Health Insurance to protect Parents and Families
Health insurance offers faster and cheaper access to private medical care, which can be reassuring for families and parents who are worried about relying on NHS services. According to figures from The Guardian, more than 7.3 million people in the UK now have private health insurance – the highest number since 2008.
Top financial experts have previously claimed that health insurance is unnecessary or ‘too expensive’ for UK families. While this may be true in some cases, many health insurance policies include extra benefits or discounts to boost the value for money for families. For example, both Bupa and Aviva only charge for the oldest child on your policy, so all your children can be covered for the price of one.
While it’s hard to think about our children getting sick, private health insurance provides some peace of mind by offering quicker access to the medical care that they need. Your family could also save £100’s or £1000’s compared to the cost of paying for private medical care out of your own pocket.
There are a lot of options for private health insurance, and some insurance companies will work better for families than others. It can be time-consuming to find the right policy, which is why it’s often easiest to speak to a specialist adviser who can help. If you need extra advice about health insurance, you can contact our experienced insurance partners.
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What is health insurance?
Private health insurance is a policy which supports individuals and families with the cost of private medical treatment and diagnosis. This is useful if you would prefer not to use NHS services or would like additional health support for yourself and your loved ones.
You can buy individual cover to protect yourself and most insurers allow you to easily add your partner or children to your policy for an extra cost. Private health insurance gives you more say in when and where you are treated, allowing you to arrange appointments around your family’s busy schedule.
Private medical care can be extremely expensive and health insurance helps to minimise these costs to make private care an affordable option. Rather than paying for each treatment or consultation, you pay a monthly premium and can submit a claim to cover some or all of the cost of private healthcare.
Note: Some websites and insurance specialists will call these policies ‘private medical insurance’ or ‘PMI’, but they are always referring to the same type of cover.
What does private health insurance cover?
Private health insurance will pay out to help with the cost of medical treatments and consultations that are covered by your policy. The exact treatments that are covered will depend on the level of cover that you have chosen.
Most UK private health insurance policies will cover:
- Consultations with private specialists.
- In patient medical treatments (e.g. surgeries).
- Hospital fees.
- Day patient treatments or follow up care.
- Outpatient medical treatment (some policies).
You usually get to choose from a few different ‘hospital lists’, which tell you which hospitals you can go to for your treatment. Some insurers offer a low-cost ‘guided’ option, where they provide a short list of specialists when you claim instead of a full hospital list.
Health insurance won’t pay out in every situation, and chronic and pre-existing medical conditions aren’t usually covered. You will also still need to use the NHS for any emergency medical treatment (e.g. a trip to A&E).
How much does health insurance cost?
According to the iam|INSURED experts, the average cost of health insurance in the UK is around £41.58 per month for individual cover and £95.19 per month for families. This might seem overly expensive, but you could actually save money compared to the cost of paying for private medical care yourself.
All UK health insurance companies work slightly differently, so you might find that one insurer can offer you more benefits for a similar price or a lower price. Comparing quotes and shopping around is the easiest way to check if you are being charged a fair price for your cover.
The cost of private health insurance is typically based on things like:
- Your age: Health insurance is usually cheaper for younger applicants, but some insurers can offer fair prices to older customers. If you’re over 50, you should compare a few quotes to see which insurers can offer the best prices.
- Smoker status: Smokers will sometimes pay more for health insurance based on the added health risks caused by smoking.
- Postcode: Your postcode can make a big difference to health insurance pricing, as insurers will look at the average cost of private medical care in your area.
- Medical history: You can choose either full medical underwriting or moratorium underwriting when you apply for health insurance, which tells the insurer how to deal with any medical conditions.
- Level of cover: Your policy will normally cost more if you want more options for specialists or extra benefits (e.g. mental health cover).
- Policy excess: You will need to pay towards the cost of your health insurance claim (policy excess). You might be able to lower the cost of your cover by choosing to pay a higher amount of excess when you claim.
- Claims history: If you have claimed within the last 12 months, this can cause the cost of your cover to go up. This is common for insurance policies and similar rules apply to other policies like car insurance.
Realistically, you should consider whether you’re comfortable relying on free NHS care or prefer the added peace of mind that health insurance provides. There isn’t a right or wrong choice, and the decision to buy health insurance should be based on what works best for you and your family.
Do I need private health insurance?
It’s hard to say whether you need private health insurance, as this really depends on your situation and how comfortable you are with relying on NHS services. A survey earlier this year found that 7 in 10 people in the UK would consider using private healthcare due to problems with the NHS.
It’s a good idea to think about the pros and cons of private health insurance before making any decisions. The main benefits of private health insurance include:
- Quicker access to diagnosis and treatment.
- Avoid long queues for NHS care.
- Can choose exactly when and where you receive your treatment.
- Can often add on extra benefits for more cover.
- Lots of policy options from top UK insurance companies like Aviva and Vitality.
Some of the main downsides to private health insurance include:
- Costs more compared to NHS care which is free.
- The cost of health insurance gets higher as you get older.
- Won’t pay out for chronic or pre-existing conditions.
- Might not be affordable for all consumers.
- Can often get similar care on the NHS for free.
Are there different types of health insurance?
There are a few different types of private health insurance policy, which our MPO financial experts have explained below.
- Individual health insurance protects one person and pays out to cover the cost of private medical treatments and consultations for this person.
- Couples health insurance will protect two people (usually a couple) who live at the same address. This is sometimes referred to as ‘joint health insurance’ and insurers like Bupa can offer discounts to couples (up to 10%*).
- Family health insurance protects you, your partner, and your children within one policy. Lots of insurers offer discounts and incentives for families, and some insurers will cover up to 10 children if they all live at the same address.
- Group health insurance is typically used by businesses that want to offer health insurance as a perk for their employees. You might be offered health insurance by your employer, but your cover will usually end if you leave your job.
*This is accurate as of November 2024 and discounts and offers could be pulled or changed by Bupa at any time.
