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Private health insurance is a way to pay for and access private healthcare services in the UK. You pay a monthly or annual premium; in return, your insurance provider will cover the cost if you need private treatment for specific conditions.
Private medical insurance doesn't replace the NHS, and infact works alongside it. The benefit of private healthcare is that waiting times are usually much shorter, so you can get back on your feet as soon as possible.
Health insurance usually covers medical conditions that develop after the start of the policy. Some policies also cover out-patient diagnostic consultations and testing, physiotherapy, alternative therapies, mental health and even treatments you may not be able to get via the NHS.
Different policies and providers offer different cover levels; you can choose what they cover. Prices can vary significantly and usually increase as you get older, or if you claim, so it's essential you understand how it work
Want to know more? Jump into some of our most popular articles, guides and research:
Here's a short video explaining how private health insurance works:
What your private medical insurance covers will come down to the policy you choose and the cover options you want to include. Medical insurance policies vary between providers, and that's before you start tailoring it.
Take a look at these articles to find out more:
Our experienced health insurance brokers compare different providers and their cover options for you
Private medical cover in the UK is optional, so it's worth considering whether the monthly cost is worth it to you. Here are some of the benefits health insurance can offer:
Get tests, scans and treatment sooner, helping you return to your best-self quickly.
See experts in their field, minimising time wasted, which can lead to a faster diagnosis.
Opting for a hospital list with your policy will give you more say in who you see and where.
Focus on recovering from treatment in privacy, with relaxed visiting hours.
Get 24/7 medical advice, prescriptions and referrals to specialists.
Get post-op physiotherapy and a follow-up with your surgeon or consultant.
Health insurance policies vary in price and the cover level they provide. The best private medical insurance plan for you will likely be different to someone else, so it's essential to work out why you want a plan and what you need from it.
You can choose between several types of health insurance plans, primarily based on who you'd like to cover.
Want to find out which health insurance type would be best for you?
Simply answer our short questionnaire, and we will match you with the right health insurance broker for your needs. The broker will provide you with all the information you need to compare your options and make a decision with confidence.
Get a QuoteMost health insurance policies are flexible, allowing you to tailor your cover to match your needs and budget. Even cheap, basic policies cover the most serious of conditions and treatments, and you can then opt for extra options if you'd like to.
Bear in mind that health insurance premiums usually increase yearly, so making it affordable in the long term is important.
With most private healthcare policies, you can add many extras to enhance your plan. Out-patient consultations and tests are the most popular. But, you can also add things like mental health cover, dental cover and even travel cover. Adding options will increase your health insurance premiums, but, you'll get more valuable benefits.
There are several ways you can reduce your cover, or reduce your premiums. The simplest is adding an excess, which is the amount you'll pay towards claims. The higher your excess, the lower your premiums should be.
You can also choose a guided consultant option, which will reduce the number of specialists you can use for a cheaper premium.
Finally, you could opt to add an NHS wait option, where you agree that you'll use the NHS if you can be treated there within 4-6 weeks.
When you need medical treatment, the last thing you want is to be stuck on the phone in a queue or worrying about if claims will be paid. Some health insurance providers are more liberal than others when it comes to paying claims, so it's worth reading their reviews.
Performance in customer service is constantly changing, so a good insurance provider today might not be tomorrow. When looking at reviews, sort them to show the most recent so you can see the current performance.
To make it easier, we have created a list of the UK's best private health insurance providers. Our ranking is based on in-depth expert analysis of the provider policies, independent customer reviews and industry awards.
Each insurer will have a list of exclusions in their policy documents on their websites. These exclusions often vary, so it's worth reading your insurer's before getting a policy.
It's vital that you understand the scope of your health insurance before signing up so that you don't get any nasty surprises down the line. As much as it's a pain to do it, this information is available in the policy terms, and an hour or so spent reading them is time well spent.
Some health insurance providers will give you a discount if you add more people to your policy. Of course, having more people will increase the overall cost, but, in most cases, it will be cheaper than insuring each person individually. Adding children to your policy is another good example, as some insurance will only charge for your eldest child, which can be a win for people with multiple childen.
If you've had a recent health condition, or perhaps you're suffering from one now and you try to claim for it after getting a health insurance policy, it's more than likely your insurer will find out and deny the claim.
When you make a claim, your insurer will ask you questions about when you first experienced symptoms, and they'll also ask the medical consultant you see for their view on the condition and when they think it first started. Your insurer can also ask to see your medical records if they suspect what you're claiming for is a pre-existing condition, so take our advice, it's not worth the bother of trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
Take a look at our dedicated guide to pre-existing medical condition to find out more.
Health insurance brokers work for you, yet you don't have to pay them for their service. They are independent of the insurers and usually have access to the same prices you'd pay going direct.
