On arrival in the UK you need to apply for a National Insurance Number for tax purposes. This is to record a person's NI contributions and credited contributions and is needed when claiming social security benefits.
You are entitled to use the NHS service and of course you can use your army services.
In addition to the government health service there are other insurance options available to you - some promoted by the army. Insurance, for things like your kit, is useful i.e. small computers are very expensive and if you have to pay for repairs this could be very costly.
The army promotes insurance companies like Scottish Provident, Abacus, Tower Gate Wilson, PAX personal accident insurance, to mention a few. Abacus, for example, covers your equipment, accidents, medical emergencies etc.
The best option is to attend meetings, where new insurance is detailed, in order to obtain all the information and have a thorough understanding before making a decision. It is not advisable to sign an agreement straight away as you might purchase insurance when you don't really need it. If you sign up and recognize that you don't require it, you should be able to cancel the agreement within the cooling off period of 14 days.
If you are pressured to sign straight away you should be aware that a good sales person would be pleased to provide you with all the necessary documents and afford you the time to think about it and discuss it with your partner.
A good idea would be to pay the money into a savings fund which, after a period of time, will pay you your money back, with interest. But also be careful not to get tied into a long term contract because you never know how long your army career will last.
In most cases, the NHS insurance which requires compulsory contributions anyway, is enough. The NHS also covers you for emergencies in other European countries. You can obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) by applying online at the Department of Health. The European Health Insurance Card is accepted in some embassies when applying for a Schengen Visa however, please check with the embassy first.
Click here for more information on the EHIC.
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