National Friendly Health Insurance
National Friendly are a mutual society and although they aren’t as well known as Bupa, AXA or Aviva they were founded in 1868 so are a well-established provider. As a mutual society, National Friendly are owned and run for the benefit of their members rather than shareholders so their members are at the forefront of everything they do.
National Friendly policy review
National Friendly offer two policies, Extensive is their more comprehensive level of cover incorporating full in-patient, day patient and out-patient cover within one policy. Alternatively, they offer the Optimum policy where clients can choose to include an out-patient only plan, an In/day-patient only plan or both together.
Things you may wish to consider
National Friendly allow members to join until the age of 85 giving members an option that isn’t available with certain other insurers.
Claims made with National Friendly won’t affect your renewal premium for the first 5 years of membership.
When switching to National Friendly, they won’t exclude cancer if members have been treated over 10 years ago, even if the member continues to have follow up checks with a specialist.
The Optimum policy offers unlimited face-to-face GP consultations as long as they lead to a specialist referral.
The Optimum in/day patient cover has an annual limit of £1,000,000.
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National Friendly health insurance benefits
- Private GP appointments 24/7
- Wide range of hospitals
- 9.7 rating for medical claims service
National Friendly focus on flexible health cover
Committed to our clients
National Friendly Extensive
These benefits are included with the Extensive policy
Benefit
Detail
In-patient and day patient treatment
Full cover for hospital fees including operating theatre costs, diagnostic tests, nursing care, drugs & dressing, and physiotherapy
Out-patient treatment
Full cover for consultations and specialist referred diagnostic tests
Full cover for MRI, CT & PET scans
Outpatient surgery is covered in full
Cancer Cover
Full cover for in-patient, day patient and outpatient treatment and consultations relating to cancer.
Full cover for chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Full cover for high-cost cancer drugs proven to treat cancer
External Prostheses as part of your cancer treatment
Wigs, and head coverings up to £400 a year
Private GP
Private GP consultations which lead to a referral to a specialist
Private GP consultations which do not lead to a referral to a specialist – £100 maximum
Fixed Cash Allowance
On certain qualifying operations, if you opt to have treatment through the NHS where you would have been eligible to claim for this under the Optimum plan National Friendly may offer a fixed cash allowance
Concierge Option / Private Ambulance
If you have eligible treatment that requires sedation, National Friendly will cover a taxi fare to and/or from the hospital up to a maximum of £50 per journey. Where medically necessary National Friendly will cover private ambulance in Full
Parent Accommodation
National Friendly will cover reasonable costs for hospital accommodation for one parent, while your child is receiving eligible treatment and is under the age of 18
Women’s Health Benefit
A maximum of 3 consultations over the course of a five year period where these are designed to provide advice on wellbeing. This covers advice and testing at stages of the menopause, and will take in tests for your general health such as cholesterol levels
The allowance for each consultation is £300
Men’s Health Benefit
A maximum of 3 consultations over the course of a five-year period where these are designed to provide advice on wellbeing. This covers advice and testing such as PSA (prostate specific antigen) tests, and will take in tests for your general health such as cholesterol levels
The allowance for each consultation is £300
National Friendly Optimum
In/day patient only plan.
An annual benefit of £1,000,000 applies to this policy
Benefit
Detail
In-patient and day patient treatment
Associated nursing care
Drugs and dressings necessary to aid your recovery while a day-patient or in-patient
Hospital accommodation costs
Investigative procedures such as keyhole surgery and arthroscopy
Operating theatre costs
Pre-operative tests
Specialist fees for surgery, anaesthesia, and physicians’ fees
Cancer Cover
Included:
Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy in Full
Medications to help alleviate cancer-related bone damage and side effects of radiotherapy in full
Wigs in full
Not included:
Experimental treatment of any type
Stem cell or bone marrow treatment
Supportive, palliative or hospice care
Fixed Cash Allowance
On certain qualifying operations, if you opt to have treatment through the NHS where you would have been eligible to claim for this under the Optimum plan National Friendly may offer a fixed cash allowance
Private Ambulance
Paid in Full
Oral Surgery
Dental procedures in a hospital for:
- enucleation of cysts of the jaw
- surgical removal of impacted teeth, buried teeth or roots
Parent Accommodation
Hospital accommodation for the parent named on the policy, while your child is receiving eligible treatment
National Friendly Outpatient Only Plan
Choose from an annual limit of £2,000 or £5,000 for cover benefits and any benefit below will be deducted from the annual allowance.
Benefit
Detail
Private GP
Private GP consultations which lead to a referral to a specialist
Private GP consultations which do not lead to a referral to a specialist – £100 maximum
Outpatient diagnostic tests and specialist consultations
Therapies e.g., acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, osteopathy, chiropody/podiatry and physiotherapy
Outpatient Surgery
Carpal tunnel decompression
Excision and cauterisation of cancerous tissue
Joint injection for tendonitis and bursitis
Mental Health
One initial psychiatric assessment per policy year, carried out on an outpatient basis
Up to 10 face-to-face sessions per policy year with a counsellor or psychotherapist
National Friendly Underwriting
National Friendly offer three underwriting options on their health policies:
- Full Medical Underwriting – Where you disclose your medical history to National Friendly.
- Moratorium Underwriting – Doesn’t require you to declare your full medical history upfront. Instead, it excludes cover for any conditions for which you have had symptoms, advice, or treatment during the past five years until you can go two years trouble free.
- Switch Underwriting – This is reserved for clients who have an existing medical insurance. For certain clients National friendly will offer the best switch terms as they don’t ask any questions and instead offer deferment periods before certain pre-existing conditions would be covered again. This is beneficial for clients with ongoing conditions that other providers would likely permanently exclude.
Hospital List
National Friendly offer a Guided, Standard and Extended option for hospitals.
