After a diagnosis

If you already have insurance

• Notify the insurer early rather than waiting until treatment is complete
• Ask specifically whether this condition continues to be covered into next policy year
• Check how much of your annual limit remains
• Ask whether a referral needs pre-authorisation
• Keep every itemised invoice and clinical note from here on

The renewal question people miss

The critical thing to establish is whether a condition diagnosed now remains covered when the policy renews. Insurers handle ongoing conditions differently, and for a chronic diagnosis this matters more than anything else in the policy.

Ask directly and get the answer in writing before the renewal date arrives.

If you don't have insurance

Be aware that this condition will generally be excluded from any policy you buy now. That doesn't necessarily make a policy pointless — an unrelated condition later may still be covered — but it won't help with this.

Ask the practice about payment plans and whether a specialist referral changes the cost. Both are ordinary questions and practices are used to them.

Ask for the plan in writing

A written treatment plan with expected costs helps you make decisions and makes the claim straightforward. It also gives you something to reread when you're not standing in a consulting room absorbing bad news.