Aviva private health insurance: an honest broker review
What Aviva's core cover includes, how the hospital list and excess change the price, and whether Aviva is the right health insurance provider for you. Compared against the market, at no extra cost.
Aviva is one of the largest insurance providers in the UK, and its Aviva health insurance policy, Healthier Solutions, is one we place for clients across Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. This Aviva private health insurance review explains how the cover works, what the core cover includes, how much Aviva health insurance costs, how to make a claim and whether Aviva is the right health insurance provider for you. Using a health insurance broker costs you nothing extra, because the commission is already built into the premium, and we compare Aviva against the wider insurance market before you commit.
What is Aviva private health insurance?
Aviva private health insurance is private medical insurance sold under the name Aviva Healthier Solutions. It pays for eligible private medical treatment of acute conditions, the short-term illnesses and injuries that respond to treatment and return you to your previous state of health. It sits alongside the NHS rather than replacing it, so emergency care still goes through the NHS and your NHS GP remains your usual first port of call, although Healthier Solutions policies also come with access to a digital GP service.
Aviva sells health insurance policies to individuals, couples, families and employers, and it also offers life insurance and business health insurance. For personal cover you start with the core cover and then add or remove options, which makes it a flexible private medical insurance product. Two people with the same insurer can end up with very different health cover and very different premiums, so the detail matters.
What does Aviva private health insurance cover?
Aviva includes more in its core cover than many insurers. The core cover on a Healthier Solutions policy includes:
- Inpatient and day-patient private treatment in private hospitals on your chosen hospital list
- Outpatient consultations with a specialist and diagnostic tests such as blood tests, X-rays and scans
- Cancer care, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy
- Some therapies, such as physiotherapy, and some outpatient mental health support
- Benefits such as home nursing, a private ambulance and an NHS cash benefit if you choose NHS treatment
- A stress counselling helpline
Aviva is known for including outpatient cover as standard, so specialist consultations and diagnostic tests are paid when you need them, subject to the terms and conditions. Because so much sits in the core cover, Aviva can look more expensive than a stripped-back quote from another provider. That is rarely a like-for-like comparison, which is why a broker lines up the policies on the same basis before you look at price.
How does Aviva private health insurance work?
When you have symptoms, you speak to a GP, either your NHS GP or through the digital GP service. If the GP refers you to a specialist, you contact Aviva to make a claim before any treatment. Aviva checks your health conditions are covered, confirms which specialists and private hospitals you can use, and then settles the bills directly with the hospital. You pay any excess you chose. If you are on the Expert Select option, Aviva gives you a shortlist of recognised specialists and hospitals near you to choose from.
You can manage your health insurance, view policy documents and start a new claim online through MyAviva, where you can login or register, or by phone if you would rather speak to someone. If you need to claim, it is worth checking cover before booking anything, so you do not end up with a bill that is not paid.
What are the Aviva hospital list options?
Your hospital list is one of the biggest factors in the price of an Aviva health insurance policy. Aviva offers several options:
- Expert Select: Aviva's guided option. When you claim, Aviva shortlists hospitals and specialists near your home that meet its quality criteria. This is usually the cheapest mainstream option.
- Key: a list of around 200 private hospitals across the UK from groups such as Nuffield Health, Spire, Circle and Ramsay.
- Extended: the Key list plus extra hospitals in Greater London.
- Trust: treatment in NHS Trust private patient units, which keeps the premium down if you live within the catchment area.
- Signature: an option for people living in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
For most of our clients in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, a guided or standard hospital list gives access to good local private hospitals without paying for central London hospitals they are unlikely to use. If you work in London or want a specific consultant, a wider list may be worth the extra cost.
How much does Aviva private health insurance cost per month?
There is no single Aviva price, because the health insurance cost depends on your age, where you live, your medical history, the hospital list, your excess and the options you add. As a guide only, a healthy adult in their thirties choosing Expert Select and a moderate excess might pay a few tens of pounds a month, while a couple in their fifties with full outpatient cover and the Extended list could pay considerably more. These figures are illustrative only and are not a quote.
The fastest way to see how much Aviva will charge you is to get a health insurance quote set up on the same basis as the alternatives. We compare the cost of private health insurance across the market, so you can see what Aviva costs per month next to other insurers with the same excess, outpatient limit and hospital list.
How can you save money on Aviva private health insurance?
Aviva gives you several ways to reduce the premium without losing the cover that matters most:
Excess
The amount you pay towards a claim. Aviva offers a choice of excess levels, and a higher excess means a lower premium.
Outpatient cover
You can reduce your outpatient cover to lower the premium. Check exactly what changes before you choose.
The six-week option
Use the NHS if it can treat you within six weeks. If the NHS wait is longer, Aviva pays for private treatment.
No claims discount
Aviva applies a no claims discount that grows in years you do not claim and reduces after a claim. You can add protection for it as an option.
A guided or standard hospital list also costs less than one that includes central London hospitals.
Want to see Aviva next to the rest of the market?
We line up Aviva with other insurers on the same excess, hospital list and outpatient cover.
What extra benefits can you add to Healthier Solutions?
