Health Insurance companies.

Find the best life insurance providers: our honest reviews will help you find the right policy.

Are you on the hunt for a health insurance policy? If you’re looking for the best health insurance companies, we’ve got you covered at Pure Cover. We have carried out extensive research to bring you lists of the top life insurers to make choosing a policy that suits your needs as easy and hassle-free as possible.

How to Choose and Purchase a Policy

The best way to find affordable medical cover is to compare quotes from a range of leading health insurance providers. Speaking with a health insurance broker can provide guidance in picking the right policy based on your situation.

When applying, take care to provide complete medical history and review policy documents thoroughly. This ensures you understand what coverage is provided, which pre-existing conditions are excluded and how the claims process works.

Secure Your Health Today!

Don't leave it to chance. Get a quote now - because peace of mind isn't a luxury, it's a necessity.

Life is unpredictable. With a tailor-made health insurance policy from our company, you can ensure your loved ones are protected, no matter what. Affordable, comprehensive, and just a click away.

The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Health Insurance in the UK

Health insurance provides vital financial protection when you need medical treatment. With private health insurance, you can access private healthcare and avoid long NHS waiting lists. However, there are many health insurance providers and health insurance policies to choose from in the UK. This guide will walk you through how to select the best health insurance plan based on your needs and budget.

Comparing Top Health Insurance Providers in the UK

When looking for the best health insurance, you first need to consider the various insurance providers available. Some of the top insurance companies in the UK market include:

AXA – Offers innovative digital services like video GP appointments and online claim submissions. However, outpatient coverage comes at an additional cost. AXA has fast-track diagnosis and excellent cancer treatment options. But they use guided consultant lists to control costs which limits choice.

Aviva – Gives access to a wide provider network of hospitals across the UK. Aviva provides some cover for outpatient mental health treatment. But dental insurance benefits are quite limited with low maximums. Aviva offers remote GP appointments via their Digital GP service.

Bupa – A leading option with comprehensive cover and excellent customer service. Bupa offers additional services like counselling helplines, remote GP access, and direct access for cancer symptoms without a GP referral. However, choice of consultants is restricted to Bupa’s recognised specialist list.

Vitality – Vitality offers rewards and premium discounts for maintaining healthy habits. They have competitive pricing for younger, healthier applicants. But premiums can increase steeply after claims are made. Vitality provides excellent cancer treatment options and some mental health support like counselling sessions.

WPA – A non-profit health insurer with an open consultant network allowing you to choose practically any specialist. WPA includes physiotherapy and other therapies cover as standard. But support for mental health treatment is limited unless you pay extra. WPA often has high customer satisfaction levels due to claims not affecting premiums.

The Exeter – The Exeter offers very flexible private medical insurance. You can pick between a no claims discount scheme or a community-rated approach. Competitive premiums but limited additional benefits like dental or travel cover. The Exeter provides online GP consultations and fast access to treatment.

Saga – Specializes in health insurance for the over 50s market. Premiums are very reasonable for older applicants but limited plan options and hospital choices. Provides a 24/7 GP helpline and monthly contributions towards dental costs. But less flexibility than other providers.

General & Medical – Offers budget-friendly basic private health plans with limited hospital access to control costs. General & Medical has a simple claims process and provides cover for pre-existing conditions. But supports a smaller provider network than larger insurers.

CS Healthcare – A smaller provider that focuses on excellent customer service and fast access to consultations and treatment. Premiums can be lower than major insurers but hospital choice is more limited outside London. Initial underwriting is fast but pre-existing conditions may not be covered.

Freedom Healthnet – Guarantees premiums won’t rise for the first 2 years regardless of claims made. Freedom has minimal restrictions on hospital access across the UK. But they offer fewer additional benefits compared to larger insurers. The claims process is straightforward with an efficient app and online portal.

Thoroughly comparing the major health insurance companies in terms of coverages provided, hospital and consultant access, premiums, customer satisfaction levels and added services is crucial to finding the provider that best fits your needs and budget.

Understand the Types of Health Insurance Plans

Health insurance companies typically structure their private medical cover around three main types of plans:

Basic Private Health Insurance – This entry-level cover option only covers inpatient treatment and day surgery where you need to stay in a hospital bed overnight or during the day. All outpatient consultations, tests, scans and therapies require an NHS referral first before the insurer will provide private treatment. Basic cover gets you minimal private access for serious illnesses and injuries needing hospital admission.

