Today's Students Turn To Health-on-Line To Secure Their Future

August 05, 2008 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
Health-on-Line, the online private medical insurance (PMI) company, have today reported seeing a remarkable increase in the number of students taking out PMI. With affordable cover available for a comprehensive policy, parents are beginning to appreciate the benefits of providing cover once their children have left the family home. But why?

While the lack of a TV licence will land you with a fine, student loans will need to be repaid and the consumption of many a pint in the student union could be detrimental to your health, it seems that more and more parents are concerned with protecting their children's ongoing ability to study during their university years, without any disruption from enduring illness. Increasingly, they are arming their children with the protection of private medical insurance

Mark Martin, managing director at Health-on-Line, provides guidance to those parents wishing to protect the lifelong investment they've made in their children. No sooner have the summer holidays started than many parents with older children of university age start thinking about the new life they and their children will be starting shortly. As the heart strings pull whilst waving goodbye, and parental advice is dished out in earnest before the chance has gone, it appears that many parents are now considering more than the usual aspects of student life says Martin.

When considering that most students leave university with £12,000* of debt, isn't it a good idea that anything that might detract from studying is considered and guarded against? Is it therefore a surprise that parents are looking to cover their offspring for most unexpected medical eventualities? Removing the need to join NHS waiting lists and risk missing those vital lectures, and ensuring that should the worst occur, there is peace of mind that the student can quickly return to their studies and hopefully make certain that the £12,000 debt comes with a graduation certificate and a swift job offer.

In addition to this, many students are now funding their own tuition fees and there has been an increase in term-time working as a means of paying their way. For many, the ability to continue to work during the term time is the only way they can afford to remain in university. So, time off work through prolonged illness can have just as a big an impact on a student's university education as missing lectures.

For some courses it is a mandatory requirement for students to have PMI. Classic examples include sports or dance based scholarships, where acute injuries are commonplace and subsequent absenteeism due to injuries should be minimised. Foreign students are often advised to take out PMI in case they need non-emergency treatment whilst in the UK. And there are also families that have had to remove their children from their own policies once they have reached a certain age and left the family home.

Mark Martin, managing director of Health-on-Line says "This may explain the increase in student policyholders, and as Health-on-Line is an online company, the ease of transaction fits well in the lifestyle of the modern and time restricted youth. It takes about five minutes to set up a policy and as it is fully online, there is no need to fill out lengthy forms or sign any medical questionnaires."

So as parents throughout the UK, wistfully look forward to the October half term when their, now angelic, teenagers return with a bag of washing and stories that make them shudder; will they be packing them off with clean underwear and tins of spaghetti, or peace of mind and protection in the form of private healthcare?

Founded in 2000, Health-on-Line is an innovative Private Medical Insurance (PMI) company based in Bournemouth. With Health-on-Line, you can tailor your PMI to meet your specific needs by providing a range of options to select from. You can obtain quotes, tailor the policy and purchase your PMI through our online system available at health-on-line.co.uk or call us on 01202 544 445. Our policies are underwritten by AXA PPP healthcare and policy holders have access to over 200 quality assured hospitals throughout the UK.