Health Insurance for Tradespeople

If you are a tradesperson, then you want to make sure that you can take care of yourself and your family should anything happen to you. This is where health insurance comes in.

There are several different types of health insurance policies that will benefit a tradesperson. In this article, we will go over what health insurance covers, the different types of health insurance for tradespeople, and the benefits of health insurance.

So if you’re interested at all in health insurance for tradesmen, read on to find out everything you need to know.

What Does Health Insurance Cover?

Health insurance can include cover for a range of different things depending on the policy that you choose. It can include cover for treatments that you receive as the following:

• An inpatient – This can include staying in a hospital bed for surgery or for tests.
• An outpatient – This can include consultations, diagnoses, and treatments that you receive without staying overnight at the hospital.
• A day patient – This can include regular appointments that you need without staying overnight.

A comprehensive health insurance policy is usually more expensive than other policies. However, this will cover more types of treatments. Cheaper policies come with lower monthly payments. However, these will payout for less.

Some health insurance providers will allow you to choose exactly what is covered from a range of different options that may include the following:

• Treatments for specific diseases such as cancer
• Dental cover
• Medical treatment and nursing at home
• Physiotherapy
• Psychiatric treatments
• Optical appointments

Every single policy is different. However, there are some things that most health insurance providers will not cover. These usually include the following:

• Emergency treatment as ambulances and A&E departments are usually run by the NHS
• Chronic illnesses such as HIV, incurable illnesses, or illnesses that need ongoing treatment
• Elective treatments like fertility treatment or cosmetic surgery
• Treatments for drug abuse such as rehab costs
• Care and treatment during pregnancies
• Treatments while abroad

Many health insurance policies also won’t cover illnesses that you already have, such as diabetes. However, some do have the option to include pre-existing conditions, but these may cost more.

As with other types of insurance, there are some limits on how much you can claim. These figures will vary from policy to policy, so this is something that you should look out for when choosing the right policy for you.

Types of Health Insurance for Tradespeople

There are several different types of health insurance policies that may be beneficial to a tradesperson. Below is a list of the different types of health insurance that you may want to consider.

Small Business Health Insurance

Small business health insurance is a policy that offers private healthcare for your business employees. Small business health insurance usually comes in various forms depending on what type of cover you are looking for for your employees.

This type of insurance has many benefits, including reduced absences amongst employees, boosted productivity, increased mental and physical wellbeing, and great health cover for you and your team.

Employer's Liability Insurance

Most employers are required by law to ensure against liability, injury, or diseases to their employees as a result of their employment. It is a part of health and safety for the workers while they are at work.

This type of insurance protects your business in the event that you have to pay compensation to a worker for an injury or disease that occurs due to their work.

This type of insurance is compulsory under the Employer’s Liability Act of 1969 and is often alongside another type of health insurance that covers the cost of immediate health care.

Business owners are only exempt from needing this type of insurance if they are the only employee and they own over 50% of the company.

Self-Employed Health Insurance

If you are self-employed, then this type of insurance may be the best option for you. Self-employed health insurance allows you to avoid lengthy waiting lists and costly private treatment. This means that you can miss as little work as possible if you have to fall ill or become injured.

The cost of self-employed insurance will vary depending on the type of cover that you choose. As a self-employed business person, you usually can’t afford to spend a lot of time off work. This is where self-employed work health insurance is a huge advantage.

Critical Illness Insurance

This type of insurance can be extremely helpful if you are diagnosed with a very serious illness. It usually covers long-term illnesses such as a heart attack, cancer, or diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s.

This type of insurance is usually paid out in one solid sum and is often sold alongside life insurance.

If you are a 30-year-old non-smoker and in good health, you can usually get around £100,000 of cover for around £25 per month.

Private Medical Insurance

If you are conscious about having to wait a long time for medical treatment and need to get back to work quickly, then private medical insurance may be the best option for you.

