Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that pays for medical and surgical expenses incurred by the insured. Health insurance can reimburse the insured for expenses incurred from illness or injury, or pay the care provider directly. Health insurance can be one of the most important insurance purchases an individual or family will make. Read more about health insurance in UK in this article.
Health insurance in UK
With health insurance in the UK, you pay a monthly or annual fee and make claims for private healthcare you receive. Your insurance will cover some or all of the costs of these treatments, depending on what’s included in your plan.
A private health insurance policy can provide cover for different kinds of medical diagnosis and treatment both in hospital and as an out-patient.
Below are some of the latest independent ratings and awards to list the best UK health insurance policies:
- Aviva Healthcare
- AXA PPP Healthcare
- Bupa Healthcare (BBY Policy)
- Freedom Healthnet
- General Medical
- Health-on-Line
- The Exeter
- Vitality Health
- WPA
- Saga
Health insurance – Types of policies
The degree of cover you’ll get in a private health insurance policy varies depending on your plan and the company you purchase it from. Generally speaking, the types of policies available fall into the following categories:
- Private medical insurance (comprehensive plan) – can provide cover for a range of medical diagnoses and treatments, whether you’re an in-patient or not. The degree of cover varies depending on the policy and company, but they are typically the most comprehensive plans available.
- Cancer cover – offers full cover for things like radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and cancer surgery.
- Cash plans – is intended for health expenses that aren’t particularly costly but must be paid out frequently, such as paying for opticians, chiropodists and physiotherapists
Who are the biggest health insurance companies in the UK?
There are four companies that dominate UK health insurance. This section gives a brief overview of the four biggest UK health insurers and a fifth that has high search demand.
| Vitality | Vitality used to be known as PruHealth. It aims to keep its customers healthy by offering a range of rewards and discounts relating to health and leisure. It has had a big marketing push in recent years, with campaigns fronted by the likes of Jessica Ennis-Hill. |
| Bupa | Bupa is a giant in health insurance. Launched two years before the NHS, it owns several hospitals, care homes and dental centres across the UK. It offers custom-configured benefits packages that can be tailored specifically towards your needs. |
| Aviva | Aviva used to be called Norwich Union and it is the biggest insurer in the UK. Its history stretches back more than 300 years and it deals with millions of claims around the world every year. |
| AXA | Axa launched in 1940 and has become one of the biggest health insurance providers in the UK. AXA was named Health Insurance Provider of the year at the Moneyfacts Consumer Awards 2018. |
How much is private health insurance?
According to ActiveQuote, the average price for UK private health insurance is £ 1,155 a year (correct as of September 2021). As with many insurance policies, the cost of private medical insurance can vary from person to person, so it’s not easy to generalise how much it would cost. If you are under 65 years of age, the insurance cost would be around £ 1,200 per year, split over 12 monthly instalments. If you’re over 65 years of age, this annual health care cost may rise to around £ 2,000.
As the cost of private health care varies depending on treatment, we’ve listed some of the average prices for different procedures and surgeries that you can get across the UK.
| Private Health Care Treatment | Average Cost |
| Total knee replacement | 15,502 EUR |
| Total hip replacement | 11,315 EUR |
| Cataract surgery | 2,417 EUR |
| Varicose vein surgery | 2,366 EUR |
| Cardiac pacemaker insertion | 10,000 EUR |
| Hernia repair | 2,661 EUR |
| Skin lesion removal | 1,395 EUR |
| Coronary angiogram | 2,066 EUR |
In a nutshell, failing to plan is planning to fail, and so that you can make the right decision concerning you and your family’s needs about Insurance and medical health in the UK, we have to be wise to make the correct choices for our well being.
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