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Making changes to your policy

I have had a special condition on my membership for many years which no longer needs treatment - can it be removed?

We are pleased to review special conditions at the annual renewal of your membership but we will need a full and current medical report from your GP or consultant. If the condition no longer exists and is unlikely to reoccur, our underwriters will consider the removal of the special condition. We will then let you know our decision. (Sometimes a GP or consultant will make a charge for this report. This charge isn't covered by your membership and so you should settle this bill with your GP or consultant direct.)

I contacted your helpline recently to discuss my partner's personal membership. Your adviser would not disclose any information. Why am I not able to act on my partners behalf?

Bupa has a strong commitment to its members, to medical confidentiality and to compliance with the Data Protection Act. We may hold confidential medical details on our members for those who are in the same family or covered under the same membership. We must therefore ensure that the person requesting the information is doing so with the express permission of the member concerned.

If we cannot speak to the member personally, then we require their written permission before divulging any information that may be of a confidential nature. In cases where we cannot get written permission, we will accept a copy of a Power of Attorney.

How do I make a change to my payment method?

Contact us and we can make changes over the phone.

What about treatment bills?

If you are treated by a Bupa partnership consultant in a Bupa network hospital, the bills will automatically be settled directly between the medical provider and Bupa. Most other Bupa-recognised practitioners also have direct settlement arrangements, but if your practitioner does not, please send your invoice to Bupa who will then send you the payment which should be used to pay your practitioner. Bupa will send you a cheque, normally within 10 working days of receipt of the bill.

I've transferred to private from NHS, but would like to return back to NHS to take advantage of cash benefits for staying in hospitals - can I do this?

No - once you've transferred to private you cannot return to the NHS for cash benefits.

How do I check to see if I have an excess

Details of any excess are shown on your Membership Certificate.

If I add an excess to my registration, how will it affect any claims I make?

Many people choose an excess to help reduce the cost of their subscriptions. Opting for an excess simply means that you will have to pay for part of your treatment, up to the amount of excess you have chosen.

This excess amount applies individually to each person included in your membership, each membership year.

Once I've decided to have an excess on my membership, can I change my mind at anytime in the future?

Yes. You can review the position each time you renew your membership, but you cannot alter your excess mid way through your membership year.

Am I limited to the excess I have chosen?

No. We have a range of excess options as we realise our members will want to be given a choice.

If you'd like to know more about this, contact us when you receive your renewal paperwork - we will be happy to tell you what your options are and how this would affect your subscription.

How does my excess work?

It's easier to understand if we use an example.

Let's say the membership covers you, your partner and your two children and you chose an excess of £100 when you took out membership on 1st January this year. This would have reduced your subscription compared to someone without an excess (assuming no excess has been applied). The excess will apply to each person covered by your membership. In the worst case scenario, if all four of you needed to claim during your membership year i.e. between 1 January and 31 December next year, you could pay excesses of £100 per member, up to a combined maximum of £400. This would be in addition to the annual subscriptions you pay. If no claims were made, no excess payments would be involved and you would directly benefit from the lower subscription rate paid.

So do I pay my excess to Bupa?

No. You would pay your consultant, hospital or therapist direct. Don't worry though, we would tell you exactly who to pay once we had dealt with your claim.

Can you talk me through a typical claim?

Let's assume your GP has referred you to a consultant, you've called us to pre-authorise a consultation and some diagnostic tests, and we've given you a claim number to pass to your consultant. Let's assume your GP has referred you to a consultant, you've called us to pre-authorise a consultation and some diagnostic tests, and we've given you a claim number to pass to your consultant. After you've had your consultation and tests your consultant will send an invoice for his time, let's say it's £150. The hospital would also invoice for the diagnostic tests. They both usually send their invoices directly to us and we write to you after the accounts have been assessed. We have no way of knowing which account will reach us first, but the excess will be deducted from the accounts in the order they are received. In this example if the £150 account from the consultant arrived first, we would deduct your £100 excess and therefore send a payment of £50 to your consultant. We would let you know this had been done, and ask you to send a payment of £100 directly to the consultant. If however the hospital account reached us first, and was for say £80, your excess would be applied to that account. We would ask you to settle the £80 account with the hospital direct. The remaining £20 of your excess would then be taken from the consultants' account i.e. we would pay the consultant £130 and ask you to pay the £20 excess direct to the consultant. Don't worry if this still sounds a little confusing - bear in mind it simplifies things if you wait to hear from us before you pay your excess and of course we are always here to answer any questions you may have.

Are there any hidden 'catches' I should know about?

No. It's in both our interests that you understand how the excess operates. We know that an excess isn't going to suit everyone.

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