How is private medical insurance controlled?
There are strict regulations governing private medical insurance, not just because it is a financial service but also because it deals with health issues. This means that the FSA (Financial Services Authority) regulates the service and also ensures that companies deal with the confidential information that you submit on your application form with confidentiality.
The FSA acts as the government's single regulator for the financial services and it is their aim to ensure that insurance providers stick to certain rules and that insurance holders have a solid understanding of the system. Their rules cover a range of financial services, though they have specific regulations concerning the selling of general forms of insurance, whether it is over the phone, via the internet or face-to-face, and also covers area such as the complaints procedures and training.
So if you have any complaints with the insurance policy at hand then the insurance company must ensure that they have their own complaints procedure. As a result you will then contact the company for any complaints first and they will be covered by the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service). If you are then unhappy with the way in which the insurance company is handling your complaint then you contact the FOS (or even Personal Insurance Arbitration Service as some companies are covered in different ways).
If your insurance company suffers from insolvency then you will not be left in the dark as there is also a service set up to protect customers of authorised financial services firms. They are known as the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme).
In terms of confidentiality it must be remembered that you will be filling in details of your medical history on the application form and that this must be filled out to its fullest and most accurately. This is sensitive information and so naturally there are measures in place to ensure that this remains private, with the Data Protection Act forcing insurers to keep your details confidential – this also includes personal information that falls outside of your medical history.
So private medical insurance is controlled and regulated in a variety of ways to ensure that you, the customer, are fully protected in a number of situations.