How much is Health Insurance & which companies?

[Katymac]

DD has an offer & we now have to think about ancillary costs like Helath Insurance

I do not have a clue where to start!

I have to do it now as we are applying for grant funding for it so I need at the very least a reasonable estimate

Any ideas?

[noggin]

Age is a factor for health insurance. Many companies will only allow a child to be added onto an adult policy (not sure if this is age 16 or 18 though). Both BUPA and AXA offer child only policies at a reasonable monthly cost, I was paying 25.00 for Bupa and 20.00 for AXA. However, they will not cover any pre-existing conditions or any injuries incurred in the past 5 years, eg - if you had an ankle injury on your right foot they would not cover for a similar injury on the same foot. My advice is to take out the insurance before you have any major problems then you can be covered for everything. On a side note, if you have no injuries documented with the GP/A&E you can get away with not mentioning them. Eg - seeing an osteopath for a back problem, so long as they haven't sent any documentation to your GP. Hope that helps a bit.

[carriecrafts]

It is probably worth asking Millennium as they may have a deal with someone. Urdang had someone do a talk about a healthcare scheme during their first week - it is the same scheme as Trinity Laban use - I'll try to look up the name.
We decided not to bother after researching the costs though. Urdang have their own physios and agreements with local practices where the costs are heavily subsidised (£15 per session) so it just doesn't seem necessary (dd had one sprained ankle so far which needed 2 physio visits).
x

[Katymac]

Thanks it's for an application for additional funding - so I'm just getting ahead of myself

[puck]

Our dd was on husbands work BUPA and this was accepted by school (ballet school which insisted on private healthcare) although we had to check it included MRI scans etc and show proof of this to school. Over four years we had many £1000s worth of claims unfortunately and we didn't even have to pay for physio as school employed one they could see anytime free of charge!

[noggin]

I agree with Puck, it is not just about physio cover. Dancers can get overuse injuries as well as traumatic injuries, either of which may require an MRI or CT scan to evaluate or treat properly. My DD over the past 3 years has required 4 MRI's, 3 ultrasound scans, an operation and 3 cortisone injections, without private medical insurance she would have had to wait for months on the NHS (assuming they deemed the investigation necessary) just to see if the problem required complete rest or if it was ok for her to continue training. This is a lifetime for a dancer to sit out for a possible problem. Also NHS work on a 'stop doing anything that causes pain' philosophy and come back in 6 months if it's not resolved and we may investigate further. Not a problem for the average person but a huge hinderance to an elite athlete or dance professional. If you can afford to take out health insurance I would highly recommend it, coming from a sports background I have seen kids require operations to keep them at the top of their game that the NHS wouldn't even consider as the injury would not cause problems in everyday life.

[puck]

katymac there is a thread on private medical insurance over on balletco. its a couple of yesrs old but might provide a starting point for you until you can speak to the school.

[woody]

I think many of the vocational schools & colleges have their own scheme (with BUPA or whoever) that they want all their students to join, so maybe ask them?

[performmum]

mike.manfield@activequote.com

Contact this guy. He did an excellent job for me & a friend. We have Aviva insurance, but this chap really helped us sort it all out. Hope this is useful.