In the past, expert advice has always been to insure your income. But in today's world of expensive income protection premiums and with waiting lists for NHS treatment still haunting us, many more people may begin to see access to instant private medical treatment as a better way of getting back to work and have the money rolling in.

With premiums high and deferred periods of up to a year before a claim can be made on income protection plans, many more people may turn to Private Medical Insurance for a quicker solution.

Mark Martin, head of Internet based private health insurance company, Health-on-Line, says of the advantages of private health insurance:

"For many years now the self employed and manual workers have found it very difficult if not impossible to find affordable income replacement policies. For example the problem could be a bad back, which is notoriously difficult to get treated promptly on the NHS ... Private Health Insurance gives you instant access to treatment and therefore the best chance of getting back to work and earning money again".

A recent report which explored private health insurance highlighted the case of a Gloucester based builder. Unable to find affordable income replacement insurance that would pay out without him having to wait 6 or 12 months, he turned to last year. Unfortunately after suffering a prolapsed disc in April, he was told simply to go home to rest by his GP and was not offered any specialist referral or diagnostic tests. He rang his private health insurance company and his claim was approved. He immediately saw a specialist who diagnosed the problem, which in fact required immediate treatment.

After receiving the most appropriate treatment he said:

"Thanks to my policy I hope to be back to work soon and earning money again. If you need your body in good condition to be able to earn money you should insure it, after all I need my van for business so I insure it properly".

Another interesting point is the stress factor. With no money coming in and bills mounting this will undoubtedly lead to higher stress levels which in some cases can worsen the medical condition and cause tension in relationships, bad credit and so on.

Perhaps it's time to assess the risks and take action or you could be one of the unfortunate half a million people on NHS waiting lists for over a year with no money coming in.