Health insurance can be desirable to many people as it allows you to avoid NHS waiting times providing you with the means to access private healthcare. While General & Medical provide health insurance solutions for families, couples and individuals, the Generation Healthcare plan is a child-only health insurance policy providing access to private healthcare for children, without the need to pay for an adult first.
In this article, we review the Generation Healthcare plans from General & Medical, explaining how they work, what they cover, how much they cost and how to arrange health insurance for a child.
What is the General & Medical Generation Healthcare?
The General & Medical Generation policy provides health insurance for a child without the need to cover an adult first. Like most private medical insurance plans, the policy is designed to provide benefits in cases where the insured child requires medical treatment or care for acute medical episodes. Most health insurance policies are arranged to cover an adult with the option to add a child or children to the policy, normally at an additional cost. It is interesting to note that General & Medical's adult health insurance plans only charge for the first child added to an adult plan and all subsequent children are included free of charge. If you wish to buy health insurance as an adult and add your child to your own policy, you should read our article, 'General & Medical Health insurance review'.
Broadly speaking, Generation Healthcare provides children with the opportunity to avoid NHS waiting times and queues for diagnostic testing and medical treatment. There is also an option to elect to access NHS medical care where appropriate and claim cash benefits through the policy.
How does General & Medical's Generation Healthcare work?
Generation Healthcare provides in-patient and out-patient cover for the insured child as well as treatment for cancer, NHS cash benefits and a number of additional benefits and rewards. The plan offers a range of benefits for children from the age of 90 days old until they turn 18. when the policy can then be converted to an adult health insurance policy.
General & Medical's Generation Healthcare plan comes with two options - a basic plan called Generation and a more comprehensive plan called Generation Plus. Generation Plus offers unlimited outpatient cover and an extra £1,000 towards physiotherapy and complementary medicine.
What does General & Medical's Generation healthcare plan cover?
The Generation Healthcare plan offers cover for in-patient, out-patient and cancer treatment for children from the age of 90 days old until they are 18 years old. In addition to the core cover in this plan, the insured child can access a number of other benefits as well as Lifestyle Rewards. We detail what is covered in the tables below.
Generation Healthcare in-patient benefits
| Accommodation, Nursing Care, Surgeon & Anaesthetist Fees |
| Theatre Costs, Intensive Care Costs, Drugs, Dressings & Consumables |
| Diagnostics including MRI & CT Scans |
| Physiotherapy |
| Oro-surgical Operations/Procedures |
| Treatment for Cardiovascular Conditions |
| Parent Accompanying Child |
The in-patient benefits are identical under both the Generation and Generation Plus plans
Generation Healthcare out-patient benefits
| Generation Plan | Generation Plus Plan | |
| Initial and subsequent consultation & specialist fees including diagnostics & MRI & CT Scans^ | Up to £500 per year | Full cover (Unlimited) |
| Physiotherapy & Complementary Medicine^ | Up to £500 per year | Up to £1,500 per year |
| Treatment for Cardiovascular Conditions |  |
|
^These out-patient benefits are enhanced when you choose Generation Plus
Generation Healthcare cancer treatment benefits
| Generation Plan | Generation Plus Plan | |
| Treatment for Cancer whether or not relating to an in-patient admission. Includes Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Post Cancer Services, Advice on Cancer Treatment, Artificial Feeding, Speech Therapy & Monitoring | |
|
| Cosmetic or Aesthetic Treatment | |
|
| Anti-Cancer Drugs, Preventative Treatment, Biological Therapies, Genetic Testing, Bone Strengthening Drugs & Bone Marrow or Stem Cell Transplants | |
|
| External Prosthesis relating to a claim for cancer | Up to £5,000 per year | Up to £5,000 per year |
| Hospice Care (£75 donation per night) For Policy Lifetime | Up to £7,500 per year | Up to £7,500 per year |
| Palliative Treatment (and/or End of Life Care) For Policy Lifetime | |
|
The in-patient benefits are identical under both the Generation and Generation Plus plans
Additional benefits included with Generation Healthcare
Many health insurance providers provide access to peripheral benefits that can enhance the value of your health insurance policy. These benefits are usually accessible without the need to make a claim and can offer added value to the health cover you buy. General & Medical include the following additional benefits
- 24-Hour GP Advice Line
- Virtual GP Access
- Stress Counselling Helpline
- Health & Wellbeing Services
- Private ambulance
- Hospital parking charges
- Lifestyle rewards offering deals and offers
- NHS Cash benefit of £100 per night up to 30 nights
What isn't covered by General & Medical's Generation health plan?
It is normal for limitations to apply to health insurance policies and the Generation health plan limits claims too. It is worth noting that although the cover is available for a child from age 90 days, you are limited to claims up to £5,000 for children within the first 180 days of life. Also, any cancer diagnosis is not covered for the first 90 days after a policy is started.
As well as these limitations, the following claims are excluded from the Generation and Generation Plus plans:
- Treatment of congenital defects or conditions which are part of the ageing process
- Treatment of Chronic conditions
- Regular or long-term renal dialysis
- Treatment of Attention Deficit Disorders
- Suicide or treatment of self-inflicted injuries
- Sleep disorders/sleep studies/sleep apnoea
- HIV/AIDS and any related condition
- Organ Transplants and replacements
- Treatment arising from nuclear, chemical or biological contamination, war, civil disorders or riots
- Birth control, conception, sexual problems and gender reassignment
General & Medical Generation health plan reviews
As a policy that is fairly new to the market, the Generation health plan has not been reviewed by customer review sites such as Trustpilot and Feefo. However, General & Medical as a provider of health insurance is reviewed by the customer review website, Trustpilot and has gained 4.3 out of 5.0 stars based on over 200 customer reviews. These reviews are based on customer experience across all of General & Medical's health insurance plans and not only the Generation Healthcare plan. In time, we will update this article to show specific reviews of the Generation Healthcare plan.
How much does General & Medical Generation Healthcare cost?
General & Medical's Generation Healthcare prices are determined by your location and the age of the child who is covered by the policy. You will be required to enter your own details as the parent or guardian of the child when you request a quotation as you will be the policy payer.
| Age of child | Monthly cost of Generation healthcare plan | Monthly cost of Generation Plus healthcare plan |
| 90 days | £11.15 | £14.70 |
| 1 year | £11.15 | £14.70 |
| 5 years | £11.65 | £15.36 |
| 10 years | £12.54 | £16.54 |
| 15 years | £16.21 | £21.38 |
| 18 years | £17.40 | £22.95 |
How to buy health insurance for your child
There is no doubt that private health insurance puts private healthcare within the reach of families and if you only wish to cover children, the Generation plan from General & Medical provides a good level of cover at a reasonable monthly cost.
However, it is always wise to explore other health insurance options before you buy as there may be other solutions that suit your family. There are a number of health insurance policies that can include children and if you wish to cover more than one child, some policies may only charge you for the first child to be covered with all subsequent children covered free of charge.
Health insurance policies are full of technical jargon which can be difficult to understand and even more difficult to compare as different insurers may refer to the same benefits using different terminology.
Speaking to a specialist health insurance broker can help you to understand what is covered by each provider's health insurance plan before you make your mind up. At Money to the Masses, we have partnered with a leading health insurance broker* where the advisers are knowledgeable about health insurance and the differences between policies. They will help you to compare policies and prices before you select the best health insurance for your needs and take you through the application process as well as renewals each year. As a Money to the Masses to reader you will receive £100 cashback if you arrange your health insurance this way - the offer ends 30th April 2024.
If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link, Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses - Howden Life & Health
