Private health insurance comparison: how to compare UK cover properly
A good private health insurance comparison looks past the monthly price. We compare the leading UK health insurers like for like, explain the trade-offs in plain English, and it costs you nothing extra.
A good private health insurance comparison looks past the monthly price. Two health insurance policies can cost almost the same and behave very differently the day you claim: one covers outpatient diagnosis in full, the other caps it at £500; one lets you use any private hospital near you, the other sends you to a guided list. Comparing private health insurance properly means lining up the cover, the excess, the hospital list and the underwriting side by side, then looking at the price.
Comparison sites are useful for a quick idea of cost, but they rank policies largely on premium and often hand your details to several firms at once. We do it differently. We compare health insurance from the leading UK health insurers on a like-for-like basis, explain the trade-offs in plain English, and stay with you at renewal. Using us costs nothing extra, because the commission is already built into the premium you would pay going direct.
This guide walks through exactly how to compare health insurance in the UK: what private health insurance covers, how the main health insurance providers differ, what drives the cost, and the questions that separate a cheap policy from the best cover for you.
What is private health insurance and how does it work?
Private health insurance, also called private medical insurance (PMI), is an insurance policy that covers the cost of private treatment for acute medical conditions that start after your cover begins. An acute condition is one that is likely to respond quickly to treatment and get you back to the state of health you were in before, such as a hernia, a cataract, a joint problem that needs surgery or, on most policies, cancer.
In practice, private health insurance works like this. You see your GP (or a virtual GP through your health insurer), who refers you to a specialist. You call your insurer, they authorise the claim, and you are seen privately, often within days rather than months. The health insurance pays for the consultations, diagnostic tests, scans and private hospital treatment covered by your policy, up to the limits you chose. You pay any excess.
The main reason people take out private health insurance is to avoid NHS waiting lists. The NHS remains excellent for emergency care, and private health insurance does not replace it: A&E, GP services and long-term chronic condition management usually stay with the NHS. What private medical insurance gives you is speed, choice of specialist and hospital, and a private room when you need treatment.
How to compare private health insurance: the six things that matter
When you compare health insurance quotes, the headline premium tells you very little on its own. These six areas decide how good the policy really is.
1. Core cover and outpatient limits
Almost every private health insurance policy covers in-patient and day-patient treatment as standard. The biggest difference between policies is outpatient cover: specialist consultations, diagnostic tests and scans before you are admitted. Some health insurance policies cover outpatient diagnosis in full, others set a limit of £500, £1,000 or £1,500, and basic policies may include none. Since most claims start with outpatient diagnosis, this is often where cheap private health insurance falls short.
2. Cancer cover
Cancer cover is one of the most valuable parts of a policy and one of the most variable. Check whether the health insurer covers cancer drugs not available on the NHS, how long treatment is covered for, and whether there are limits on chemotherapy, radiotherapy or monitoring.
3. Mental health cover
Mental health cover ranges from nothing at all, through a set number of outpatient therapy sessions, to full in-patient psychiatric treatment. If mental health support matters to you, this needs to be compared line by line, not assumed.
4. Hospital list
Each private health insurer has a hospital list. A restricted or guided list lowers the premium; a full list, including central London hospitals, costs more. Make sure the private hospital you would actually use is on the list.
5. Excess and six-week option
A higher excess lowers the premium. So does the six-week option, where the NHS treats you if it can within six weeks and your health insurance pays only if it cannot. Both are sensible ways to reduce the cost of private health insurance, but compare them on the same level across every insurer.
6. Underwriting
Underwriting decides how your medical history is treated. Moratorium underwriting excludes conditions you have had symptoms of, treatment for or advice about in the last five years, until you go two clear years on the policy. Full medical underwriting asks about your medical history up front and lists any exclusions clearly. If you are switching health insurance, continued personal medical exclusions can carry your existing terms across.
How do the leading UK health insurance providers compare?