There are many health insurance brokers in the market, and seemingly more by the day as demand for private health insurance grows, but the quality of the advice you receive will vary, usually based on their experience.
Brokers that have been in the market for at least 3-5 years will understand the products deeply; they'll know the pitfalls and be able to tell you things that aren't obvious to anyone outside of the industry. It's not to say that brokers with less experience can't be good; of course, they can, but you'll usually find the depth of knowledge and the quality of advice improves with years of service.
At myTribe, we partner with several market-leading brokers, introducing our readers to them for high-quality financial advice. We vet them all and ensure they adhere to our high standards by surveying people we introduce to ensure that the high levels of service we expect are maintained.
If you want high-quality financial advice from experienced brokers that we actively recommend, please click here to request a comparison quote.
There are many reasons why private medical insurance might be a good option for you, especially as things in the NHS aren't too great at the moment. Here are a few reasons why you should consider taking out a policy:
Waiting times in the private healthcare sector are usually much shorter than in the NHS. How long the waits are will depend on the treatment you need and where you live, but, it'll usually be no more than a few weeks, compared to many months in the NHS.
It's frustrating and worrying if you have symptoms or a health concern and you can't get into your GP or spend hours in a queue trying to. Most private medical insurance policies give you 24/7 access to a digital GP to speak to a doctor and get advice around the clock.
All insurance is to give you peace of mind. It's there if something bad happens to help you get back on your feet. We all hope never to need or use insurance, but it's good to know it's there should you need it.
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It's difficult to say precisely how much a typical private medical plan costs, as many factors will influence the price. Your age, cover level, where you live, policy add-ons and more will play a role in setting your premiums.
That said, we regularly get prices from the leading providers to help people understand roughly what they can expect to
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Health insurance is a way to pay for private medical treatment, but it's not the only way. Much like your car and car insurance, you could claim on your policy or pay for a garage out of your own pocket if something goes wrong.
Private medical treatment costs tend to go up with the complexity of the treatment required. So, for example, our 2024 research into private surgery costs found that cataract surgery costs, on average, £2,935, where as a hip replacement costs over £14,400.
It's not inexpensive, but compared to the cost of a new phone, a holiday abroad or buying a car, it's not obscene. Some private treatments, however, such as for cancer, can be very costly.
If you develop cancer, which, according to Cancer Research, at least 1 in 2 of us will in our lifetimes, and you don't have health insurance but want private treatment, the costs can be eye-watering. Last year, we asked the insurer Freedom, what the average claim amounts were for several cancer treatments; here's what they told us:
A recent report from Lord Darzi detailed the issues in the health service and said that 'cancer care in the UK still lags behind other countries, and no progress has been made in diagnosing cancer at stage 1 and 2 between 2013-2023'. It's a reminder of the issues facing the NHS, and given the cost of private cancer treatment, it's unsurprising that many people take out private health insurance to ensure that if they develop cancer, they can get treatment quickly.
When you get a health insurance policy, you'll go through underwriting, and for new policies, there are two types:
Moratorium underwriting is the simplest type of underwriting, as you won't need to complete a medical questionnaire. Your insurer will, instead, exclude any health condition you've had in the past five years. They'll often also exclude anything you've sought treatment for or had advice about.
With moratorium underwriting, if you don't have symptoms or need treatment for an excluded medical condition for two years after getting your health insurance, that condition will be covered in the future.
Aside from being fast and straightforward, the fact that pre-existing conditions might be covered in the future is a significant benefit.
If you have a more complicated medical history or want clarity about what is and isn't covered, full medical underwriting might be your best choice. You'll complete a detailed medical questionnaire, and your insurer will tell you precisely what is excluded before you hand any money over.
Some insurers will insist that you use full medical underwriting after a certain age, in in some cases, going for this option will give you a small discount on your policy.
The downside of full medical underwriting is that exclusions are more complicated to remove than moratorium underwriting.
Tell us a bit about what you would like, share your age and contact details and our partners will start searching for the best policy for you.
Our partners work with the whole UK private health insurance market, so they compare all the options and help you find the best plan.
As soon as you take out your private medical insurance policy, you're covered, and you can relax knowing that should something happen, you can claim treatment.
Find the best policy at the best price.
The right policy for you will be different from the next person, but there are several key things to look out for when comparing:
When you first get a private health insurance policy, you'll start close to the top of an insurer's no-claims discount (NCD) scale, meaning you'll get a 60-75% discount.
Your claims activity in future years then dictates whether you get more discount or less at renewal. But, given that you're already close to the top, there's much more to lose than to gain.
Each insurer has different rules about how many levels you drop down their NCD if you claim, with some dropping you down three levels for claims of any size and others only doing the same if you claim more than £2,000.01 in a year.