Standard Private Medical Insurance – Standard plans include all inpatient and day patient hospital treatment as basic policies. They also add some level of outpatient treatment. However, outpatient care is limited by either capping the number of specialist consultations per year or setting annual monetary limits that cap how much can be claimed towards outpatient costs. This provides a moderate level of access to private GPs, specialists and tests.

Comprehensive Private Healthcare – Comprehensive private medical insurance provides the highest level of cover. Along with inpatient and day patient hospital treatment, it includes unlimited outpatient consultations, diagnostic tests, therapies and mental healthcare up to the annual policy limit. This gives you the most complete access to private treatment and diagnosis for both serious and minor conditions without constant NHS referral. However, comprehensive cover costs the most in monthly premiums.

The level and extent of health insurance coverage dictates what private treatment options are available across areas like cancer care, mental health services, physiotherapy, MRI scans, and more. Comprehensive plans provide the broadest access to private healthcare but cost more per month compared to more basic insurance.

Most insurers also offer optional add-ons for extra premiums like dental insurance, optical care, travel insurance and personal accident coverage. Carefully reviewing all elements of a health insurance policy is key to fully understanding what is and isn’t included before choosing a plan.

Evaluating Your Needs and Budget When Choosing a Health Insurance Policy

Your health insurance priorities and ideal coverages will depend on several important factors like:

  • Age – Younger individuals tend to need less extensive cover. As you get older, more comprehensive insurance is advisable. Monthly costs also rise steadily with age.
  • Health Status – Those with chronic conditions, higher risks or past serious illnesses will likely need more robust plans to provide sufficient private care access.
  • Family History – Understand hereditary conditions you may be predisposed to when assessing required cover.
  • Location – Where you live can significantly impact available providers and premium costs. Living rurally may limit your options.
  • Income – Your budget will determine what level of monthly premiums you can afford. Comprehensive plans cost more but provide greater care access.

Individuals with specific medical conditions, hereditary risks or past serious illnesses will likely need more comprehensive and expensive cover to properly protect themselves. Otherwise, young and currently healthy customers can often manage with more basic and affordable private health insurance plans.

You need to carefully compare your maximum budget versus your potential future healthcare needs. Higher premiums allow more comprehensive cover but may not be realistic for all household finances long-term. Make sure to account for the fact that health insurance premiums will incrementally increase each year as you get older. Finding the right balance of sufficient cover at an affordable ongoing cost is key to choosing the optimal health insurance policy.

Tips for Reducing Your Health Insurance Premiums

Private medical insurance can get very expensive, especially for older policyholders or those wanting comprehensive cover. But there are ways to reduce your health insurance premiums:

  • Access Fewer Hospitals – Most insurers offer multiple hospital network options. Opting for limited access to lower cost facilities can reduce your monthly premiums, but may be inconvenient if you then need to travel further for treatment.
  • Choose a Higher Excess – Agreeing to pay a higher excess, either per claim or annually alongside your premiums, lowers the insurer’s risk and costs which then reduces your policy’s base price. Just ensure you can afford to then pay the higher excess amounts if you do require medical treatment.
  • Consider Co-Payments – Co-payments mean you pay an agreed percentage, for example 10% or 20%, towards the total cost of eligible claims up to an annual limit. This can significantly reduce premiums but you take on more variable costs when having private treatment.
  • Use NHS Options – Some health insurance companies offer coverage options that allow you to have NHS treatment for certain conditions if waiting times are short. Choosing these options results in lower premiums, but you lose the certainty of fully private care.
  • Maintain Healthy Habits – Most insurers now provide discounts on premiums for policyholders that maintain a healthy weight, don’t smoke, drink moderately and exercise regularly. Improving your lifestyle could earn you lower ongoing costs.

In addition to plan tweaks and adjustments, shopping around for multi-policy discounts, opting for group coverage via your employer, paying annually rather than monthly and building up a no claims discount over time can also help minimize private health insurance costs.

How to Choose and Purchase a Policy

The best way to find affordable medical cover is to compare quotes from a range of leading health insurance providers. Speaking with a health insurance broker can provide guidance in picking the right policy based on your situation.