This is sometimes known simply as general health insurance, and you will usually pay a monthly fee to have access to private medical health care. This type of health insurance is usually quite expensive.

Life Insurance

Life insurance provides cover in the worst of situations where you pass away. A lump sum is paid out, which pays off your mortgage, covers your funeral expenses, or replaces your income for your family.

Some policies will also payout if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. Life insurance is usually quite a low-cost option and can cost as little as £5 per month.

The actual price you pay will depend on certain factors, such as the level of cover that you want, what you do for work, your current age, and your current health status.

Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Cover

With this type of insurance, you pay a small monthly fee and then if you become ill, injured, or you lose your job, then you will get roughly 50% of your salary paid to you for around 12-24 months.

There are a few different names for this type of insurance, including payment protection insurance, income protection insurance, and short-term protection insurance.

You should check the small print when taking out this type of insurance as many policies won’t cover certain things such as if you quit your job, if you are sacked, or if you become ill with the condition that you already have.

They also often don’t cover people who are self-employed. The cost for this insurance is around £20 per month on average, depending on your current health and which trade you work in.

The Benefits of Health Insurance for Tradespeople

There are many benefits when it comes to tradesperson health insurance. Below is a list of the main health insurance benefits.

• Shorter Waiting Times
• Specialist Drugs and Treatments
• Access to Private Hospitals
• Quick Access to a GP Service
• Less Time Off Work

As you can see, these benefits can be a huge advantage for people working in the trades industry. Below, we will take a closer look at the benefits of trade health insurance policies and why they are advantageous to tradespeople.

Shorter Waiting Times

It’s no big secret that the NHS waiting times can often be quite long. A major benefit of choosing private health insurance is that you have the ability to receive treatment for your illness or injury as soon as you need it. You can even sometimes request a specific date as needed.

Oftentimes, NHS operations can be cancelled due to emergencies which can cause a lot of inconveniences. If you have health insurance, you are in control of when and where you have your treatment.

Specialist Drugs and Treatments

Many specialist treatments and drugs are not available on the NHS for various reasons. Private health insurance can’t guarantee access to specific drugs or medicines. However, you may be able to get some treatments that are not available on the NHS.

Access to Private Hospitals

A major benefit of choosing private health insurance is that you have access to private hospitals with private, comfortable rooms. Having a private room at the hospital will allow you to recover and rest on your own.

You will also be able to have visits from your family members without disturbing any other patients or without being disturbed by any other patients.

With health insurance, you usually have the option to choose from a private hospital or a private patient unit in an NHS hospital. Some insurance policies will offer you incentives or payments if you choose the latter option.

Quick Access to a GP Service

A lot of health insurance providers now offer access to a telephone or online GP service. This can be an app service or a phone service that gives you 24/7 out of hours access to a GP. With modern technology, you now also have access to private video consultations on many occasions.

This means that you often don’t even need to leave your home when you need to see a GP. A lot of health insurance providers will also allow you to use this service when abroad.

Less Time Off Work

With the faster GP services and access to quicker health care and support, you can get back to work much quicker if you have an illness or injury.

This is very beneficial for people who are self-employed as self-employed people don’t get paid unless they are working. For many tradespeople, this can be the biggest benefit of taking out health insurance.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are several different types of health insurance that can be taken out by people working in the trades industry.

If you are worried about missing work, worried about long waiting times, or if you want the best possible health care for you and even your family, then you should consider health insurance.

In this article, we have gone over the different types of health insurance policies for tradespeople and the main benefits of taking out health insurance when you are working in the trades industry.

Sources

https://www.comparethemarket.com/business-insurance/content/tradesperson
https://www.bupa.co.uk/business/small-business-healthcare/products-and-services/small-business-health-insurance
https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse40.PDF
https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/insurance/self-employed-health-insurance
https://www.money.co.uk/health-insurance/how-does-health-insurance-work.htm
https://healthinsurancespecialists.co.uk/guides/benefits-private-health-insurance