We mention this because it's easy to buy a policy with low year one premiums, but if they penalise you more than others would for claims, you might find that after several years, you'd have been better off going elsewhere.
Moving health insurance providers can be challenging, as you may introduce new exclusions in the process. While private health insurance is renewed yearly, it's best to have a long-term mindset and find a provider you are happy to be with for many years.
In the past few years, some of the largest insurers have introduced what's called a "guided option", which limits the number of hospitals and consultants you have access to in return for a discount on your premiums. With a guided option, when you claim, your insurer will usually recommend 2-3 specialists and say you can use specific private hospitals.
The other option is going for a traditional hospital list, where you have more freedom over who treats you and where. It's important to understand this when comparing insurers, as some, like WPA and Freedom, don't have a guided option, so their price will, by default, give you more choice.
It's not to say that there is anything wrong with having a guided option, and it's a good way to bring premiums down, but keep your eyes peeled so you can make sure you're comparing apples with apples.
Unlike other types of insurance, there's a high chance you'll need to claim under your health insurance at some point. So, the claims experience of customers is significant.
In the past few years, we've heard horror stories of people waiting on hold for 45 minutes to an hour each time they call their insurer, and given that during a claim, you'll need to speak to them a fair amount, this can be frustrating.
If you want a better idea of how good an insurer is regarding claims, head to their reviews on Trustpilot, add a filter using the keyword "Claims," and change the sorting to "Most recent". This should surface member views on the claims process and experience.
Our team of private healthcare experts is constantly assessing the market, and the three best, in our opinion, in 2024 are:
To see why we've picked these three and how we rate other leading insurance providers, read this guide: myTribe's impartial reviews of the best private medical insurance providers in the UK.
Most claims start with you seeing or speaking with a GP, which could be your NHS one or the Digital GP with your insurance policy. If needed, they'll give you a referral to see a specialist.
Now's the time to tell your insurer that you need to claim, and you can do that through a mobile app, or by calling or emailing them.
If your policy covers your claim, your insurer will give you pre-authorisation and advise which hospitals and medical consultants you can use.
You'll see your chosen consultant for an initial assessment, and if needed they'll refer you on for further tests and scans. Your insurer will also likely ask for a report from your consultant afterwards.
After each appointment, update your insurer to ensure they approve future tests, scans and treatments. Also, remember to pay your excess if you have one on your policy.
Your insurer will have helped thousands of people going through similar situations, so lean on them, ask them questions and ultimately focus on getting better.
To learn more, please read this guide to private health insurance claims.
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The monthly health insurance premiums you'll vary with the level of cover, your age and medical history, and many other factors.
In 2024, our researchers found that the average cost of a new private healthcare policy had monthly premiums of £79.59 per month, but as we say, your price will likely differ.
You can learn more about the cost of private health insurance in the UK here.
No, health insurance doesn't usually cover pre-existing medical conditions. That includes anything you've suffered symptoms from or sought treatment or advice about.
Having pre-existing medical conditions doesn't stop you from getting private healthcare, it's just that they won't cover that condition.
If you take out a private healthcare policy with moratorium underwriting and prove that your condition has not troubled you for two years, you should be covered for it in the future.
You can find out more about private health insurance and pre-existing conditions here.
While most insurance providers don't enforce an age limit for existing customers, some will not insure new customers over a certain age. You can see a list of providers and their age limits here.
However, it's worth remembering that the older you are, the higher your premiums will be. That's because, as you get older, you tend to be at a higher risk of needing private medical care.
The best way to compare available policies is to request a quote with myTribe. One of our highly-rated partner brokers will scour the market for you and help you get the best health insurance plan at the best price.
There are numerous private medical insurance companies in the UK; below are the main ones that are worth considering:
Our experts review the private medical insurance market regularly, and if you'd like our expert views, please read this article: What is the best private health insurance in the UK?
You can claim immediately on a private health insurance policy, so long as the condition you're claiming for came on after you took out the policy. Bear in mind that claims in the very early stages of getting health insurance cover will likely raise eyebrows with the insurer. They will want to do checks to ensure that it is a new medical condition rather than one you have before getting the plan.
Bupa has the most members in the UK and is one of the best insurers. Most people immediately think of Bupa when private healthcare is mentioned, but they won't be the best insurer for everyone. There are others, including some names you may not know, that might be a better choice for you based on policy benefits, cover levels or cost.
No, health insurance isn't free in the UK. We have the NHS, which is free at the point of use for UK residents, but private health insurance is something people take out to let them access private healthcare, not the NHS.
You can change or cancel your health insurance policy within 21 days of your policy starting and will be given a full refund unless you've claimed. If circumstances change, it's best to speak to your insurer to see what you can change mid-term.
Some changes will only be possible to make at renewal, and that's usually the best time to make adjustments if needed.
