Personal Health Insurance
Student health cover explained

Many students are younger people that are just reaching the peak of their physical development. If you’re in that category, you may have a tendency to feel that you’re virtually unbreakable in physical terms. Unfortunately, that just isn’t necessarily the case and a few minutes spent thinking about student health cover might be a good idea.

Student health

Whether you’re a conventional or mature student doesn’t really matter. The chances are that you need to be cost-conscious and health care may be something you naturally assume will be taken care of by the NHS.

Of course, no student is immune from sickness or the sheer bad luck of having an accident that results in the need for medical attention. In such a situation, would the NHS always be the answer?

The NHS and student health

The NHS is a national institution that we can rightly be proud of but it in some situations what it can provide is limited.

It exists to provide free health care but its focus is on urgent and longer-term care for the majority. If you are unlucky enough to have need of non-urgent attention for a condition regarded as not necessarily serious, then you may find that you encounter significant delays in seeing a specialist and in obtaining treatment.

If you are prepared to wait then that may be fine, but if you’re in pain or finding that your condition is causing disruption to your life then you may find lengthy delays to be less acceptable. This may be particularly true if your condition is disrupting your studies.

The role of student health cover

Private medical care – often called private medical insurance (PMI) or private health insurance - exists to run parallel to the NHS and provide complementary services to it. If you have a policy that provides student health cover, typically you will be able to get fast access to a specialist in situations where the NHS is unable to help within a timeframe to meet your needs.

In the hopefully unlikely event of treatment being needed, typically you will also be able to get fast access to a hospital or clinic in a location that’s suitable for you.

You may also be able to benefit from health checks, preventative screening and access to fitness and well-being centres at reduced rates.

All of the above may prove to be very important in a situation where you do not wish anything to come between you and your studies.

Student health cover – the costs

Yes, private health insurance costs money. The good news is that many providers offer a wide range of affordable options depending upon whether you’re a student, single or a family etc. Some policies are specifically designed to take account of the at times fragile state of a student’s finances! You may be surprised at how affordable this sort of cover can be.

Student health cover can’t guarantee you good health but if you are unlucky, it may enable you to quickly resolve the problem so that you can carry on with your normal life as soon as possible. Finding out a bit more might not be a bad investment of a few minutes of your time.