When it comes to your health, many people undervalue it, not realising what it means to be in good health. However, there are those who have had their invincibility tainted by the death, through illness, of a close friend or relative.



For those people, the value of health and medical insurance may be more than others. However, it depends on the quality of the National Health Service (NHS). In the UK, if you have a sniffle or broken leg, the NHS is great, however, anything more serious and things start to fall apart.





Waiting lists can be as long as three months if not longer for standard scans and tests, which could be an agonising wait if you suspected a life threatening disease like cancer. Those of you who work and pay significant taxes will understand the annoyance of that.



One solution to an NHS waiting list is to pay for private treatment as and when something crops up. However, this is assuming that you will never need much treatment, which, although hopefully the case, things may not work out like that. And if you are unfortunate enough to be struck with illness, the bills could soon be in the thousands and you could end up having to remortgage your home or take out a loan just to pay the hospital bills.



The smart alternative is health or medical insurance that can literally be a life saver. What level of cover you choose depends on your individual needs, there are a variety of options, including whether you want to insure just yourself or your partner and children as well, critical illness insurance and the addition of dental insurance.



Whatever you choose, the plus sides are endless, but first and foremost, queuing time for medical treatment and tests is at least halved. It is amazing what some money can do for a situation.



The problem with the NHS is it lacks funding that the private medical and health insurance sector is guaranteed through a premium. It is also oversubscribed and under staffed, which spells disaster for the average tax payer waiting for essential medical tests.



If you do decide to plump for private health or medical insurance, it could cost as little as 15 a month, but make sure you compare the market. Premiums vary greatly, and watch out for any loopholes and gaps that you might miss and find out later you are not covered for.



Most health and medical insurance policies have extra incentives that could actually result in you living a healthier life style. Many health insurance providers offer discounted gym membership and other health related incentives.



To conclude, for those who can afford it, private health or medical insurance can prove invaluable, and for those who can’t afford it, the more people who take out private policies means less people queuing on the NHS!