My health insurance premiums have shot up; what can I do?

You get what you pay for, and health insurance is no exception. Adjusting your cover is often the simplest way to reduce costs. However, it's important to consider the practical impact of any changes to ensure you don't lose the advantages health insurance provides.

Here are the main ways you could adjust your policy to reduce your premium.

1. Remove optional extras

When you first bought your health insurance policy, you started with basic cover, including cancer care and in-patient treatment, such as surgery. Then, you chose any optional extras you wanted to add. The cost increases the more extras you add, so you can easily save money by removing some on renewal.

However, consider whether removing cover will also remove some of the benefits you get from your health insurance. For example, optional therapies cover can provide quick access to physical therapies that help you avoid NHS waiting lists and may prevent the need for surgery. It's essential to weigh up your options before deciding.

2. Reduce financial limits

Health insurance policy terms include financial limits for each type of treatment. The policy may state a fixed number of treatment sessions or give a figure, letting you have treatment until the money runs out.

Most insurers offer cover in increments up to and including unlimited access to treatment. Dropping down a level could help you save a significant sum. Some insurers provide packaged prices, meaning you must reduce your financial limits. In contrast, others let you tailor your policy more closely to ensure the treatments most important to you are covered. This can let you keep a broader range of optional extras but adjust them to meet your needs.

3. Increase your excess

A health insurance policy excess works like a car insurance excess. You pay for the first part of your treatment, and your insurer pays the rest. Some insurers apply an annual excess so you only pay once, while others apply an excess per treatment.

Increasing your excess can reduce your premiums, as it means your insurer pays less. However, check the small print to see how much you could pay and whether it's affordable. Otherwise, you might end up paying for health insurance coverage but not using it because you can't afford the excess payment.

4. Choose guided consultant choice

Guided consultant choice reduces your premium by limiting the amount of choice you have over who treats you. With guided choice, your insurer will usually send you a list of 3-5 consultants when you claim. They're still fully qualified consultants, but they've agreed to the insurer's fee schedule, allowing the insurer to predict treatment costs better and offer you a discount on your policy.

You can switch to a new health insurance company for a better deal and lower premiums. The only circumstances that would prevent you from switching are if you're currently in the middle of cancer treatment, for example.

Health insurance excludes pre-existing conditions from cover, meaning any conditions you sought advice or treatment for in the five years before buying a policy are excluded. This can make switching complicated. A new insurer will likely apply exclusions if you have had treatment on your previous policy, meaning your new policy may not cover the same treatment as the old one.

Is it the right choice?

Suppose you've received a renewal quote and decided to get quotes from other insurers. In that case, you must compare these quotes carefully to ensure the coverage and policy terms are at least as good as your existing policy.

If you haven't claimed on your existing policy, you should be able to switch without having new exclusions added. However, if you have previously claimed, you'll likely need to consider using CPME or CMORI underwriting.

Get in touch with a health insurance broker

A health insurance broker will give you free advice and can help you compare the leading providers. By speaking to a broker once a year or at least every other year, you can ensure that you have the right policy for you.

We partner with experienced brokers who specialise in private health insurance. Tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll connect you with the broker best suited to help.

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Continued Moratorium underwriting (CMORI)

You can switch using continued moratorium (CMORI) underwriting if you have moratorium underwriting on your existing policy. If an exclusion applies to your existing policy, your insurers can remove it if you stay symptom-free for two years. Switching to a new provider could mean restarting that moratorium period, even though you've already been symptom-free for a year. Using CMORI underwriting lets you transfer the moratorium period you've already earned in the same way as you would with the no-claims discount on your car insurance.

Continued Personal Medical Exclusions (CPME)

You can only choose Continued Personal Medical Exclusions (CPME) underwriting if you have full medical underwriting on your existing policy.

CPME lets you avoid adding more exclusions to your new health insurance policy even if you've used your policy to have treatment. For example, if your health insurance paid for physiotherapy for hip pain, a new policy might exclude any further treatment for that hip. Using CPME prevents this, meaning if you need a hip replacement later on, your insurance will still cover it.

It's worth shopping around and reviewing your health insurance coverage yearly to ensure you get the best coverage for your budget. However, you may not have to switch if you find a better deal elsewhere. You can haggle with your current insurance provider to see what they can offer.

Here's how to get started.

Get your comparison quote first

It's a good idea to get comparison quotes first to see what else is available. If you find a policy with equal (or better) coverage and terms at a lower price, you can use the evidence to start a conversation with your insurer. They're much more likely to offer a better deal if they risk losing you to a competitor whose quote is already in your hand.

Speak with your current insurer

When insurance companies increase prices yearly, they often rely on the fact that most people won't ever question the increases. We lead busy lives, and sticking with the insurer we know is far easier than shopping around.

Insurers often don't give you their best prices when sending your renewal. Challenging the increase encourages them to offer you a lower premium, better coverage or additional perks for your money.

If you've taken all these steps but still have an unaffordable insurance premium, self-insurance may be worth considering. When you choose self-insurance, you act as your own insurer, putting the money you would have spent on premiums into a savings account. Then, if you need treatment, withdraw the funds from your account instead of contacting your insurer. Most private hospitals will give you a fixed-price quote for surgery if you contact them directly.

This approach avoids the risk of spending hundreds of pounds on health insurance without ever claiming. You can also use the funds for another purpose if you wish. However, you run the risk that the fund you create isn't enough to pay for your care. You may have enough to cover the cost of an operation but not ongoing cancer treatment.

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The above recommendations (apart from self-insurance) are more straightforward if you speak with a regulated broker. They'll help you gather and compare quotes, advise you on appropriate coverage and underwriting, and negotiate with insurers on your behalf.