This is insurance that pays the hospital or doctor for your treatment. It can include treatment in a private ward, or getting seen earlier in an NHS ward. Some plans allow you to claim if you are not able to be seen by the NHS within a set period. Other plans may charge a little more and don’t have any relevance to NHS waiting times.

You are either medically checked and underwritten at the outset (so you know what you’re covered for and what you won’t be). Premiums are usually reviewable annually.