When applying, take care to provide complete medical history and review policy documents thoroughly. This ensures you understand what coverage is provided, which pre-existing conditions are excluded and how the claims process works.

With research and expert advice, you can find a tailored health insurance policy that provides the medical care access you need at a manageable cost. Comparing providers, understanding plan options and optimizing cover is key to getting the best value health insurance.

When applying for health insurance, take great care to provide the insurer with your complete medical history. Precise, honest disclosure is crucial for them to accurately underwrite and assess your policy risks, which then dictates fair premium pricing. Also carefully read through all policy documents to thoroughly understand exactly what coverages are provided, how claims work and any exclusions so there are no surprises later if you do need private medical care.

With ample research, comparing top insurers and understanding policy options, you can find a well-priced private health insurance plan that provides sufficient access to the elite level of private healthcare available in the UK. Matching coverages and provider networks to your budget and potential needs is the key to getting the maximum long-term value health insurance for your circumstances.

In Summary

Selecting the right private medical insurance requires comparing top UK providers, understanding your budget and potential care requirements, evaluating policy types and optional extras, looking for legitimate ways to reduce premiums through plan adjustments and being diligent in providing medical history for accurate underwriting.

While assessing providers, consulting expert brokers and thoroughly researching before committing to a policy demands time and effort, it ensures you secure affordable health insurance that truly provides the private diagnosis, treatment and care access you need long into the future. We hope this detailed guide gives you absolute clarity on how to choose the best private health insurance in the UK tailored to your needs and budget.

What is Private Health Insurance?

Private health insurance provides an alternative to NHS healthcare, giving faster access to private hospitals, specialists, and treatments. Private medical insurance can cover all or some of the costs of private care. Policies allow you to bypass long NHS waits and provide more choices over facilities and consultants. Premiums, coverages, and provider networks vary between insurers.

What is Medical Insurance?

Medical insurance refers to health insurance plans that help pay for medical expenses not covered by the NHS. This includes private hospital treatment, surgery, specialist consultations, scans, and more. Medical insurance provides financial assistance for costs of accident & illness treatment from private healthcare providers. Plans differ in monthly premiums, covered services, and provider access.

What is Private Medical Insurance (PMI)?

Private medical insurance (PMI) is a type of private health insurance that covers the costs of private healthcare. PMI pays for treatment by private hospitals, facilities, specialists and other services not fully covered by the NHS. It allows faster access to care and more choices over providers. PMI plans have different premiums, excesses, coverages and consultant networks.

What is Private Healthcare?

Private healthcare refers to medical diagnosis and treatment provided by private hospitals, facilities, specialists and other providers outside the NHS system. Private health insurance pays for private healthcare, allowing faster access and more choices than the NHS. Treatments, quality of facilities, and costs can vary greatly between private healthcare providers.

What is Medical Cover?

Medical cover refers to private health insurance that helps pay for private healthcare. Medical cover insures you against costs for hospital stays, surgeries, scans, specialist consultations and other private treatment expenses. More comprehensive policies provide greater medical cover, but premiums are higher. Reviewing coverages is essential to understand what is included.

What is NHS Treatment?

NHS treatment refers to healthcare services provided by National Health Service hospitals, GPs, specialists and facilities. While often free at point of use, NHS care can involve long waiting lists. Many private medical insurance plans provide additional benefits for NHS treatment like cash payments if you use NHS services the policy would’ve covered.

What is Underwriting?

Health insurance underwriting is the process of assessing risk to determine policy premiums and coverages based on your medical history and other factors. There are two main types – moratorium underwriting provides limited cover for some pre-existing conditions while full medical underwriting examines full history.

Related Insurance

Explore the array of insurance options with Pure Cover, designed to safeguard every aspect of your life. From health to life, we’ve got you covered.

Life Insurance

Safeguard your family’s future with Pure Cover’s Life Insurance. Your loved ones deserve the best, even in your absence.

Income Insurance

Secure your earning potential with Pure Cover’s Income Protection. Navigate life’s financial uncertainties with confidence.

Health Insurance

Invest in your health with Pure Cover’s comprehensive Health Insurance. Prioritise your wellbeing, because you matter.