Most working travellers are in the UK for a good time and not necessarily a long time so many won’t be around to claim their NI contributions in the UK when they reach retirement age. The UK government will not refund you your contributions when you go home… The only way to get something back from your NI contributions is to opt to ‘contract out’ your NI contributions and put them in an approved private pension that you can transfer back home…

to work here, yes you need a National Insurance number

Apart from it being a kind of ID, it also keeps you right with the tax office
and other government organisations

Apply to your local tax office for an N.I. number

Yes, you have GOT to be careful about what you purchase. So many of these pet insurance companies will put exclusions on the policies. I am big into animal rescue and have known more people who have wasted their money on pet insurance because a certain ailment has not been covered. Be careful and study the fine print as much as you can. Get someone to help interpret it for you if you can’t.

Self paying may seem cheap in the short term but if you develop an illness which requires a lot of treatment bills can run into the tens of thousands or if modern cancer drugs are needed it could be hundreds of thousands. So you might decide that the best option is a medical insurance policy. These vary from company to company and also the qualifying periods ( ie the length of time before you can make a claim) I represent Western Provident Association, an award winning, not for profit health insurer and on our private plans the qualifying period on the Essential policy is only in respect of Cancer. However, pre-existing conditions may be excluded ( which is the case with most health insurance )

Hope this helps

NHS is free providing you are resident and working, paying tax and NI.
I suggest you telephone BUPA and ask them about if you have to wait x amount of months. As for paying cash, do not know.
Either way Private or NHS, you have to be reffered by a GP and if they refuse to refer you, then you do not get any further.

Depends what nationality you are. If you are American or Canadian you do not need a visa. If you do need a Visa your are out of luck for sure. There is no way – unless you know the Visa officer at the High Commission or Embassy – that you will get one within that short period of time. As far as insurance goes it is no problem whatsoever. You get that in a minute from your bank (Yes they do offer travel insurance) or insurance company or travel agent.
It is a good idea to have insurance when you travel. You never know , but it is worth to check with your current insurer, maybe you are covered already.

In the UK we have free health care for all – if you are ill you will be treated free of charge – no-one will ask for any health insurance because there is none. France is slightly different but it should be possible for the French hospital/doctor to claim back your medical expenses from your current US healt company. This is how it works in France, you pay all your health care up front and then claim it back from your (compulsory) health insurance. A visit to the doctor in France costs around 20 euros (around 30 dollars).

A visa is not necessary unless you’re going to be there for more than three months. If you will be applying for a visa sometime, though, and if you don’t have health insurance, then research travel insurance companies. There are several which offer you specialized insurance for travel, especially if you are travelling with a program or organization.

You can check online to find more information. I recently bought a health insurance and I tried my best to have all the relevant information before I went on to buy one for my family. Medical Health Insurance Today’s website is a very useful website with information which should help you. This is where you can find information on the types of health insurance. Check here:
You’ll find all the information on health insurance here.

Try SAGA – they are very good and will accept people with health problems.

My sister and I are insured with them and when we both went down with Norrovirus on holiday in Switzterland SAGA were great. Couldn’t have done more for us and were very efficient and proactive. You only find out how good they are when you have to claim and SAGA were brilliant.

Sister is cancer survivor and I have everything from high bloodpressure to severe arthritis and they accepted us both without a medical.