Health Shield Friendly Society Review

Just brilliant - I have now got the hang of claimimg for my health benefits on line. Such a simple system. For what I pay the benefits are just brilliant. As for the phone lines - Ive yet to have any problem or significant delays in speaking to anyone. I have been with this society for almost as long as I have worked & paying my subscriptions through payroll means I don't even miss the money! The fees are really reasonable and it never seems to take much to cover my initial costs. Just add specs and teeth & I about break even. Rarely claim for anything else but it is great to know they are available to cover all sorts of medical related expenses.

In the past when considering going private for medical assistance the Health Shield have been most helpful explaining what and how to claim

Of all the medical schemes Ive come across I believe this is the best!

Hi, What are the current rates of membership for Rail employees. I ve called the Help Centre, but can t get through, thanks very much for your help

I have been with health shield for 32 years when they were linked to British Rail Employees and as they have evolved through the years I have found the services excellent.
If I have had an issue it has been resolved quickly and professionally. I am so fortunate as I can access private physiotherapy or fund a visit to a consultant at once. No need to wait in the NHS que. My teeth are amazing after all the private dental care I have experienced. I can't understand why people write such bad reviews it's a waste of energy ... just escalate your issue

It's a shame that some people have had bad experience with Health Shield. We have continually found them to be fair and helpful. Although we find some years we don't get all our subscription payments back, this is more than balanced by the times when we get more. When we have had claims returned, it's because potentially we might be claiming something we are not entitled to, or because members' requests have influenced types of treatment covered; this is correct management of the funds for all members. If you look at the benefits available, you will see that it's possible to go beyond dentist and optician benefit. Physiotherapy, osteopathy, homeopathy, maternity and hospital inpatient are all areas from which we have benefitted. The scheme is not a static pot of money where one person pays for someone else's claims, but payments are invested and the benefits shared. Health Shield is a friendly society or mutual which is run for the benefit of its members, unlike many others, they make 100% payments on claims. We would recommend them to anyone.

Unfortunately I have to echo the sentiments of the other reviewers here. Having dealt with a few different Healthcare cashback plan providers my experience of Health Shield is that they are the worst of the bunch. Their website is outdated (most other providers use Apps where you can submit photos of receipts from your phone), they reject claims for any possible reason (often changing the reason each time you resubmit), each time they have a query on the claim they simply reject it (and make you submit a new one, starting the whole delayed process all over again) and when you call to query this there is no offer of any level of customer service. It is clear that their business model is based on not paying claims. In all of my dealings with them they could have resolved the issues by simply picking up the phone. However they are not interested in helping customers, as this could lead to more claims.

My company use Health Sheild as part of a company wide benefit to staff. Every time I try to make a claim from my entitlements on my membership plan, Health Sheild try to find every excuse to not pay me for a genuine claim and make it extremely difficult to claim money back. Its not a nice experience dealing with this company and I would urge anyone to not use them and go with another health insurance provider.

I have been with health shield for around 10 years and I can say they are a great company. Now I submit my claims online and they are very quick to pay back. I recommend this company to my friends and family as I am always pleased with them. They are efficient, fast and reliable. Thank you!

Awful company, will constantly reject claims for any reason they can I guess hoping you just give up trying, save your money up and just pay as you go it s not worth the hassle, if you think about it your not going to get out more than you put in as it s a loss for the company, thay only profit if they don t pay out so that s the business model.