Question 1

What is Best Insure?

Accepted Answer

Best Insure is a UK insurance comparison and introducer service for protection cover. Consumers complete one short online form about the cover they want, and Best Insure passes the enquiry to a single FCA-regulated protection adviser who compares leading UK insurers and returns quotes, usually the same working day.

Question 2

Is Best Insure free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Best Insure never charges consumers a fee. The adviser is paid commission by the insurer if a policy is taken out, and the premium quoted is the same as going direct to the insurer.

Question 3

How long does it take to get a quote?

Accepted Answer

The online form takes around 60 seconds and needs no documents, login or credit check. Callbacks average 47 minutes during working hours, and users can choose a morning, afternoon or evening slot, or ask to be contacted by email only.

Question 4

What is private medical insurance and how does it work in the UK?

Accepted Answer

Private medical insurance (PMI) is a UK health policy that pays for the diagnosis and treatment of new, acute conditions in private hospitals. You see your NHS GP or a virtual GP first, get a referral, then the insurer authorises treatment and settles the bill directly with the hospital. You keep full access to the NHS throughout.

Question 5

How much does private medical insurance cost in the UK?

Accepted Answer

UK private medical insurance typically starts from around £28 a month for a healthy adult in their thirties on a guided-hospital-list plan with a £250 excess. Premiums rise with age, postcode, hospital list and the extras you add, so a family plan for two adults and two children more commonly falls between £120 and £220 a month.

Question 6

Will my pre-existing conditions be covered?

Accepted Answer

Usually not at the start, but the underwriting type matters. Moratorium underwriting can bring some conditions back into cover after two consecutive symptom-free years, while full medical underwriting tells you up front exactly what is excluded. Your adviser will explain which route suits your medical history.

Question 7

Can I keep using the NHS if I have private medical insurance?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Private medical insurance sits alongside the NHS rather than replacing it — you can use either at any time. A&E, maternity care, chronic condition management and GP services remain NHS services, and some insurers pay you a cash benefit for each night you choose NHS treatment instead.

Question 8

How can I cut the premium on a UK health insurance policy?

Accepted Answer

Raising the excess to £500, choosing a guided or local hospital list, adding a six-week NHS wait option, or dropping outpatient cover to a capped limit each reduce the premium noticeably. Paying annually rather than monthly usually saves a further few per cent.

Question 9

Does private medical insurance cover cancer treatment?

Accepted Answer

Comprehensive UK policies cover cancer diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and often drugs not routinely funded by the NHS. Cover levels vary a great deal between insurers, so the adviser compares full cancer cover against capped or NHS-plus options before recommending a policy.

Question 10

How long does it take to be seen with private medical insurance?

Accepted Answer

Most members get a consultant appointment within a few working days of authorisation, compared with an average NHS elective wait of over 14 weeks. Diagnostics such as MRI and CT scans are commonly booked within a week.

Question 11

How much life insurance do I need in the UK?

Accepted Answer

A common UK starting point is your outstanding mortgage plus around 10 times your annual income, then adjusted for childcare years, other debts and any death-in-service benefit from your employer. An adviser sizes the figure to the years your family would actually need replacing income for, rather than a round number.

Question 12

How much does life insurance cost per month in the UK?

Accepted Answer

Level term life insurance can start from about £6 a month for a healthy 30-year-old non-smoker taking £150,000 of cover over 25 years. Price is driven by age, smoker status, sum assured, term length and health, so the same cover at 50 typically costs three to four times more.

Question 13

What is the difference between level and decreasing term life insurance?

Accepted Answer

Level term keeps the payout the same for the whole term and suits family income protection or interest-only mortgages. Decreasing term reduces the payout roughly in line with a repayment mortgage balance and is cheaper, which is why it is the usual choice for mortgage protection.

Question 14

Do I need a medical exam to get life insurance?

Accepted Answer

Most UK applications are decided on a health and lifestyle questionnaire alone. A nurse screening or GP report is only occasionally requested — usually for larger sums assured, older applicants or specific declared conditions — and the insurer arranges and pays for it.

Question 15

Should my life insurance policy be written in trust?

Accepted Answer

Almost always. Writing the policy in trust keeps the payout outside your estate for inheritance tax and gets the money to your family in weeks instead of waiting on probate. Insurers provide trust forms free of charge and the adviser completes them with you.

Question 16

Is a joint life policy better than two single policies?

