I had my cochlear implant operation on the NHS ten days ago, and today all my Cochlear (Nucleus 8) equipment arrived to familiarise myself with before my switch on appointment in a few weeks.
My question is do I need to add this to my household all-risks insurance and how much for?
With NHS supplied conventional hearing aids they charge a fee of something like £60 to replace lost hearing aids so no need for insurance. Do Cochlear systems work the same?
Thanks for any info.
A phone call or visit with your NHS would be the right answer for your question.
Good luck with your new CI. Lots of helpful CI members here.
Had a NHS lost aid replaced February, no charge. Although I appreciate the difference in value between that and your Cochlear equipment. I don’t know how your insurance would look at a claim, as I take it your equipment is owned by the NHS.
Thanks both for the replies.
Since I posted the OP I have received a pack of information from NAIP (Nottingham Auditory Implant Programme) which was supposed to arrive before the equipment, but unsurprisingly UPS beat Royal Mail second class.
The pack from NAIP does explain about it being owned by NHS. They will replace lost or damaged devices but if you have received a new replacement processor your 5 yearly upgrade will be delayed by a further 3 years. This is because I will have had an unscheduled earlier replacement due to the loss.
However they also recommend that that it is covered by household insurance in which case the 3 year rule doesn’t apply. I am advised to insure for £3500+VAT (£4200) which is what NAIP are charged by Cochlear for replacement (which is considerably less than the purchase price outside NHS).
Cochlear generally give 1 free replacement processor for lost or damaged device. I don’t know what the NHS scheme covers so can’t comment.
I personally have mine insured on my house contents insurance covered outside the house and for world wide travel. I have traveled widely and have found that to find travel insurance that covers CI’s is a difficult task. I found it’s just easier on my house contents insurance. I have mine covered for $10,500 AU.
If you ring Cochlear UK they will tell you how much it costs to buy/replace your processor. That what I did to find out how much to cover it for in insurance policy.