Brits seeking the best medical care have been advised to embark on a healthy lifestyle from an early age by one expert.

According to the Patients Association, those who are interested in private medical care should invest in it when they are young as this is when taking out such cover is cheapest.

Vanessa Bourne, a spokesperson for the Patients Association, said: "While healthy lifestyles can reduce the cost of coverage, we cannot avoid our genetics.

"Our advice would be that if you want private coverage, get it early in life when it should be cheaper and try and keep it if you change jobs."

She added that every time a consumer takes out a new health insurance policy the "meter starts again", meaning that their increased age and changes to their health may increase the cost of the cover.

The health expert notes that fortunately for most UK residents the NHS does not discriminate against actuarial difference between patients.

"The postcode lottery causes quite enough problems for each of us," she added.

According to official government statistics, life expectancy in the UK has now reached its highest ever level for both men and women.

Within the UK, the English are expected to live the longest, with an expectancy of 65, while the Scots are next, followed by Wales and Northern Ireland.

In these countries life expectancy at birth is at its highest-ever levels for both sexes, with those born in the UK expected to live on average to 79.9 years (males) and 81.3 years (females).

With Brits expected to live so long, having decent medical insurance in place could be even more important, as it will ensure that they have access to the best treatment throughout their lifetime.

Ms Bourne said: "We would advise shopping around between insurance companies, being willing to pay larger excesses et cetera, and reading the small print."

She added that there are some exclusion policies that sometimes are not obvious at first for conditions such as hypertension.

Furthermore, the expert advised that some patients who take out the policies later in life when they have already developed medical conditions may not be able to get full coverage.

However, Ms Bourne also conceded that those without a long-term private medical insurance policy still can access healthcare outside the NHS.

"It's important to stress too that not having private insurance does not exclude private care bought on a 'spot purchase' basis.

Alternatively one could save into an unofficial annual 'health piggy bank' which, if not spent on private health care could be spent on anything or saved again," she concluded.