There are several leading health insurers in the UK. Each has a different approach, and the best private health insurance for you depends on what you value. This overview is general; benefits change, so always check the current policy wording.
| Health insurer | Known for | Worth checking |
|---|---|---|
| Bupa | Large network, strong cancer cover, direct access for some conditions without a GP referral | Premiums can be higher at renewal; compare the hospital list options |
| AXA Health | Comprehensive health insurance, a guided option that lowers premiums, strong mental health support | How the guided option chooses your specialist |
| Aviva | Competitive pricing, a guided hospital and specialist network, flexible add-ons | Outpatient limits on the core plan |
| Vitality | Rewards for staying active that can reduce the cost of private health insurance over time | Whether you will actually engage with the programme |
| WPA | Not-for-profit, flexible shared-responsibility options | How the shared-cost option works when you claim |
| The Exeter | Mutual insurer, fixed-price approach, good for the self-employed | Hospital list and outpatient cover levels |
| Freedom Health Insurance | Flexible, modular plans | Benefit limits on each module |
Is AXA or Bupa better? Neither is better for everyone. Bupa tends to suit people who want the widest network and direct access for some conditions; AXA Health often suits those who want comprehensive cover with a lower premium through its guided option. The only fair answer comes from comparing both on identical cover for your age, postcode and medical history.
How much does private health insurance cost in the UK?
The cost of private health insurance depends mainly on your age, where you live, your level of cover, the excess, the hospital list and your medical history. As a broad, illustrative guide only, a healthy non-smoker in their 30s might pay from around £40 to £70 a month for a mid-level policy, while someone in their 50s might pay £90 to £150 or more for similar health insurance cover. Comprehensive health insurance with full outpatient cover and a full hospital list costs more again.
Health insurance costs also rise each year with age and medical inflation, which is why the renewal matters as much as the first quote. Most people stay with the same health insurer for years and never compare again, and that is usually where they overpay.
How to bring the cost down without losing the cover that matters
- Raise the excess from £0 or £100 to £250 or £500.
- Add the six-week option if you are comfortable using the NHS when waits are short.
- Choose a guided or local hospital list rather than the full list.
- Set an outpatient limit rather than removing outpatient cover altogether.
- Compare at every renewal, not just when you first buy.
Want the comparison done for you? Send us your renewal or tell us what you need, and we will line up the leading insurers like for like.
Book a free PMI callWhat is the best website to compare private health insurance?
Comparison websites such as the large price-comparison brands are a quick way to see a range of health insurance quotes. They are a starting point, not the full picture. Many comparison sites list only some health insurance providers, rank on price, and cannot tell you how a policy will treat your particular medical history or which hospital list includes your nearest private hospital.
A specialist health insurance broker compares the policies that comparison sites may not show, applies the same level of cover across every quote, and explains the differences that matter. Because the broker is paid by the insurer, comparing private health insurance through a broker costs you nothing extra. You also get help when you claim and at every renewal.
Price-comparison website
- Quick ballpark health insurance quotes
- Ranks policies mainly on premium
- May not show every health insurer
- Your details can go to several firms at once
- No help when you claim or renew
Montgomery Financial
- The same level of cover applied to every quote
- Underwriting and hospital lists explained in plain English
- Help at claim time from a named person
- Your renewal checked against the market every year
- No fee to you
How we run your private health insurance comparison
- A short call. We ask about your age, postcode, budget, any medical history and what you want the policy to do, such as fast diagnosis, cancer care or mental health support.
- Like-for-like quotes. We set the same excess, outpatient limit, hospital list and underwriting across each health insurer, so the prices you see are genuinely comparable.
- A plain-English summary. You get the differences that matter at claim time, not a wall of policy wording, and a clear view of which option we think fits.
- Help after you buy. If you need to claim, we help you through it, and before every renewal we check the market again so your premium does not quietly creep up.
Which is the best private health insurance in the UK?
There is no single best private health insurance. The best health insurance policy is the one that covers what you are most likely to need, at a price you can keep paying as you get older. For a young, healthy professional that might be a policy with a high excess and a guided hospital list. For a family it might be comprehensive cover with strong paediatric and mental health benefits. For someone with a medical history it is often about the underwriting, not the insurer.
That is why we start with you, not with a ranking. Tell us what you want the policy to do and we will compare private health insurance across the leading UK health insurers to find the best cover for your situation.
Types of health insurance to compare
- Individual private medical insurance for one person.
- Health insurance for couples, usually on one policy with a combined premium.
- Family health insurance, covering children, often at a lower cost per child.
- Health insurance for the self-employed, where fast treatment protects your income.
- Business and company health insurance, offering private medical insurance as a perk for employees.
If you already have health insurance as a perk through work, check what happens if you leave. Many company schemes let you continue on an individual policy without fresh underwriting, but only if you apply within a set window.
