At some point in our lives, we all need to have medical treatment - some of it we have to pay for. For example, have you ever had to pay for the services of any of the the following:

• Dentist
• Optician
• Chiropodist
• Physiotherapist, osteopath, chiropractor or
• An alternative therapist such as a homoeopath, acupuncturist or Reiki practitioner?

Wouldn't it be great if you received money towards those costs or even enough to pay the whole bill?

Wouldn't it be even better if you received money when you:

• were admitted to hospital
• attended hospital as a daycase patient
• needed a specialist consultation
• needed to have diagnostic tests
• had a personal accident

And wouldn't it be really helpful in addition to all the above, if you could have:

• free health screening
• access to a second medical opinion from a specialist
• access to a health related helpline
• discounted health club membership

We have teamed up with a major provider of medical cashback plans - Medicash. The plan gives you all the above and more. The plan is available only to those under 65.

What is a medical cash-back plan?

A medical cash-back plan is a great way to ease the costs of medical bills and have access to consultants and treatments that we might otherwise not be able to afford.

Starting from only £6.50 a month, the Medicash Active Plan gives you a huge range of benefits. The complete list and the different levels of cover are on the next page.

So if you need any of the treatments or services listed above, you simply make a claim!

Please note: this is not an alternative to travel insurance, which provides comprehensive cover you for the full cost of treatment, repatriation, cancellation, delayed and missed departures, loss of luggage and personal items etc.

How is the Medicash Plan different to others?

The plan stipulates that any disease, illness or injury for which you have experienced symptoms, or sought or received medical advice in the 12 month period before the start of your policy is classed as a pre-existing condition, and therefore ineligible as a claim in the first 12 month period. However, claims are assessed on their specific nature and not in relation to any particular pre-existing medical condition.

After the first year, any medical condition you had prior to your first year of joining would be covered from year two onwards.

Example 1: You need hospital treatment in your first year for a shoulder injury. If in the 12 months prior to you joining the plan, you already had the shoulder injury, your claim will not be met because the injury is classified as a pre-existing condition.

Example 2: You are hospitalised for an pre-existing condition in your first year in the plan. You hadn't had that specific illness in the 12 months prior to joining the plan, so your claim will be met. Other plans would refuse to meet your claim because they exclude anything related to a pre-existing condition.

Example 3: From your second year of membership onwards, all in-patient stays in hospital (first night excluded) are eligible for claim, regardless of the reson for admission.

As with other healthcare plans, there is a qualifying period before which any claim will be met. For the Medicash Active Plan, the qualifying period is 6 months.

Click here to see the range of benefits and the levels of cover under the Medicash Plan.