Frequently asked questions for group secretaries

Our healthcare plans are highly flexible, so if you need to change your benefits for one or more categories because your needs have changed, then we will be able to accommodate this. Normally, changes to private medical insurance (PMI) modules can only be made at the annual renewal date. All you need to do is tell us, or your adviser, what changes you want to make and we'll arrange a quotation so you know exactly how much it will cost.

Additional benefits can only be added during the annual renewal period. The flexibility of our healthcare plans means that by allocating your employees into different employee categories you can provide different benefits for each category. For example, you could arrange your categories to provide a comprehensive private medical insurance plan for management, and a more basic healthcare plan to staff.

Yes, if you only want to provide private medical insurance cover to some of your staff, for instance, but would like the rest of your employees to receive a preventative benefit, then you can do just that. Making these changes would only be available during the annual renewal period.

Changes to the excess can only be made during the annual renewal period. We offer a wide range of excess options, starting from £50 and then in £50 increments up to £500, plus £750, £1,000, £2,500 and £5,000. Additional discounts can also be achieved by opting to pay the excess per claim, rather than per plan year. Paying per claim can be an effective way of deterring low cost claims - which is why we offer bigger discounts on this option. Paying per plan year means the chosen excess is only paid once in any plan year regardless of how many claims are made. You can even select different excess levels for each employee category. Please contact us or speak to your adviser if you'd like to know more.

One of the great advantages of our healthcare plans is that you can pick and choose benefits to suit your budget. So, for instance, you may want to have out-patient cover, but to limit this to £500 a year instead of choosing full cover. You can also reduce costs based on the hospital list you choose. With our Guided Option hospital list, for instance, you can save up to 15% compared with our Countrywide hospital list. There are also the excess options mentioned above, as well as a NHS wait option. Even the way you pay your premiums could save you money. Please contact us or speak to your adviser to discuss the various options for your company.

If members join or leave the plan during the plan year, any amendments to the premiums arising as a result will be detailed in your next adjustment account. This will show either the additional premium due to us or the credit due to your company - depending on whether the membership of the plan has increased or decreased. This debit or credit will then be incorporated into the next premium collection.

New members joining during the course of the plan year do not have to pay the full annual premium. Instead, we will calculate a pro rata premium based on the number of months covered. For example, for a member joining halfway through a plan year, you will be charged either six months premium (if premiums are paid monthly) or six twelfths of the annual premium (if premiums are paid annually in advance).

A similar pro rata premium will be calculated where a member is deleted from the company plan during the course of the year.

They should contact us and we'll be happy to arrange a quote for our personal healthcare plan.

Cover will continue until the renewal date following a dependant's 25th birthday. After that, he or she will have the opportunity to continue their cover with us on an individual basis, provided they apply within 30 days. If they join within that period, then they can continue with the same medical underwriting terms that applied under the current plan. Cover must be continuous and any existing special terms will continue to apply. They must also meet the eligibility criteria for the new plan.

No, you do not need to get involved. Claims should be made direct to us. The information in your members' plan documents includes a step-by-step guide to making a claim. Please refer to the How to make a claim page in the company plan members section of this website, or you can suggest they contact us for further information.

If hospital treatment is required within 48 hours then please advise them to call us during normal office hours. We'll do everything possible to give them an immediate decision, explain what the next steps are, and provide them with the help and advice they need.