Comparing cover for couples and families
For couples, compare a joint policy against two individual policies; occasionally two separate health insurance policies work out cheaper, particularly where there is an age gap or one partner has a medical history. For families, look at how each health insurer prices children. Some charge for the first child only, others discount every child, and paediatric cover, mental health cover for young people and the hospital list near you all matter more than the headline premium.
Comparing cover if you are self-employed
If you run your own business, time off waiting for NHS treatment is time without income. Prioritise fast outpatient diagnosis, a sensible hospital list and cancer cover over extras such as dental and optical, and consider a higher excess to keep the premium manageable. Some self-employed people pair private health insurance with income protection, so both the treatment and the lost earnings are covered.
Questions to ask before you buy private health insurance
- What exactly is the outpatient limit, and does it cover diagnostic scans such as MRI and CT in full?
- Which cancer drugs and treatments are covered, and for how long?
- How much mental health cover is included, and is it outpatient only?
- Is my nearest private hospital on the hospital list I am being quoted?
- Is the excess per claim or per policy year?
- Which underwriting is being used, and what will be excluded for me?
- Do I need a GP referral, or can I access some treatment directly?
- How much did the premium rise at the last renewal for someone my age?
If a quote cannot answer these clearly, it is not a fair basis for a private health insurance comparison. We answer them for every policy we put in front of you.
Switching health insurance: can you move without losing cover?
Yes, in most cases. When you are switching health insurance, a new insurer can often accept you on the same underwriting terms as your current policy, so conditions that are now covered stay covered. The best time to switch is shortly before your renewal date. Never cancel your existing policy until the new one is confirmed in writing.
Renewal is where a broker earns their keep. On the company side, one business client saved 26% on its health insurance renewal simply by having the same cover taken to market, and another that had been with Bupa for years, and whose previous broker never shopped it, saved around £700 a month. The same principle applies to individual policies: comparing at renewal is how you avoid paying more each year for the same cover.
Does private health insurance cover pre-existing conditions?
Usually not at first. Most private health insurance policies exclude medical conditions you had before cover started. With moratorium underwriting, a pre-existing condition may become eligible after two clear years without symptoms, treatment or advice. With full medical underwriting, the exclusion is set out in writing and normally stays. A few insurers offer options for specific conditions, and switching health insurance on a continued personal medical exclusions basis keeps your current position rather than starting again. Getting this right is one of the strongest reasons to compare health insurance with a broker.
Private health insurance FAQs
Is private health insurance worth it?
For many people, yes, especially with NHS waiting lists still long for non-urgent treatment. It is most valuable for fast diagnosis, cancer care and choice of private hospital. Whether it is worth it for you depends on your budget and how you would cope with a long NHS wait.
Does private health insurance cover GP appointments?
Most policies include a 24/7 virtual GP service. Face-to-face private GP appointments are usually an optional extra.
Does health insurance cover dental and optical?
Not as standard. Many health insurers offer dental and optical cover as an add-on to private medical insurance.
How does a health insurance claim work?
You get a referral, call your insurer for authorisation and a claim number, attend your private appointment, and the hospital or specialist bills the insurer directly. You pay any excess.
Can I get a health insurance quote with a medical history?
Yes. Your medical history affects which conditions are covered, not whether you can get a health insurance quote. A broker can tell you how each insurer would treat it before you buy.
How quickly does private health insurance start?
Cover can usually start the next day, though some policies have an initial waiting period for certain benefits.
Will comparing health insurance affect my credit score?
No. Getting private health insurance quotes does not involve a credit check, so you can compare as often as you like.
Is it cheaper to buy health insurance direct from the insurer?
Not usually. Insurers generally charge the same premium whether you go direct or through a broker, because the broker's commission is already built in. Going through a broker means the comparison, the paperwork and the help at claim time come at no extra cost.
Can I compare health insurance if I already have a policy through work?
Yes. If your employer cover ends, or you want more cover than the company scheme provides, we can compare individual policies and check whether you can continue your existing terms without fresh underwriting.
How often should I compare private health insurance?
At least once a year, a few weeks before renewal. Premiums usually rise each year, and comparing at renewal is the simplest way to make sure you are not paying more than you need to for the same cover.
This page is general information, not a personal recommendation. Figures are illustrative only.
Compare private health insurance with a human, not a form
Tell us your age, postcode, the cover you want and anything in your medical history. We will compare health insurance from the leading UK providers on the same level of cover, show you the differences that affect a claim, and recommend the policy that fits. If you already have cover, send us your renewal and we will check whether the same health insurance cover is available for less.
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