On top of the core cover, Aviva lets you add optional benefits:
- Mental health: inpatient and day-patient treatment for acute mental health conditions.
- Other treatments and therapies: GP-referred physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic treatment and acupuncture.
- Dental and optical cover: accidental dental injury, routine dental treatment and optical expenses.
- Extended hospital list: an upgrade to include extra hospitals in Greater London.
Each option adds to the premium, so choose the ones you are likely to use rather than buying everything. Dental and optical is often cheaper through a separate cash plan, and we will tell you if that is the case.
Does Aviva health insurance cover pre-existing conditions?
Like every insurer, Aviva does not normally cover conditions you already have when you take out a new health insurance policy, and it does not pay for the long-term management of a chronic condition such as diabetes or arthritis. How pre-existing conditions are treated depends on your underwriting:
- Moratorium underwriting: you do not complete a health declaration form. Conditions you have had symptoms, treatment or advice for in the five years before you join are excluded until you go two continuous years on the policy without needing help for them.
- Full medical underwriting: you disclose your past health and medical history up front, and Aviva tells you exactly what is excluded before cover starts.
- Switch terms: if you already have private health insurance elsewhere, you may be able to move on your existing underwriting, so conditions that arose on your current policy stay covered.
Never cancel an existing policy before your new cover is confirmed. If you are thinking about switching, speak to us first.
What does Aviva not cover?
Aviva health insurance does not cover everything. The main exclusions are pre-existing conditions (depending on underwriting), chronic conditions, emergency treatment, routine pregnancy and childbirth, cosmetic treatment, and treatment that has not been authorised in advance. Full details are in the policy documents, and we go through them with you so there are no surprises when you need to claim.
Is Aviva private health insurance worth it?
For many people, yes. Aviva's strengths are the amount included in the core cover, cancer care, outpatient cover as standard and a wide range of ways to control the premium. The Expert Select guided option can make a policy noticeably cheaper for people happy to be directed to quality-assured local specialists. Aviva is one of the leading UK health insurers.
It is not right for everyone. If you want complete freedom to choose any consultant, the lowest possible monthly premium with basic cover, or lifestyle rewards for staying active, another insurer may fit better. Premiums also rise at renewal with age and medical inflation, as they do with every insurer, which is why an annual review matters.
Is Aviva or Bupa better for private health insurance?
There is no single best private health insurance in the UK. Aviva and Bupa are both large insurers with strong cancer cover. Aviva tends to include more outpatient cover in its core plan, while Bupa is often chosen for its own hospital network and its wide choice of cover levels. AXA Health, Vitality, WPA, Freedom Health Insurance and The Exeter all compete too. The right answer depends on how you want the policy to work, which hospitals you want to use and what you want to pay. We place Aviva next to the alternatives on a like-for-like basis so you can see the real difference.
Buying health insurance directly
You see one insurer's price and one insurer's options. Nobody checks whether the same cover is cheaper elsewhere, and nobody reviews it at renewal.
Using Montgomery Financial
Aviva compared with the wider market on the same basis, underwriting and switch terms explained, and your renewal reviewed every year. No extra cost to you.
Can you get Aviva private health insurance as a couple or family?
Yes. Aviva lets you add a partner and children to one policy, which is simpler to manage and often cheaper than separate policies. Everyone on the policy usually shares the same hospital list and excess, although you can review this at each renewal. If your employer already provides business health insurance, check what it covers before buying personal cover. Our guide to health insurance for couples explains when one policy beats two.
Why use a broker rather than buying health insurance directly?
You can buy health insurance directly from Aviva, but a broker gives you a proper comparison first, at no extra cost. We explain the underwriting options, check whether switch terms are available, and set up the policy so you understand what you are paying for. Most people stay with the same insurer for years and nobody ever shops their renewal. We do. Each year we review your Aviva policy against the market and tell you plainly whether it is still good value.
Montgomery Financial is a family-run broker based in Northamptonshire, helping individuals, couples, families and businesses with private medical insurance across Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and the rest of the UK.
Aviva private health insurance questions
Is Aviva Healthier Solutions the same as Aviva private health insurance?
Yes. Healthier Solutions is the name of Aviva's private medical insurance policy for individuals, couples and families.
Does Aviva private health insurance cover cancer?
Yes. Cancer care is part of the core cover on Healthier Solutions, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, subject to the policy terms.
Does Aviva offer a private GP?
Yes. Policyholders can use a digital GP service for appointments by phone or video.
Does Aviva offer a six-week NHS wait option?
Yes. Choosing the six-week option lowers your premium. If the NHS can treat you within six weeks you use the NHS, and if not, Aviva pays for private treatment.
How do I make a claim with Aviva private health insurance?
See a GP first, then contact Aviva online through MyAviva or by phone before booking treatment. Aviva will confirm cover and arrange payment with the hospital.
Can I get an Aviva health insurance quote through a broker?
Yes. We arrange Aviva quotes and compare them with other insurers at the same time, at no extra cost to you.
This page is general information, not a personal recommendation. Policy features are subject to the insurer's terms and may change.
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