
Health insurance can be a sound investment if you develop a serious illness or injury. It means you get prompt consultation and treatment at a location that's close by and at a time that is convenient. You'll also have the benefit of top class equipment, with hospital stays in a private room with ensuite facilities. This doesn't come cheap, of course, and you can pay a lot of money in the long-term, especially for family cover and more so as you get older. There are, however, ways to reduce the cost.
The cheapest type of health insurance is that provided by your employer. If it is available as a perk, it is well worth having. It will be taxed as a benefit if you earn over a set limit but that still leaves it as good value. The downside is that, when you leave the employment, you have to arrange the health insurance privately. If you've retired from the job, your age will count against you and make cover relatively expensive. And, to make matters worse, there's no longer tax relief on health insurance for those aged over sixty.
If you have to pay for health insurance, as most of us do, you can keep the cost down by taking on cover that maybe isn't quite as comprehensive as it could be. It isn't essential that you go to a top hospital and, by reducing the number available to choose from, you may get reduced premiums.
You can agree to pay a larger proportion of the total cost yourself. This does, of course, reduce the benefit but means you still get prompt treatment and have most of the cost paid for you.
Certain plans have lower costs if you can prove you have a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise, thereby reducing the insurer's risk. Some insurers also offer no claims benefits so that the annual premium, or at least the amount by which it is due to increase, is reduced if you have no treatments under the plan.
Shopping around is perhaps the most effective way of keeping costs down. There are a lot of plans around so you should be able to find one to meet your needs.