*Based on a treatment and full diagnosis level of cover for a 30-year-old non-smoking male with no pre-existing medical conditions (March 2023)
Health insurance in the UK, is an insurance policy that provides healthcare cover in addition to the healthcare that everyone is entitled to on the National Health Service (NHS).
Quicker access - reduces your waiting time by allowing you to access private healthcare for you and your family.
Different levels of cover - the greater your cover, the higher the premiums are likely to be.
Choose when and where you're treated -you want to be treated at a private hospital, or you need specialist treatment, then private healthcare insurance could be an option for you.
You'll receive help for acute (immediate) conditions, and may also receive treatment for ongoing issues, depending on your policy.
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Health insurance, otherwise known as private health care, or private medical insurance, allows you to receive private medical treatment for a fee.
Workplace benefits - Some workplace benefit and pension schemes include private healthcare as part of their packages for staff. In that case, you may find that private healthcare is included for you and your family.
Avoiding waiting lists - However, if your workplace doesn't offer private health insurance as a benefit, or you work for yourself, then private health insurance can be useful if you need to be treated quickly at a hospital close to your home, and not have to join an NHS waiting list.
Remember...
Depending on your policy, your medical care plan may cover all the cost of the private medical treatment, or a portion of it.
Basic health insurance cover
This will pay for treatment if you are admitted as an inpatient to hospital – when you stay overnight.
Medium health insurance cover
This will include additional care if you are an outpatient – you come for treatment but are not admitted.
You can add on extra cover if you're an outpatient, plus:
Physiotherapy
Osteopathy
Treatment for mental health conditions
You may also have access to new and experimental drugs, which aren't currently available on the NHS.
The quotes you receive will be based on your age, state of health (especially if you currently smoke tobacco), and any medical conditions that you already have.
The right private healthcare plan for you depends on what you might need it for:
Your age
What cover you require
You can buy private medical insurance for yourself, you and your partner, or you can cover the whole family. It's up to you to choose the scope and level of health insurance cover that you need.
When you decide on the best private health insurance policy for you, there's the option to pay a single annual premium or monthly premiums. In this respect, private medical insurance works in a similar way to other types of insurance.
If you continue to keep paying your premiums, your cover will continue and you will be covered if you need to make a private medical insurance policy claim.
Learn more about the the different private medical insurance terminology.
If you don't keep up your payments, your cover will cease. There's no investment element to private healthcare insurance, and if you don’t make a claim and the policy finishes, you will not get any money back.
If you want to get started with your medical insurance plan then you can compare quotes.
Before deciding to complete your application online or via a call to us. If you give us a call, we will work with our partner Active Quote to find you the best deal for your private healthcare plan.
Getting started on your medical insurance policy is easy- Just tell us when you want to start and how much you want to spend.
You will need to put in your name, and date of birth, and the details of anyone else you want to include in the policy.
Then you can see the different quotes available to you and compare. You can find some useful tips on health insurance in our guide.
Read our guide to winter health conditions, and find out how health insurance (also known as private medical insurance) can safeguard you and your family.
It's a common misconception that you can't get health or life insurance cover with a pre-existing medical condition. This guide can help you understand more about the types of insurance available.
We answer some of the most frequently asked questions about private health care insurance
Last updated: July 27, 2023