition in the first place is likely to be higher because of your age. 

But won’t lots of medical conditions be excluded from coverage at my age? 

That depends on your medical history rather than your age, although it’s fair to say that you’re more likely to have developed certain conditions because of your age.  

If you have suffered from a lot of different medical conditions in recent years then those conditions likely will be excluded from coverage when you sign up for a new policy, since they’ll be classed as “pre-existing conditions”. 

There are also a range of chronic medical conditions like asthma, arthritis and COPD that will usually be excluded from coverage as well, even if you haven’t suffered from those conditions prior to taking out your insurance policy. 

How much does over 65s health insurance cost, on average? 

It’s fairly difficult to make an accurate cost estimation for 65’s health insurance because age is only one of the factors that go into calculating the premium. You would have to take the person’s own risk profile into account to arrive at a fair estimate. 

It is highly recommended to use a comparison site like Quotezone.co.uk to compare quotes that have been calculated based on your real-time data. It is a good way to get an accurate idea of how much you’ll have to pay for over 65’s insurance… 

If I’m retired will this type of policy be cheaper? 

No, not necessarily. 

Many private health insurance providers don’t ask for your occupation or work status when you’re taking out this type of policy. In addition, if you suffer a personal injury at work it’s possible that injury may be covered by the company’s employers’ liability insurance, in which case this private health insurance policy may not be relevant anyway. 

Does this type of insurance policy include an excess? 

Yes, as with most types of insurance, your over-65 health insurance policy will usually include an insurance excess, which is the proportion of the cost you’ll be expected to cover yourself before the insurer will pay out. 

It is sometimes possible to reduce your insurance excess to zero, but this is likely to push your premium up so it’s important to consider your options carefully.  

Does health insurance for the over 65s cover visual impairment and hearing loss? 

Yes, both eyecare and sight issues, and ear care and hearing issues, should be covered by this insurance policy – provided those issues aren’t excluded as “pre-existing conditions”. 

If you were diagnosed with a condition like glaucoma or hearing loss before you signed up for this policy then most insurance providers would class those conditions as “pre-existing”, which means they generally would be excluded. 

Does over 65s health insurance cover diagnosis as well as treatment? 

That depends on the insurance provider you decide to go with and the level of coverage you opt for with that provider. 

Most private health insurance providers will have at least two levels of coverage:  

• A slightly cheaper “treatment only” level of coverage that will cover the cost of treatment, outpatient care and in-patient care after you’ve been diagnosed by an NHS medical professional 
• A slightly more expensive “diagnosis and treatment” level of coverage, can cover private testing and diagnosis in addition to private treatment.  

Can I increase my coverage level after I turn 65? 

Yes, if you previously had a “treatment only” health insurance policy you can choose to increase this to a “diagnosis and treatment” policy if you’d like. This will usually cost you a bit more, obviously, because it’s a more comprehensive level of coverage. But it does mean you’ll have the option to get private testing and diagnosis, whereas a treatment-only policy would require an NHS diagnosis before you could receive private medical treatment for that condition. 

What happens if I need prolonged hospitalisation because of my age? Will that be covered? 

Yes, although coverage for outpatient care can vary a lot from one provider to the next, and may also be influenced by the coverage level you opt for, when it comes to inpatient care where you need to be admitted to a hospital most policies will cover that period of hospitalisation in its entirety. 

You’ll usually also have a choice of hospitals when you have private health insurance – either from a shortlist if your insurance provider has one, or from a wider range if your provider doesn’t limit your options to a shortlist. 

Can this type of insurance cover palliative care if I’m diagnosed with a terminal illness? 

That can vary from one private health insurance provider to the next, but most providers will offer some level of cover for palliative care if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness, and some offer unlimited cover for palliative care. 

Of course, as with most conditions, the usual caveat applies – if the condition was diagnosed before you signed up for this policy then it will be deemed a “pre-existing condition”, which means any treatment or care for that specific condition may be excluded from coverage, including palliative care. 

What happens to this health insurance policy if I die? 

Private health insurance is designed to help patients with the cost of private medical care when they’re ill, which means this type of policy will expire if the patient dies. 

Since it’s only designed to cover medical care this type of policy generally won’t cover any of the costs associated with the policyholder’s death, such as funeral costs or legal expenses.  

The individual who is dealing with the deceased person’s estate after their death will likely have to contact the health insurance provider to inform them of their death