Considering the availability and popularity of the National Health System in the UK it is reasonable to wonder why in the world any normal person would choose to purchase private health insurance rather than utilize the free NHS systems. Everyone is tightening their belts these days, so why spend extra money on healthcare when you already have coverage offered by the national system? These are reasonable questions to ask, which begs one to consider exactly what the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing private healthcare coverage really are.

To start with it is worth considering exactly what the drawbacks of purchasing private health insurance are, before leaping into a discussion of what the benefits may be. In general the largest, most commonly known issue that most private insurance options deal with is the inability to cover all medical conditions. Private insurance was designed to treat acute illnesses that can quickly respond to the proper medical treatment, not all disorders and most certainly not chronic conditions like HIV. The second most widely known problem with private insurance is the level of money involved. With private insurance coverage what you pay really is what you get; you receive a proportional amount of coverage to how high your insurance premiums are. Which leads into the last major drawback, the difficulty of choosing between the various PMI policies available to consumers on the market in order to receive the best care they can without going bankrupt.

The benefits, on the other hand, are widely touted near and far. Shorter queues are perhaps the greatest (or at least widely known) advantage of choosing a PMI policy. Less time waiting for care often means better chances of successfully treating the disorder, particularly with infections and degenerative diseases. Having a greater variety of options is also an extremely important benefit of private insurance, as this means you can find the best specialist to treat your condition, or get a second opinion to set your mind at ease. These two issues alone are usually the deciding factor for most PMI policy holders, but having continuity of care providers throughout the course of your treatment also goes a long way toward sweetening the deal. This is why private insurance has grown so popular despite the availability of NHS services.