Private health and protection insurance expert and editor
In this article, we’ve looked at the numerous ways you can save money on your health insurance. With private medical insurance (PMI) in the UK often being a significant investment, knowing how to keep the cost down is as important as ever.
If you read our recent article, “Best Private Health Insurance UK”, you’ll know that there are many high-quality providers of health insurance in the UK. Our simple advice to reduce the cost of your health insurance? Shop around!
Firstly, and most importantly, the best way to reduce the cost of health insurance is to compare prices and shop around. Regardless of whether you’re looking for a new policy or renewing an existing one, comparing providers is the number one way to save money.
Did you know you can often reduce the cost of your policy, without making any sacrifices, simply by doing a market review?
Shopping around for the best policy at the best price does, of course, take time, which is why we always recommend speaking to an independent health insurance broker like ourselves. We can take the hassle out of finding the best policy by quickly comparing the market on your behalf. What’s more, with our annual health insurance renewal review service, we’ll automatically find you the best deal for you each year.
Aside from comparing the market for the best deal, there are a number of other things you or your health insurance broker can do to reduce the cost of your health insurance policy. In this section, we outline each of those, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Again, if you are unsure about anything covered in this article please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help you navigate your options.
By increasing the excess on your policy you’ll often be able to bring the annual premium down. While this option can be very useful, you should always exercise some caution to ensure that the excess remains affordable. There is nothing worse than having a health insurance policy but feeling like you can’t claim due to the size of the excess. Excesses often range from £0-£1,500 per claim per annum, so there is plenty of scope for those wishing to go down this route.
Working with a health insurance broker, you could review the level of cover you have on your policy. Again, this should be done with the utmost caution to ensure that you don’t expose yourself unnecessarily. All policies will include inpatient cover, but outpatient protection will often attract higher premiums. When cost is a key consideration, reviewing and in some cases reducing your level of cover can be an excellent way to ensure that your policy remains affordable.
Insurers often have their own hospital lists that you will have access to under your policy, but did you know you can review this and create your own bespoke list? Far from only making a policy more expensive, if you opt to remove certain city centre hospitals from your list you can often reduce the cost. We’ve seen many instances where focussing your hospital list on more local hospitals, rather than the high-end central London ones, brings annual premiums down. To review your hospital list with a qualified expert, please complete this form and we’ll come back to you.
Even the best health insurance policies don’t cover everything, which is why providers will often try and sell you extras and addons to give you maximum protection. While extras such as routine dental and optical cover give you enhanced cover, they do come at a cost. By removing or reducing the number of extras you have on the policy you can often bring the annual premiums down. Again this should only be done alongside a complete policy review with an independent expert, as reducing cover may not be your only option.
Disclaimer: This information is general and what is best for you will depend on your personal circumstances. Please speak with a financial adviser or do your own research before making a decision.
Chris Steele is myTribe’s resident expert in private health insurance and healthcare, with over a decade of experience in the field. As a Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) qualified professional, he has helped countless consumers navigate private medical insurance. Regularly quoted by national media, Chris is a trusted voice in the UK insurance industry, with his insights featured in leading consumer finance publications.
Save up to 37%* on your insurance by comparing policies
*Based on 461 quotes between 01/22-01/23
