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Freedom Health Insurance review

Find out what's covered by Freedom Health Insurance, what's excluded and how to make a claim.

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Danny Butler
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Who is Freedom Health Insurance?

Freedom Health Insurance has been offering flexible private medical insurance since 2003. Its policies are available to people aged between 18 and 70 living in the UK and overseas.

What cover options are available?

There are three levels of cover available with Freedom Health Insurance:

Freedom Essentials

This is a budget health insurance package, offering less cover. You’ll be given a fixed cash benefit towards various treatments.

The cash benefit received is based on the national average cost (excluding central London hospitals) of your procedure.

If your chosen hospital charges more, you’re responsible for paying the shortfall. If your hospital charges less, the rest is yours to keep!

You’ll be given a 50% cash benefit if you choose to receive treatment from the NHS instead of going private.

Freedom Elite

This is a more expensive package, offering a higher level of cover. In most cases, your policy will cover 100% of costs following a successful claim.

Freedom Worldwide

This package will cover you for various medical treatments outside the UK.

You can choose to be covered worldwide, worldwide outside the US, or in Europe only.

What’s included with your Freedom Health Insurance?

The table below reveals what you are covered for with each package.

Available coverFreedom EssentialsFreedom EliteFreedom Worldwide
In-patient and day-patient treatmentCovered by cash benefit✓✓
In-patient and day-patient specialist fees and diagnostic testsOptional✓
Cash benefit for NHS treatmentCovered by cash benefit✓
Out-patient consultant fees and diagnostic testsOptional
Cancer treatmentCovered by cash benefit✓✓
Mental health treatment✓
Therapies including osteopathy, chiropractors, acupuncture, homeopathy or podiatryOptional✓
Routine dental treatmentOptionalOptional
Dental surgery proceduresCovered by cash benefitOptional✓
Optical costOptionalOptional
Pregnancy complicationsCovered by cash benefit✓
Home nursing costs✓
Private ambulance✓
MRI, CT, PET scansOptional✓✓
Compassionate emergency visit for a family member overseas✓

You can add your partner and/or children (up until age 24) to any policy, if you wish.

Exclusions

Here is a selection of the scenarios in which you won’t be covered by your Freedom Health Insurance policy.

  • Treatment for pre-existing medical conditions
  • Treatment for chronic conditions, such as arthritis or epilepsy
  • Pregnancy or childbirth
  • Accident or emergency services

There are other scenarios in which you won’t be covered by your policy. It’s best to read the policy document or speak to a member of staff before signing up, if there are any you are particularly concerned about.

How to make a claim

To make a claim for cash benefit on your Freedom Essentials policy, or for your insurer to cover all costs on your Freedom Elite policy, you’ll first need to gain an open referral from your GP.

Once you have that, call the claims helpline on 01202 283 580 or email claims@freedomhealthinsurance.co.uk. Either way, a staff member will discuss details of your claim, and whether your treatment is covered.

Once your claim has been accepted, you can go ahead and arrange your treatment.

If your claim was for a cash benefit, the money will be transferred as quickly as possible into your bank account. The insurer can’t guarantee that this will be before your treatment.

If the insurer has agreed to cover all costs, you don’t need to do anything. The insurer’s staff will settle the bill with the medical facility for you.

How to contact Freedom Health Insurance

You can amend your policy or make general queries by:

  • Calling 0800 999 2013 or 01202 756 350 between 9am and 6pm on weekdays
  • Sending an email to info@freedomhealthinsurance.co.uk
  • Using the live chat service on the Freedom Health Insurance website

Pros and cons

Pros

      • Cover your entire family on one policy.
      • Cover is available, even if you live outside of the UK.
      • Cancer treatment and mental health treatment are included as standard.
      • Worldwide overseas coverage is available.

Cons

      • Its most basic policy offers cash benefit only. You may be left having to cover some costs.
      • There’s no guarantee your cash benefit will arrive before your treatment begins.
      • Customer service is only available during working hours on weekdays.

Our verdict

We’ve seen more comprehensive health insurance policies available in the UK. However, it’s great that this policy is also available if you live overseas.

The cash benefits offered within its Essentials policy is a unique way of doing things, which you’ll either appreciate or dislike depending on the cost of your local private hospitals.

Having said that, we like that a 50% cash benefit is offered if you choose to use the NHS.

We also like that cancer treatment, mental health treatment and therapies are covered as standard in the Elite policy.

Frequently asked questions about Freedom Health Insurance

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