Private medical insurance

It buys speed and choice. It does not buy everything.

Cover for the diagnosis and treatment of new, short-term conditions privately — usually faster, at a hospital you help choose, with a consultant you are referred to rather than allocated.

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What it does

In plain terms

Acute conditions, not everything

It is designed for new problems that respond to treatment and then resolve. That is the whole basis of the product, and the single thing most misunderstood about it.

You choose the level

In-patient only carries the lowest premium. Adding out-patient cover — consultations, scans, physiotherapy — costs more and is where most people actually claim.

The excess moves the price

A higher excess per year cuts the premium noticeably. Sensible if you can meet it; painful if a small claim is the only one you ever make.

It is designed for new problems that respond to treatment and then resolve.

What it will not do

Said before you buy, not after

It will not cover pre-existing conditions

Anything you have had symptoms, advice or treatment for before the policy starts is normally excluded, either permanently under full medical underwriting or for a set period under a moratorium.

It will not cover chronic conditions

Long-term conditions that need ongoing management — diabetes, asthma, most arthritis — are excluded by design. It may cover an acute flare-up; it will not take over the condition.

It will not replace the NHS

Accident and emergency, maternity, and most long-term and end-of-life care stay with the NHS. Private cover sits alongside it, and you keep your GP.

Straight answers

Asked every week

Moratorium or full medical underwriting?

Moratorium is quicker — no forms, but anything from roughly the last five years is excluded until you go a set period without needing it. Full underwriting means answering everything up front and knowing exactly where you stand from day one. We would usually rather you knew.

Does the premium go up every year?

Almost always, with age and with medical inflation, and after a claim year on some plans. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling rather than advising.

What about cover through my employer?

Check what it actually includes and whether it continues if you leave. Group schemes are often generous on in-patient and thin on out-patient, and they end with the job.

Can I add my family?

Yes, usually on one policy, with each person underwritten separately. Children are commonly cheap to add and sometimes free on family cover.

What does it actually cost?

It varies more than any other product on this site — by age, postcode, hospital list, excess and how much out-patient cover you want. There is no useful headline figure, which is why we quote rather than guess.

Is it worth it if I am healthy?

That is the honest question, and for some people the answer is no. If the NHS route for the things you are likely to need is quick where you live, the money may be better in a savings account. We will say so.

Private medical insurance is general insurance, not health advice, and we do not give medical opinions. Cover is subject to eligibility, underwriting, terms, conditions and exclusions, including exclusions for pre-existing and chronic conditions. Benefits may not be paid in all circumstances. Premiums normally rise each year. This page is general information about how the cover works. It is not advice and it does not take account of your circumstances.

How we are paid. We act on your behalf, not the insurer’s. You pay us no fee; we are paid commission by the insurer when the policy starts, and that commission does not vary by which insurer you choose. You can ask us what it is at any point before you decide.

Worth having, if you know what it is for.

This one is bought for speed of treatment, not for the price. If you already have cover through work, we will look at that first and tell you plainly whether adding to it is worth the money.

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