Shop around for PMI cover, adviser says

Debbie Kleiner-Gaines, managing director of national IFA Best Health UK and spokesman for the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries, said when an employee with company medical insurance leaves a job or retires, he should be encouraged to consider other options, rather than accept the group leaver option that lets him continue with the existing insurance cover.

By not switching, Ms Kleiner-Gaines said employees could lose out on the best private medical insurance deals.

She said: “Apathy means too often people accept what they are offered by their existing provider without shopping around.

“With medical insurance, it is always worth checking with a local specialist intermediary to see if the best deal and appropriate cover have been offered.”

She gave the example of a 40-year old man who was given a group leaver option quote of £320 a month when he moved from his engineering job in the Midlands to a new job in the same area. Shopping around got him the same cover for £146 a month.

However, she added that it was sometimes worth taking the group leaver option when in the middle of a claim, and to look at switching once the treatment was over.

She said: “Although cover for pre-existing conditions should always be a major consideration, people might still find a better deal elsewhere both in terms of cost and overall cover.

“For those wanting to continue with medical insurance, they should definitely use this opportunity to shop around.”