Reasons to add your child to your health plan

From the moment they arrive, your world is inextricably changed. They’re little hands take your heart, and their little feet run away with it! They’re your world, and you are theirs – whether they demonstrate that in the door slamming teenage years or not!

As a parent or carer, you’re constantly thinking of your child’s needs. The health and wellbeing of your loved ones is paramount but can also present a number of questions and concerns. So, it’s good to know you can have a helping health hand by simply adding your under 18-year-old dependents to your health plan.

Here we detail some of the top ways you can use your health plan to support your children.

Should their snot be that colour? 

If you’re a parent, you’ve more than likely experienced that middle of the night wake up with a sickly and upset child with a temperature. They want you to make it all better but you’re not sure about some of their symptoms. Here’s where we can help.

You don’t need to wait until the morning to call your GP surgery for an appointment, take your poorly child away from their bed to travel and sit in a busy waiting room! With Simplyhealth you can access our 24/7 online GP service and get peace of mind from home. Simply make an appointment at a time that suits you, booking by choosing your child’s name in your SimplyConsult app, and a GP will video call you on your smartphone. If your child has a rash, some oddly coloured snot or anything visible you’re concerned about, you’re able to upload photos to share with the GP ahead of your appointment to aid their understanding and inform their treatment suggestions. During your appointment the GP will discuss your child’s symptoms with you, provide advice, issue a prescription if appropriate and even a referral to a specialist if necessary.

Why are they so clumsy? 

Kids are kids, always bumping and bruising themselves, but if yours frequently trips or bumps into things, you may begin to wonder whether their eye health is ok. Whilst sight tests for under 16’s and under 18’s in full time education are available on the NHS, fees can be incurred when it comes to prescription glasses. Varying from optician to optician, some children’s frames and special coatings come with a price tag. So, say your little superhero really wanted the fancy frames that made him look like Clarke Kent; most Simplyhealth plans include an optical benefit which allows you to claim back towards the cost – faster than a speeding bullet! Well maybe not quite as fast as Superman, but still fast, claims are typically paid within a matter of days. Depending on your plan level, optical benefit limits range between £100 to £200 per person, per year to claim. 

And if you have a water baby on your hands, but you’re worried they can’t see what they’re fetching from the pool floor clearly, you could use your plan to claim back towards the cost of prescription goggles.

Have they got two left feet?

They’ve grown out of their shoes (again!) and during the fitting for new ones, they yelp in pain as their toes are squeezed! Or if they can only walk short distances before complaining, they may need some support with their feet and need to see a specialist. Check in with our 24/7 GP if you have any concerns, if necessary, they can refer or recommend your child sees a Chiropodist or Podiatrist. 

Foot care professionals can advise whether appropriate exercises or corrective insoles might be required and can perform treatments for conditions such as ingrown toenails or persistent verruca removal – and you can claim towards the cost of these services with most Simplyhealth plans too – check your table of cover to see if you have this benefit. Annual limits range between £100 to £200 to claim, depending on what level health plan you hold.

How do I keep them smiling at sports? 

They’ve started playing a contact sport, flashback to that time you were playing hockey at school and your best friend received an accidental ball to the mouth – not a pretty sight or something you want to relive with your own budding sports star! If they’re playing contact sports such as hockey, rugby, boxing or lacrosse, you can reduce the chances of them getting a tooth knocked out or suffering other dental trauma by organising a mouth guard (sometimes also known as a gum shield) for them to wear. 

There are off-the-shelf versions of this essential bit of kit, but for optimum fit and comfort, dentists recommend having one fitted by them. And guess what? You can claim towards the cost of this with your Simplyhealth plan, the minimum annual benefit entitlement on our £20 level health plan is £100. So, win or lose, their smile is protected and so is your bank balance – smiles all round!

What if they broke a bone?

Every Mum and Dad’s worst fear, they might not have broken a bone but they may need to stay in hospital during their younger years. To help ease the pain, and focus on their recovery, with our £20 level and above health plans we’ll pay you a grant per day/night your dependent is admitted as an in-patient, up to a maximum of 20 days/nights per person, each policy year. Perhaps you’d like to use the money to treat them when they are discharged, or it could help you with the cost of parking or petrol for hospital visits.

How do I keep them moving? 

When they are babies, you can’t wait for them to make their first move. Often once they start there’s no stopping them, but sometimes little ones encounter movement difficulties.

When they get older and are more active, odds are the risk of sprains and strains becomes higher. If you have any worries about your child’s movement or injury rehabilitation, use our 24/7 online GP service or our video physio assessment service, both of which are included with all our health plans. If they think your child would benefit from in-person physiotherapy, you can claim back towards the cost of in-person assessments and treatments, with annual benefit entitlements ranging from £150 to £350 per person, depending on your level of cover.

Any claims can be made quickly and easily through our SimplyPlan app. 

Not added your children to your health plan yet?

You can add up to four of your children from as little as £6 per month for each child, depending on the level of plan you choose. They'll be added to the same level of cover as you.

New customers can add children when setting up their plan.

If you’re an existing plan holder and want to add dependents to your plan, you can request to do so through your SimplyPlan app and one of our Team will contact you to set this up. Alternatively, you can call us and speak to one of our advisors on 0370 908 3481 Monday to Friday: 8am - 6pm.