Accepted Answer

Two single policies cost slightly more but pay out twice, leave the survivor still insured, and can be adjusted independently after a separation. A joint policy pays once on first death and is the cheaper option — the adviser prices both so you can see the actual difference.

Question 17

Does life insurance pay out for terminal illness?

Accepted Answer

Most UK term policies include terminal illness benefit as standard, paying the full sum assured early if you are diagnosed with under 12 months to live. It is not the same as critical illness cover, which pays on diagnosis of defined conditions you can survive.

Question 18

What is income protection insurance and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

Income protection pays a regular monthly benefit if illness or injury stops you working. Payments start once your chosen deferred period ends and continue until you recover, retire or the policy term finishes, so it is designed for long-term absence rather than a few weeks off.

Question 19

How much of my salary can income protection cover?

Accepted Answer

UK insurers typically allow 50% to 70% of gross earnings, and benefits on personal policies are normally paid free of income tax. The cap exists so there is always a financial incentive to return to work.

Question 20

What is a deferred period and which one should I choose?

Accepted Answer

The deferred period is the wait between being unable to work and your first payment — commonly 4, 8, 13, 26 or 52 weeks. Matching it to how long your employer pays sick pay keeps the premium down; the self-employed usually pick 4 or 8 weeks because statutory sick pay does not apply to them.

Question 21

Can I get income protection if I'm self-employed?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is often the single most valuable cover for self-employed people, contractors and company directors because there is no employer sick pay behind you. Insurers assess income from accounts or dividend and salary records, so keep recent figures to hand.

Question 22

What does own-occupation mean on an income protection policy?

Accepted Answer

Own occupation means the insurer pays if you cannot do your own job, which is the strongest and most claim-friendly definition. Weaker suited-occupation or activities-of-daily-work definitions can refuse a claim if you could theoretically do another role, so the definition matters more than a small price difference.

Question 23

How much does income protection cost in the UK?

Accepted Answer

Cover commonly starts from around £12 a month for a younger office-based worker with a longer deferred period. Manual occupations, shorter deferred periods and full-term benefit payment all push the premium up.

Question 24

Does income protection cover mental health and back problems?

Accepted Answer

Yes — stress, depression and musculoskeletal conditions are among the most common reasons UK income protection claims are paid. Most insurers also fund rehabilitation and phased return-to-work support alongside the monthly benefit.

Question 25

What does critical illness cover actually pay out for?

Accepted Answer

Critical illness cover pays a tax-free lump sum when you are diagnosed with one of the conditions defined in the policy and survive a short period, usually 14 days. Cancer, heart attack and stroke account for the large majority of UK claims, with policies defining anywhere from around 50 to over 170 conditions in total.

Question 26

Is the cheapest critical illness policy the best?

Accepted Answer

Rarely. Condition definitions vary enormously between UK insurers, so a policy costing a few pounds more each month can define far more conditions and use more generous severity wording — which is what decides whether a claim is paid. Comparing definitions matters more than comparing headline price.

Question 27

How much does critical illness cover cost in the UK?

Accepted Answer

Standalone cover commonly starts from about £15 a month for a healthy non-smoker in their thirties. Age and smoker status have the biggest effect, and adding critical illness to a life policy is usually cheaper than buying the two separately.

Question 28

Can I add critical illness cover to my life insurance?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Combined life and critical illness policies are cheaper but pay out only once, on whichever happens first, and the policy then ends. Standalone policies cost more but keep both benefits intact, which is often the better structure for a family with dependants.

Question 29

Are children covered under critical illness policies?

Accepted Answer

Most modern UK policies include children's critical illness cover as standard, typically paying up to around £25,000 per child, with some insurers offering enhanced child benefit as an optional upgrade. Cover generally runs from a few weeks old until the child's late teens or early twenties.

Question 30

What is the difference between critical illness cover and income protection?

Accepted Answer

Critical illness pays a single lump sum on diagnosis of a defined condition, whatever happens next. Income protection pays a monthly benefit for as long as any illness or injury keeps you off work. Many households hold both, because a lump sum clears debt while a monthly benefit replaces earnings.

Question 31

Do critical illness policies pay for early-stage cancer?

Accepted Answer

Many do, through partial or additional payments for less advanced cancers and low-grade prostate cancers, usually a percentage of the sum assured up to a cap. Whether early-stage conditions are included, and at what level, is one of the clearest differences between cheap and comprehensive policies.

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