If you've searched the net for private health insurance that covers anorexia nervosa then you are probably for looking for trusted UK based health insurance providers that will cover anorexia nervosa.
Our advice when looking for health insurance that covers anorexia nervosa is to speak to a insurance broker. Health insurance is incredibly complicated and if you want absolute certainty that anorexia nervosa is covered by your policy you should consult with a broker who can explain which providers will cover this medical condition and which will exclude it.
There are many advantages to using a insurance broker but the largest by far is that you're using their industry experience at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than you so it costs you no extra to use their brokering services.
- Do you reside in many different postcodes? Some will give you a lower policy premium than offers. A broker will be able to advise whats best.
- Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance policy? A broker will know this vital information.
- If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different insurance policies?
- You've developed a certain condition and want to know which insurer offers the biggest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you huge amounts of time and effort.
You can call around every medical insurance provider on the market and ask if they cover anorexia nervosa, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.
Its much quicker to speak to one medical insurance broker which will know which providers on the market cover anorexia nervosa and under what conditions they do or don't cover it.
Anorexia Nervosa Information
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder and a serious, potentially life-threatening, mental health condition.
People who have anorexia are very anxious about their weight and body shape. They try to keep their weight as low as possible by strictly controlling and limiting what they eat. Many people with anorexia will also exercise excessively. They may also use other methods to try to control their weight, including using laxatives, vomiting after eating, and taking stimulant drugs.
Anorexia causes people who have it to be afraid of being ‘fat’. This fear is what causes the other symptoms, leading to weight loss and potential health risks.
Read more about anorexia symptoms
Even when a person with anorexia becomes extremely underweight, they can still feel compelled to lose more weight, and see themselves as being ‘fat’.
Anorexia causes people who have it to focus heavily on food, even when they won’t eat it. For example, they might enjoy cooking for others, but avoid eating any of the meal themselves.
Some people with anorexia binge eat, meaning they eat a lot of food (or what feels to them like a lot of food) in a short space of time. They then try to avoid digesting the food and gaining weight from it by ‘purging’ – either making themselves vomit or using laxatives (medication that causes you to poo).
The symptoms of anorexia usually begin gradually – someone might start a diet to help them lose a little bit of weight, but find that it spirals out of control.
Despite being an uncommon condition, anorexia is the leading cause of mental health-related deaths.
Anorexia can affect anyone – it’s more common in girls and women, with 1 in 100 women affected over the course of their lifetime. For men and boys, anorexia affects approximately 1 in 350 men over the course of their lifetime, and experts advise that it’s becoming more common.
Symptoms of anorexia usually first develop during the teenage years, on average at the age of 15, but it can develop at any time, including in childhood.
The cause of anorexia is unknown, but most experts believe the condition results from a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors.
Read more about the causes of anorexia
The long-term malnutrition associated with anorexia can cause a range of serious complications, such as:
Read more about the complications of anorexia