‘The funny thing about insurance is the more you need it the harder it is to get. As soon as you have a problem – points on your driving licence a health condition – you become high-risk and the financial outlay goes up. In extreme cases it may prove difficult to buy any cover at all.\r\n\r\nThese questions have been preoccupying me since I developed a rare autoimmune disease undiagnosed for months but now happily being treated. In fact I have two autoimmune conditions an overactive thyroid and a condition called pemphigoid which as Oscar Wilde might have remarked looks rather like carelessness.\r\n\r\nThe financial fallout from these conditions underlines my point. As a freelance I found the illness – and attendant uncertainty pre-diagnosis – not only slashed my ability to earn but also underlined my short-sightedness in not insuring myself against this eventuality. Even worse I have no health insurance to speak of and now may find it tricky getting any.\r\n\r\nResearching what I should have done in an ideal world I asked insurers three key questions. Would they give me health insurance now with my autoimmune conditions? Would I have been able to secure my freelance earning position pre-illness? And what are my chances now?\r\n\r\nI began with Bupa as its leaflet had fallen out of a Sunday paper. Bupa is the grandaddy of health insurers”older than the NHS” as the helpful phone broker put it. Founded in 1947it is now this country”s biggest health insurer.\r\n\r\nI was impressed by the 10 per cent discount Bupa offers the self-employed. We discussed my rare disease mucus membrane pemphigoid the woman consulted her health expert and came back with the expected answer. No cover for the two autoimmune conditionsor any related health problem.\r\n\r\nBut I could get cover for everything else – including paid-for consultation if it turned out a health issue wasn”t related to my autoimmune status. Cost: just over £60 a month for full-ish cover: consultation at private hospital private room option medical tests and operations. Oddly apart from the autoimmune stuff I”m a reasonable risk nowhaving never smoked and now being unable to drink.\r\n\r\nThe Heartbeat Select 2 option also has a cheaper siblingcosting £46.14 a monthwhich excludes consultants” fees but includes diagnostic tests and in-patient care.\r\n\r\nNorwich Union also caters for freelances. They didn”t like the sound of my illnesses either – who does? – but offered their Trust Care Starter policy covering in-patient care only at a reasonable £59.65 a month. Obviously existing ailments would be excluded.\r\n\r\nI moved on to the income protection I should have taken out. If I had gone ahead a year ago with Norwich Unionprotecting a nominal £15000 a year (enough to cover our mortgage and key bills) would have cost meat age 48£50.45 a month. This could have provided a handy £750-a-month income replacement -starting after 13 weeks” illness – until age 60. Frankly this would have been a good deal.\r\n\r\nAnd then there”s Sagaso sussed it knows the magic 50th birthday of every British citizen and markets to them accordingly. I”m about to hit the crucial age so asked for its best deals. Known to be good for mature drivers Saga offers health insurance too but no income protection as its core clients are mainly thinking about retirement.\r\n\r\nSaga”s Super Cover has no limit on in-patient treat ment. All out-patient consultations and tests are also covered. You also get home nursing recuperative care (yes please) and alternative treatmentsincluding osteopathy and acupuncture. This would cost from £88.26 a month or an annual premium of £979.64 for a 50-year-old choosing from Saga”s countrywide hospital list. A London hospital upgrade is available for about £13 a month extra. Paying a £500 excess rather than £100 would cut the bill by 20 per cent.\r\n\r\nI also consulted my own bank NatWestwhich provides health cover via Norwich Union. But I”d gain a 10 per cent reduction as an Advantage Gold current account holder.\r\n\r\nKent-based Independent Insurance Brokers offered good income protection advice. For just £35 a monthI could protect my notional £15000 survival salaryexcluding payouts for illness related to my diagnosis. Monthly payouts of £800 would start after 30 days providing the terms of the insurance were satisfied. The company”s Ray Johnson pointed out: ”You have to be careful you meet the requirements. It”s easy with straightforward diseases such as heart disorders but you would have to prove incapacity.”\r\n\r\nSo how do you get a good tailor-made deal?\r\n\r\n· Shop around as with anything else;\r\n\r\n· Don”t overstretch your resources;\r\n\r\n· Look out for good introductory offers on the internet or via your bank;\r\n\r\n· Don”t accept the first policy offered – it may be a new policy they are trying to hit targets on;\r\n\r\n· Try the smaller independent insurance brokers: they can give you information on smallerspecialist insurers.\r\n\r\nMy own solution looks like healthcare from Bupa and income protection from a Folkestone independent broker. The one thing I shan”t do is leave insurance until tomorrow – I”ve learnt my lesson but good.\r\n\r\n<a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2004/aug/08/observercashsection.healthinsurance” title=”Read the full article online here” target=”_blank”></a>’ ‘Fit and well? Time to get some insurance’ ” ‘inherit’ ‘open’ ‘open’ ”’367-revision-2′ ” ”’2013-05-15 10:58:22”2013-05-15 10:58:22′ ”367’http://janeeliothardy.com/367-revision-2/’0 ‘revision’ ”0)